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Scene 1 lines 81 – 143
The exposition scene continues as Delio asks for a “run-down” of the principal characters:
“you promised me/to make me the partaker of the natures/ of some of your great courtiers.”
Why does Webster set up the scene like this? Is Antonio’s tone in replying ironic or not?
Ferdinand, “the great Calabrian Duke”, the Duchess’s younger brother discusses Antonio in his hearing which
suggests that the stage is arranged in various groupings.
Not only would this mimic a real court (rooms within rooms within rooms – getting smaller as they get closer
to the presence of the ruler) but it enables the playwright to allow characters to overhear others.
How would Antonio react to this mention of himself?
The adjective “great” is used twice in a few lines just as we will be reminded of “ring[s]” much later on in the play.
Just as in The Tempest words and phrases echo and re-echo throughout the text – can you remember why
dramatists do this?
Ferdinand, like Bosola, seems to want “action” rather than “sport” – Castruchio suggests this means war rather than
anything else and that a ruler should not fight in person.
Medieval monarchs did fight on the battlefields (Richard III died on Bosworth Field) but by the late 16th century
Renaissance monarchs used nobles as generals and mercenaries to fight their wars (like Bosola). What is Webster
suggesting here, making fighting a matter of class – using the verb “descend” as a metaphor and the sentence
antithetical in its phrasing?
Castruchio is presented as experienced and not afraid to speak his mind.
As the husband of Julia he is being cuckolded by the Cardinal – might this make Webster portray him as
unafraid of the brothers because he is turning a blind eye?
Ferdinand then makes a jest about “thy wife” which becomes bawdy and full of sexual innuendo.
Virility and power are the underlying motifs here.
Tension is beginning to build now – what is Webster suggesting about Ferdinand and rulers in general?
Horses are a part of this as stallions were symbols of power and sexual power as well (these references echo the
Dauphin in Shakespeare’s Henry V the night before the battle of Agincourt… cue laughter in the rehearsals)
As Antonio has done well at sport will he
be looked favourably upon by Ferdinand
or will he become a rival?
Ferdinand finishes this conversation by directly addressing Antonio – suggesting that he has
been aware
of him all along – this could make the audience uneasy. Why?
Why does Antonio allude to the Trojan horse? What might this symbolise to the audience, then
and now?
Is Antonio flattering Ferdinand?
Much of this scene is in prose – signifying witty conversation between persons of unequal rank.
Make sure you take note of the allusions to familiar legends and use of symbols such as the
ring.
The Jacobean audience in the Blackfriars Playhouse were educated, erudite, familiar with the
Court
and Webster flatters them by mirroring a court back to them and by using language that only
they would
understand.
Homework
1. Read article on Showbie about the character of the
malcontent
2. Do some research into key figures of James I’s court.