Scenes Flashcards
Act 1 scene 1
Antonio returns from French court and comments on corruption of court of Naples
Ferdinand asks the Duchess to appoint Bosola Master of tbe Horse so he can spy on her household.
Ferdinand and the Cardinal forbid the Duchess to remarry
The Duchess proposes to Antonio and they marry in secret
Act 2 scene 1
Bosola taunts Castruchio and old lady. Rails against women who paint their faces and the rotten nature of the human body
He suspects the Duchess is pregnant and gives her apricots which were thought to induce abortion.
The Duchess immediately goes into labour
Delio advises Antonio to pretend Bosola’s apricots have poisoned the Duchess.
Act 2 scene 2
Bosola continues to rail against promiscuous women
Antonio orders the palace gates to be locked and officers summoned
Servants and officers make bawdy jokes. Antonio tells them that jewels and plate have been stolen and they are to be locked in their rooms
The Duchess delivers a son.
Act 2 scene 3
Bosola hears a cry from the Duchess’s bedchamber
Antonio tells him he suspects him of giving her poisoned apricots
Antonio drops a letter from an astrologist announcing the birth of a son who will die young (prolectic irony)
Bosola finds it and vows to send it to Ferdinand and the Cardinal
Act 2 scene 4
Julia agrees to be the Cardinal’s mistress
She learns that her husband has arrived in Rome
Delio arrives to woo her but she rejects him
They learn that Ferdinand has heard his sister has given birth and is mad
Delio fears Antonio’s secret has been uncovered
Act 2 scene 5
Ferdinand is filled with fury at the news
The Cardinal is more controlled but fears their royal blood has been tainted
Ferdinand is almost insane with rage imagining his sister’s lover and the Cardinal criticises him, alarmed at his reaction
Ferdinand calms down and resolves to do nothing until he knows who his sister’s lover is
Act 3 scene 1
Ferdinand has returned to Malfi with Delio some two or three years later
Antonio tells Delio the Duchess has had two more children and the common people are calling her a strumpet. He is under suspicion about his growing wealth but no one has guessed he and the Duchess are married
Ferdinand tells his sister he has thought of a husband for her
The Duchess is relieved that her brother doesn’t seem to mind about the rumours
Bosola tells Ferdinand he doesn’t know who the father is but he has a key to the Duchess’s bedchamber
Act 3 scene 2
Antonio and Cariola joke with the Duchess as she prepares for bed
They leave her alone for a joke
Ferdinand enters, he gives her a dagger and tells her to use it on herself. She tells him she is married
Ferdinand calls out to the hidden Antonio that he doesn’t want to know who he is now
Ferdinand tells his sister about how a reputation is lost and that he will never see her again
Bosola tells the Duchess Ferdinand has left for Rome
The Duchess tells Bosola Antonio has cheated her and has sent him away
Secretly, she tells Antonio to go to Ancona where she will join him
Officers revile Antonio but Bosola sticks up for him
The Duchess tells Bosola their secret
He advises her to say she is going on a pilgrimage to a shrine near Ancona
Act 3 scene 3
Set in Rome, the Empoere has asked the Cardinal to resume his profession as a soldier
Bosola arrives to tell The Cardinal and Ferdinand about Antonio and that the Duchess is on her way to the shrine at Loretto
Act 3 scene 4
The Cardinal sets out for Loretto,
Ferdinand orders Bosola to meet him with an armed force
Antonio and the Duchess are shown at the shrine
Antonio and the Duchess are banished as pilgrims watch
The pilgrims see theCardinal tear the Duchess’s wedding ring off her finger. She and Antonio are banished
Act 3 scene 5
Most of the Duchess’s servants have fled
Bosola overtakes the Duchess and Antonio and hands them a letter from Ferdinand
The Duchess and Antonio believe the letter is a trap. Bosola departs and the Duchess advises Antonio to flee to Milan with their eldest son
They depart and she is left alone with Cariola and two youngest children
Bosola and armed guard arrest the Duchess
The Duchess defends Antonio by telling a story of true greatness
Act 4 scene 1
It is night time several weeks later at the Duchess’s palace at Malfi
Bosola tells her Ferdinand has come to visit her
Ferdinand visits in darkness saying he wishes to be reconciled
In the dark he gives her a dead man’s hand to kiss, which she thinks is his hand
The Duchess discovers the hand is not his. She is shown a wax tableau of the bodies of her husband and children
The Duchess longs to die and Bosola vainly comforts her
In a rage, the Duchess curses instead of praying. Ferdinand is delighted and Bosola asks him to stop punishing her in this way
Ferdinand decides to surround her with mad people
Bosola refuses to see her again except in disguise
Act 4 scene 2
Cariola tries to comfort the Duchess
Ferdinand has sent mad men to torment her
Bosola enters in disguise and tells her she is to die
Bosola prepares her for her death, the executioners bring a coffin
The Duchess instructs Cariola about the children and says she is not afraid to die
The Duchess is strangled. Bosola orders Cariola’s execution
Ferdinand arrives to see his sister’s body
He asks Bosola why he didn’t pity his sister and for reward gives him only a pardon for the murder
Bosola refuses to go and demands his payment
Ferdinand leaves showing signs of madness. Bosola regrets murdering the Duchess who wakes momentarily before dying
Bosola cries with remorse and resolves to go to Milan to do some good
Act 5 scene 1
Antonio does not know his wife is dead. He asks Delio about his chances of being reconciled with Ferdinand and the Cardinal
Pescara gives Antonios land to Julia
Pescara says he is going to visit Ferdinand who has arrived in Milan
Antonio decides to visit the Cardinal later that night
Act 5 scene 2
The doctor tells Pescara that Ferdinand has lycanthropia
Ferdinand tries to throttle his shadow
The doctor cannot control Ferdinand
The Cardinal makes up a story to explain Ferdinand’s madness and pretends to Bosola the Duchess is still alive
The Cardinal asks Bosola to find Antonio and kill him
The Cardinal’s mistress Julia tries to seduce Bosola
He pretends to woo her and asks her to find out why the Cardinal is melancholy
Bosola hides while Julia tries to get the Cardinal to reveal why he is sad
The Cardinal tells her his secret. He makes her kiss a poisoned book while Bosola comes out of hiding. She dies
The Cardinal tells Bosola to come at midnight to move Julia’s body
Bosola plans to find Antonio and join him to revenge the Duchess’s death
Act 5 scene 3
Delio and Antonio are in a ruined cloister near the Cardinal’s palace
An echo which sounds like the Duchess advises Antonio not to go to the Cardinal that night
Antonio hears the echo for the last time and thinks he sees a face of sorrow. Delio goes to fetch Antonio’s eldest son to confront the Cardinal
Act 5 scene 4
The Cardinal tells his servants not to get out of bed if they hear Ferdinand
In a soliloquy he says he will kill Bosola
Bosola overhears
In the darkness, Bosola thinks Antonio is a hired killer so stabs him
When Bosola realises his mistake, he tells the dying Antonio of his wife’s murder
Antonio hopes his surviving son will never live in a prince’s court
Act 5 scene 5
Bosola tells the Cardinal he is going to kill him
The servants hear the Cardinal crying for help but think he is just testing them. Pescara decides to find out what’s happening
Bosola shows the Cardinal Antonio’s body then wounds him
Ferdinand arrives and stabs both of them. Bosola kills Ferdinand
The servants arrive and Bosola tells them what’s happened then dies
Delio arrives with Antonio’s son and resolves to establish him in his mother’s right
He sums up the moral of the play
