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Jacobean Theatre

Jacobean Theatre. Revenge Tragedies. Key features Can be compared to the “Hollywood action movies” of today Adhered to a crowd-pleasing formula High-octane, fast-moving and violent Had “ the Malcontent ” as oppose to “the Hero” Usually set in Italy or Spain

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Jacobean Theatre

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  1. Jacobean Theatre

  2. Revenge Tragedies Key features • Can be compared to the “Hollywood action movies” of today • Adhered to a crowd-pleasing formula • High-octane, fast-moving and violent • Had “the Malcontent” as oppose to “the Hero” • Usually set in Italy or Spain • The final scene will often see at the deaths of at least five of the main characters • Best Jacobean Revenge Tragedies considered to be “The Duchess ofMalfi”, “The White Devil” (John Webster), “The Spanish Tragedy” (Thomas Kyd), “The Revenger’s Tragedy, The Changeling (Thomas Middleton), “The Malcontent” (John Marston), and “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare.

  3. The Duchess of Malfi • A Jacobean Revenge Tragedy but a subdivision of a larger group: the Tragedy of Blood Themes • Ambition • Corruption • Treachery • “compassion is a scarce commodity” • “The Duchess of Malfi is the world of the sword, of plotting”

  4. The Duchess of Malfi Setting • Set in Italy • Setting used to “exoticise” the plays • Allowed stories of corruption to take place at the very highest levels of society • Playwrights free to have corrupt leaders, eg. “murderous Cardinals”, “adulterous Dukes” and “completely corrupt Popes”

  5. The Duchess of Malfi Interpretations of the play • Gives us insight into the politics of 17th century English marriage, social mobility and the law. • Play “paints a vivid portrait of Jacobean society’s relationship with women” • “ a cautionary tale that shows what can happen when women marry without being granted the ‘proper’ consent” • “a feminist story of a strong woman ahead of her time” • “a study of an emancipated widow that reflects the great social and political transitions found in Jacobean England” • Play has similarities with the lives of the Duchess, Arbella Stuart and Catherine of Valois- the notion that “society and literature often mirror one another” is evident here.

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