The Duchess of Malfi (OCR A Level English Literature): Flashcards
Exam code: H472
1/100Still learning
Know0
Fill in the gap: "The ＿＿＿＿＿ lies in her rank blood"
Ferdinand, Act 3 Scene 1
Was this flashcard helpful?
Cards in this collection (10)
Fill in the gap: "The ＿＿＿＿＿ lies in her rank blood"
Ferdinand, Act 3 Scene 1
Answer: "The witchcraft lies in her rank blood"
Fill in the gap: "The ＿＿＿＿＿ of us that are born great!"
The Duchess, Act 1 Scene 3
Answer: "The misery of us that are born great!"
Fill in the gap: "Whether we fall by ambition, blood or lust, / Like ＿＿＿＿＿ we are cut with our own dust"
Ferdinand, Act 5 Scene 5
Answer: "Whether we fall by ambition, blood or lust, / Like diamonds we are cut with our own dust"
Fill in the gap: "Sometimes the Devil doth ＿＿＿＿＿"
Bosola, Act 1 Scene 2
Answer: "Sometimes the Devil doth preach"
Key quote: "Some cursed example poison't near the head, / Death and diseases through the whole land spread"
Antonio, Act 1 Scene 1
Analysis
Antonio compares a bad ruler to poison entering a body at the head. The disease imagery shows how corruption at the top spreads through the whole country.
Key quote: "A man merely for worth, without these shadows / Of wealth and painted honours? Possible?"
Bosola, Act 3 Scene 2
Analysis
Bosola doubts that anyone is ever valued for worth alone. His question suggests that money and class decide a person's standing at court.
Key quote: "Yes, you see what power / Lightens in great men's breath"
Antonio, Act 3 Scene 5
Analysis
A great man only has to speak in order to destroy someone below him. The image of lightning makes power sound sudden and impossible to resist.
Key quote: "Diamonds are of most value, / They say, that have passed through most jewellers' hands"
The Duchess, Act 1 Scene 3
Analysis
The Duchess uses a metaphor of diamonds to defend her right to marry a second time. She answers the double standard about widows in the language of value her brothers understand.
Key quote: "When thou wast with thy husband, thou wast watched / Like a tame elephant"
The Cardinal, Act 2 Scene 5
Analysis
The simile makes the Duchess a spectacle that has to be guarded and displayed. Her brothers treat her identity as something they own.
Key quote: "I account this world a tedious theatre, / For I do play a part in't 'gainst my will"
The Duchess, Act 4 Scene 1
Analysis
The Duchess describes her life as a role she was cast in and cannot refuse. The theatre metaphor presents her suffering as fate rather than something she chose.
Sign up to unlock flashcards
or