TDOM - Italian Context/Setting Flashcards
David Gunby, Introduction to John Webster: Three Plays, 1972
‘embodied the typical Englishman’s attitude to these distant lands: a mixture of fear and fascination.
Simone Trussler, from The Malcontent with commentary and notes, 1987
‘unjustly, synonymous with devious (and probably devilish) conspiracy.’
Corruption Italian court
‘take fire when I give fire’ - Ferdinand linked to fire throughout - short temper/hell - sin
Italian setting
George Gascoigne play ‘Supposes’ set in Ferrara - Elizabeth’s Italy was symbol of everything that was foreign/exotic - Southern heat = charged atmosphere - engendered luxury/lust
Why were the perceptions of Italians so bad?
Series poisonings/intrigues Borgia family - made secret poisonings/murder seems bizarre to English Gentlemen minority who would deal with matters in an open fashion by a challenge to a duel /other direct confrontations
How were Italians’ Roman Catholicism - perceived as atheists by English
perceived as atheists
TDOM Form
Senecan Tragedy - love of bloody, spectacular violence and a focus on revenge
For a Jacobean audience what is their perception of Catholicism’s belief concerning women?
They had prejudices about Catholicism - it was a religion which involved honouring Christ’s mother, statues of the Virgin Mary, images portraying the naked body, vibrant colours and sensuous smells
How was their worship of the Virgin Mary perceived by Puritans?
These elements of worship are signs of decadence and immodesty
Where are Jacobean tragedies usually set?
Catholic - Spain/Italy -ongoing tensions still volatile between Catholics and Protestants - The play might give a sense of propaganda - Bye Plot (1603)/Gunpowder Plot (1605)
Orazio Busino
letter 1618 (time thirty years war) - Venetian envoy - Cardinal - ‘produced him… with a harlot on his knee’
What is the significance of the Market Place Scene in TDOM and fish imagery in TMT?
1) Pike (TMT) - phallic imagery/ predatory fish - preys on Mae - eaten during feats/dinners by upper classes -
2) Salmon (Bosola) was a reputable fish - decline imports due to religious tensions in Europe during 1600s - easy to differentiate between different types of waters (both salt and fresh water) - salmon’s preference of fresh water is similar to Bosola’s preference of common life but ability to infiltrate the upper class.
Alternatively switching sides from serving Ferdinand to avenging Duchess’s death.
TDOM on Corruption
After death play’s major political figures - vacuum to be filled - play’s final lines spoken mere courier
political corruption and duplicitous behavior has the potential to lead to dire personal and religious consequences, and possibly to the collapse of government itself.
