Duchess of Malfi critical quotes Flashcards
1
Q
Woodbridge
A
- ‘the Duchess is a hero of desire’
2
Q
P.B Murray
A
- “The radiant spirit of the Duchess cannot be killed.”
3
Q
Christopher Hart (brother’s motive)
A
- the brothers are driven by ‘delight in malice itself, a “motiveless malignity” even against their own flesh and blood’
4
Q
Lee Bliss (Cardinal)
A
- ‘the Cardinal’s cool, unemotional detachment is more terrifying than Ferdinand’s impassioned raving’
5
Q
R.S. White (Duchess’ death)
A
- ‘the tragedy of a virtuous woman who achieves heroism through her death’
6
Q
Jankowski (D’s autonomy)
A
- the Duchess ‘challenges Jacobean society’s views regarding the representation of the female body and women’s sexuality’
7
Q
Sarah Olsen (incest)
A
- ‘Jacobean society shared a modern abhorrence of incest combined with a morbid fascination with its machinations’
8
Q
Callaghan (D central character)
A
- the Duchess is an usual central character for a 17th century tragedy because ‘as a woman, she combines virtue with powerful sexual desire’
9
Q
Micheal O’Neil (secrets)
A
- ‘a play obsessed with secrets’
10
Q
David Cecil (how W sees the world)
A
- ‘The world as seen by [Webster] is , of it’s nature incurably corrupt’
11
Q
William Hazlitt (Duchess’ death)
A
- ‘exceeds the just bounds of tragedy’
12
Q
Lee Bliss (public vs private)
A
- ‘the duchess seeks private happiness at the expense of public stability’
13
Q
Jacqueline Pearson (Duchess’ death)
A
- ‘the heroine dies well before the end of the play so that the significance of her death can be explored’
14
Q
David Gunby (Bosola)
A
- ‘Bosola is generally recognised as a man divided against himself’
15
Q
Rabkin (D+A’s marriage)
A
- ‘wilful and irresponsible’
16
Q
Travis Bogard (ultimate tragedy)
A
- ‘the ultimate tragedy of Webster’s world is not the death of any individual but the presence of evil and decay which drags all mankind to death’
17
Q
John McRae (F’s desire)
A
- ‘he doesn’t control them, they control him’
18
Q
Callaghan (desire)
A
- ‘[female desire was seen as a] disease and a monstrous abnormality’
