Duchess Of Malfi Flashcards
Whether we fall by ambition, blood or lust, like diamonds we are cut with our own dust
- power
- Ferdinand act 5 scene 5
- his last line
- his actions and family led to all the chaos released, their desires for power broke morality and they are at fault.
- ‘ambition’ shows their desire for power.
- ‘blood’ shows their family connection.
- ‘lust’ shows how they were going to get power.
Return fair soul from darkness and lead mine out of this sensible hell
- remorse, light/darkness, betrayal.
- Bosola act 4 scene 2
- he wishes he could replace the Duchess, he feels guilty for what he has done.
- the ‘darkness’ is symbolic of the corrupt court and Bosola wants to be ‘led’ out as he wants to be a changed person.
- Bosola is seeking forgiveness for his actions, showing that the Duchess had a great impact on him.
- he betrayed the Duchess but is now seeking retribution for his wrong.
[he rises]
- social status/ power
- Antonio’s stage directions at the end of act 1 scene 1
- he has just married the Duchess which means that his status has risen also, he has more power now.
- use of levels, he is joining the Duchess in society.
The Duke your brother is a whirlwind
- brutality
- Bosola about Ferdinand in act 3 scene 2
- a metaphor to exaggerate how angry and frustrated Ferdinand is about his sister marrying without his permission.
- a ‘whirlwind’ moves in a circular direction which is symbolic of the circle of corruption within the court.
[He sinks to the ground to try and strangle his own shadow] I will throttle it.
- mental state/ animalistic
- Ferdinand, act 5 scene 2
- it shows how insane Ferdinand is, the fact that he is trying to strangle his own shadow shows that his mentality is completely gone.
- he does this action when he believes he is a werewolf, emphasising his animalistic instincts.
Integrity of life is fames best friend, which nobly beyond death, shall crown the end.
- Delio, Act 5 scene 5
- it’s the final ending, order has been restored to the kingdom and the Great Chain of being has been repaired.
- ‘fame’ implies that it was all of the characters ambition for power that led to such chaos and the idea of ‘crowning the end’ suggests that it was a battle for power that no one came out on top of.
I am Duchess of Malfi still.
- Duchess act 4 scene 2
- at this moment in time the Duchess believes that her children and husband are dead due to Ferdinand’s torture that he inflicted upon her.
- she has lost her money, power, status and freedom, yet she continues to maintain her pride and won’t be defeated as a coward.
Lay a naked sword between us
- Duchess to Antonio, act 1 scene 1
- the Duchess has just married Antonio in secret
- the ‘naked sword’ presents an ominous tone, that foreshadows the violence that will follow their relationship, which will eventually separate them from each other forever
Fall in frost, and leave his print in the snow: as soon as the sun shines, it ever melts
- Delio, Act 5 scene 5
- the pathetic fallacy is symbolic that there is hope for the future as the Duchess’s son will carry on her legacy, starting a fresh court.
- However it could be argued that his ‘print in the snow’ will disappear easily as the sun shines on the future.
- ‘Sun’ is symbolic of hope and light, yet it can also erase their legacy and plunge them back into darkness
Apricots madam
- Bosola , act 2 scene 1
- this scene is an extended metaphor for the garden of Eden, Bosola is symbolic of the snake, with the Duchess representing Eve.
- in the 17th century, Apricots we’re supposed to bring on labour and they acted as a test, this is what Bosola is doing.
Echo, I will not talk with the, for thou art a dead a thing
Thou art a dead thing
The echo is representative of the Duchess or Bosola. If it is either of them, the repetition of what Antonio has said further foreshadows his death in the following scene, and if it is Bosola then maybe he is trying to warn him. It is ironic that a dead person is telling Alvin person that they are dead, perhaps not physically, but Antonio is broken hearted and has lost everything.
That’s the greatest torture souls feel in hell, In hell: that they must live, and cannot die.
The Duchess is talking about suffering, that she feels as if she is trapped in hell and cannot escape from the torture of her brother.
She seems rather to welcome the end of misery than shun it: a behaviour so noble
Bosola is talking about how the Duchess is accepting her fate with dignity and he thinks she is strong and noble for acting in such way.
She’s accepting death with open arms
I forgive them
The Duchess is accepting her death with open arms. She acknowledges that she must die as a result of the chaos brought when she secretly married Antonio.
No sir: I will plant my soul in mine ears to hear you
The Duchess is challenging her brother again, by not following his demand for her to be quiet
