Mockery

Question 1

Fay: And even the sex you were born into isn’t safe from your marauding.

[…]

Hal: We were too young then to practise, and economics still defeats us.

Fay: You’ve confirmed my worst fears.

Answer 1

Hal openly confirming his sexual preferences to Fay and his relationship with Dennis challenged traditional social norms and portrayals of heterosexuality and masculinity in society at the time, mocking society’s reaction to nonconformity.

Orton wants to challenge the audience, making them uncomfortable and advocating for honesty and authenticity of social conformity.

Question 2

‘Orton was reckless. He loved to shock people, so it was inevitable that his plays were often offensive to the general public’

Answer 2

Mary Casmus

Question 3

Vindice: ‘Tis the best grace you have to do it well; / I’ll save your hand that labour

Vindice: And useless property, no - it shall bear a part

Vindice: As much as the dumb thing can, he shall feel

Answer 3

The play ultimately mocks the idea that justice can be served in a corrupt world.

Even Vindice, who seeks righteous revenge, becomes consumed by violence and deception, showing that the revenger is no better than those he seeks to punish.

Middleton uses mockery to create a scathing critique of power, corruption, and the futility of revenge, making The Revenger’s Tragedy a darkly comedic yet tragic exploration of human vice.

Question 4

Middleton flashes a ‘’kind of satiric wit’’ unknown to Tourner.

Answer 4

Eliot