The Duchess of Malfi Context Flashcards
What was Jacobean England like at the time Webster was writing?
What was James VI like and how is he similar to Richard II?
didn’t like parliament having a restriciton on his power, falmboyantly bi-sexual (didn’t impress protestants) robert carr and george villiers- secret passgae from each bedroom
richard 2 did not listen to the advice of others
used religion to have more power ‘divine right of kings’ and got rid of marriage through per verba de presenti marragiers (legal since 12th century)
Within Revenge Tragedies, what is a Malcontent? What is a Machivellian?
unhappy with social structure, an outside- played in 2024 wanamaker as bosola emerges from the pit
What was the tension in religion between Catholicism and Protestantism?
burning issue. catholicism characterised by corruptive intensity which Protestantism and its ideas on marriage eschewed
Who is the Duchess based on?
Giovanna D’aragona widowed at age of 19 in 1498
One of Webster’s source texts, how does William Painter present the Duchess in ‘The Palace of Pleasure’?
1567
“ticklish instigations of her wanton flesh”
“in the Nyght, when the secrete silence and darkenesse of the same presented before the eyes of hir mind, the image of the pleasure which she felt”
How is Webster described by T.S. Elliot?
saw the “skull beneath the skin”
What is the importance of the indoor setting at Black Friar’s Theatre in 1614?
Who was Arbella Stuart and how is she relevant to the figure of the Duchess under masculine oppression?
her marriage led her to be imprisioned in a tower
James denied permission to marry William Syemour because together they had a stronger claim to the throne.
Married in the middle of the night in Arbella’s apartments - both imprisioned -fled in 1611
dies of suicide by starvation in 1615
d performed in 1613- 1614
bishop of durham say she “had etne of the forbidne trie,” righteously comparing himseld to God and her sin of disobedience to Eve’s original sin
per verba di presenti legal since 12th century (1604 james changes this)
What were the ideas of widowhood and remarriage, in terms of both youth and religion?
What is the Rota Fortuna?
Why are apricots important in Malfi?
What is the debate on the body politic vs the body natural that leads us to see a tragic flaw in the duchess as both a ruler and a woman?
What is the Great Chain of Being and why is it relevant?
How is Catholicism corrupted in the Duchess of Malfi?
What is French court idealism and how does it contrast the court in Amalfi, Itlay?
At the time Webster was writing, whose reign was Jacobean society nostalgic for? How does this impact gender in the play?
nostalgic for the animating spirit of Elizabeth. Powerful emotions governed James in contrast to Elizabeth (bi sexual vs chaste)
What is ‘La Danse Macabre’ and how does it link to other contexts such as the great chain of being, body politic, and Rota fortuna?
summon the dead from all walks of life to dance to the grave- a symbol of the fragility of human life
“the mirror of death that here is following; thus death takes us all; that is cerain” Mirror of society
What is the dogfish and salmon metaphor and how does it link back to the Merchant’s Tale with Januarie’s houndfish-like skin?
“Our value can never be truly known till in the fisher’s basket we be shown.”
Where do we see courtly love in the play? How is it subverted/ presented?
What is the ‘art of dying’ and does the Duchess achieve it? Does Cariola?
Ars Moriendi (written in the 15th century)
advised christians on how to die well and avoid the 5 temptations in dying
What is the Revenge Tragedy genre and who is a tragic hero?
- hamartia
- peripeteia
- anagnorisis
- hubris
- character’s fate is greater than deserved
revenge tragedy re-emergence of classical literature
potency of ancient texts: progressive, highlighted reason, logic, and revolutionary learning. Villains would lack these characteristics and be driven by powerful emotions
