Isabella and the Pot of Basil Flashcards
Plot summary:
Isabella falls in love with Lorenzo.
Her brothers only care about honour and want her to marry a noble man.
They murder Lorenzo
Lorenzo appears to Isabella in a vision and tells her how her brothers murdered him.
Isabella digs up his body and fits his head off and buries it in a pot.
She cries and the pot of basil grows
The brothers steal the pot and find lorenzos head rotting and flee to Florence
Now she has lost both her lover and the pot of basil she goes mad and dies
Quotes:
Fair Isabel, poor simple Isabel - highlights Isabel’s innocence and naviety. As the audience we feel pathos for her. Also shows inevitability
They could not (…) but each other dream - shows the pian that both I and L feel want to together but can’t. Destined to be apart.
Twin roses by the zephyr (breeze) blown part - highlights that they cannot be together even though they are so similar
The inward fragrance of each others heart - they know the most intimate parts of each other
Half ignorant, they’d turned an easy wheel - highlights brothers greed. to some extent they know what thy are doing is wrong but continue to do it anyway. - could be a symbol for capitalism
Gush’s with more pride than do a wretch’s tears - juxtaposing brothers tears with a wretch. one is doing from benefitting those who are exploited. the other is weeping from sadness from losing someone they love. Criticising capitalism
How could these money bags see east and west - they view is solely narrowed on money.
Into a forest for a quiet slaughter - unseen, unknown. Treating Lorenzo as a commodity
Each richer by being a murderer - highlights that in a capitalist society wealth come before anything else.
Upon the murderous spot she seemed to grow - highlights the strength of their love. even though he is dead she continues to blossom
She forgot the stars, the moon and sun - distraught from the loss of Lorenzo
With blood upon their heads to banishment - no catharsis, no punishment for the brothers.
Will die a death to lone and incomplete - tragic inevitability
O cruelty to steal my Basil Pot away from me - childlike, as the audience we feel pity
Aspects of tragedy:
loss, grief, fate, isolation, greed.
Tragic victim - Isabella- she loses everything.
however, Lorenzo’s death is more pivotal. Leads to Isabella’s death. Giving a voice to secondary characters
Tragic Villain - the brother’s greed. In a wider theme capitalism
