Duchess of Malfi context

A detailed PowerPoint going through relevant contextual information about John Webster’s play The Duchess of Malfi to aid A-Level teaching of the text. Aspects include: brief information about John Webster, and the historical and literary sources which shaped the play; brief information about the Renaissance, and Renaissance drama, specifically tragedy, revenge tragedy and the figure of the malcontent; a broad overview of religious tensions between Catholicism and Protestantism, the impact of the Gun Powder Plot and Mary I’s rule; brief information about the legacy of Queen Elizabeth I as a female monarch; brief information about the hypocrisy and corruption of King James VI & I; discussion of why the play was set in Italy.
Wherever possible, the information is interspersed with discussion questions to get the students thinking about how it all relates to the play.