Malfi Context
Century Malfi first performed in
17th Century or 1600s
City and US state is Streetcar set in
New Orleans and Louisiana
He was a galley slave
Bosola
He wrote the epigraph of the play.
Hart Crane
The Duchess of Malfi an example of this type of theatre
Revenge Tragedy or Jacobean Drama or The Theatre of Blood
Monarch on the throne in England in 1614
James I
Meaning of ante-bellum South
Pre-American Civil War
Number of children Antonio and Duchess have
three
‘…he’s what we need to mix with our blood…’?
Blanche said about Stanley
Absolute belief did James I held regarding his position as king
Divine Right of Kings - link to the Body Politic
Name of the man at the centre of the scandal in the royal court of James I
Robert Carr
The Southern Gothic
Genre of fiction produced by group of writers from the American South in the first half of the 20th Century which uses the tropes of the gothic and applies them to the American South.
Castrucchio's position in the play.
Ferdinand's courtier and Julia's husband
Colour is Stanley associated with and it symbolism
Green - alpha male and immorality
The faith that was persecuted and derided in England in the 17th Century.
Catholicism
He wrote ‘The Prince’ in the 1500s.
Machiavelli
Williams' unique use of staging
Plastic theatre
They say ‘The witchcraft lies in her rank blood.’
Ferdinand about his sister
Polka tune Blanche hears
Varsouviana
Lycanthropy was a belief in...
Belief that a person could be possessed and believe themselves to be a werewolf.
Famous women who influenced the creation of the character of The Duchess.
Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots, 15th Century Duchess of Amalfi (Giovanna D ’Aragona), Duchess of Suffolk, who fled England during the reign of Mary I (1553-1558)
American belief in an individual's right to be successful and free regardless of background and starting point.
The American Dream
Symbol Ferdinand uses to establish his power and dominance
Poinard
Reasons the Du Bois family lost their inheritance
Civil War and abolition of slavery
The Great Depression
Corruption in the family
Four humours and their linked characters in the play
Blood - sanguine - Duchess & Antonio
Phglem - calm & calculated - Cardinal
Black Bile - melancholy - Bosola
Yellow Bile/choler - unstable & irrational - Ferdinand