Malfi – Context Flashcards
What are key features of tragedies in the Jacobean era?
revolving around men
eponymous
How is Webster described and why?
protofeminist
he gives a whole play to a heroine whereas other plays in that era were revolving around men and female characters were often in relation to men
When was this play first played?
1614 in London
Who ruled the Jacobean era?
King James I
When is this play set?
the 17th century
What is the Bishop’s Ban?
in 1599, Whitgift and Bancroft banned a selection of literary works that didn’t appease the government
What was England like in James’ rule?
he made people pay for titles
he surrounded himself with sycophants
he lived a lavish lifestyle while the poor dealt with death, disease and famine
Why is this play set in Italy?
- to avoid the Bishop’s ban - draw parallels to criticise James’ rule
- to appease a contemporary audience because Italy is Catholic whereas England is protestant
What is Italy like geographically in this time?
separated into states
What is Reformation?
where the whole of Europe was divided by Protestant and Catholic
Italy = Catholic England = Protestant
What was the stereotype of a widow?
they had more freedom than any other woman
they were sex mad / hyperbolic / lusty
What are contemporary ideas associated with darkness?
the complete darkness played upon fears about the devil, witchcraft and demonic possession
What is the Madonna / whore dichotomy?
it’s an anti feminist idea
women must be impossibly good or improbably bad
What is the function of Julia? (3)
to illuminate madonna / whore dichotomy
exposes double standards
act as a foil to the duchess
What is the theory of humorism?
use 4 human substances as humours - blood, phlegm, black bile and yellow bile
melancholic | black bile | dark/miserable
choleric | yellow bile | angry/apoplectic
sanguine | blood | lively/vibrant
phlegmatic | phlegm | cold/disinterested
