Duchess Of Malfi Critics (AO5) Flashcards
Lacey Baldwin smith critic
…people were longing for the ‘sea faring strength’ of Elizabeth I (links to context with parallels between duchess and Elizabeth)
Jankowski critic
The Duchess abandons her duties of ‘body politic’ for those of her ‘body natural’ and for this she has to die
David Gunby critic
Describes a malcontent as a “character divided within himself” and if the metaphorical ‘fountain’ of the court hadn’t been poisoned then Bosola would have been allowed to thrive
Lee Bliss critic
“(The duchess) seeks private happiness at the expense of public stability. As a ruler she can no more be lauded for the example she sets than her brothers”
Irving Ribner about love and the duchess
“The Duchess, not her brothers, stand for ordinary humanity, love and the continuity of life through children”
P B Murray critic
The radiant spirit of the Duchess cannot be killed
Elizabeth Oakes critic, what does the Duchess saying “I am duchess of Malfi still” show
With that title she negates her relationship with Antonio: she becomes the woman carved in stone that Ferdinand wanted her to be.
Michael Neill critic about Antonio and Bosola
“Antonio can be no model of virtue: he too is like the equivocal Bosola”
Muriel Bradbrook about Bosola and the Duchess
“Bosola, the chief instrument in the Duchess’ betrayal and subjection, also bears the strongest witness to her virtues”
Christopher Hart critic about the brothers motives
The two brothers are not driven by any sense of possessive outrage, however warped, but by a delight in malice itself, a “motiveless malignity” even against their own flesh and blood.
Lee Bliss critic about the cardinal vs Ferdinand
The Cardinal’s cool, unemotional detachment is more terrifying than Ferdinand’s impassioned raving
