Theme of Corruption

"A prince's court is like a common fountain, whence should flow Pure silver drops...Some cursed example poison't near the head, Death and disease through the whole land spread""
1. Act 1, Scene 1
2. Significant because it gives the audience a blueprint of what government can and should be, and one which is sharply contrasted against the corrupt Italian courts.
3. Antonio describing the French court system and how easily corruption can spread from the top.
4. Additionally, it introduces the all-important prince-to-courtier dynamic and imputes the health or disease of the social system to the integrity of the prince, the fountainhead of the system.
5. Poison the fountains source. This political metaphor of the polluted fountain suggests that a ruler's behaviour, good or bad, inevitably influenced the health of the country.
6. Imagery of disease and death reflects Jacobean concerns about the plague, reflects the potential for corruption spreading down the court due to corruption of the figures of authority.
7. The Great Chain of Being- according to the Medieval Catholic Church, everything in the universe had a divinely planed, unchangeable 'place', often pictured as a chain stretching from the lowliest being to God himself. This links to Antonio's description of the French court system as if someone high up on chain, for example someone of royal status, becomes corrupt, the said corruption will fall down the chain and corrupt everyone else in its path.
"He and his brother are like plum trees that grow crooked over standing pools: they are rich and o'erladen with fruit, but none but crows, pies and caterpillars feed on them"
1. Act 1, Scene 1
2. Describing natural objects acting in a very unnatural way. Instead of nourishing the ground and water underneath them with their bounty, the brothers hoard their wealth and thereby bring a total halt to the natural process of generation.
3. Bosola's reflection on the Cardinal and Ferdinand as corrupt authority figures corrupting the rest of the court.
4. Ideas of vitality becomes ideas of corruption, standing water is corruptible, allows diseases to fester.
5. Meaning only those who can fly up or sneak up to the top can manage to get the brothers riches.
6. Crows, magpies and caterpillars seem insignificant but are actually an essential part of life. The brothers see the people that follow them, hoping to earn their favour as important as it allows them to have their dirty work done for them, leaving no proof that they were responsible.
7. Links to the allusion to Tantalus and psychological torment: “What creature ever fed worse than hoping Tantalus?”
  1. Reference to notorious figure in Greek Mythology. Tantalus condemned to an eternity of forever being hungry and trying to reach an apple always out of reach (for serving his son up at dinner).
  2. Further relevance to Bosola- hoping to get payment from the Cardinal, always promised it but never quite receives it.
  3. The reference to Greek mythology also foreshadows the eternal damnation and effects that corruption will have on the characters.
"thou 'rt poisoned with that book... bound thee to't by death"
1. Ironic because a Cardinal is a priest of great importance in the church. Cardinals are selected by the pope. He uses the bible to kill Julia and ignores the bible reading "thou shall not kill".
  1. Can be thought that he does not truly care for the religious teaching.
    1. Possibly became cardinal simply for more power.
2. He profanes holy scripture by using the bible as an instrument of murder.
  1. Profanes his position.
    1. Not respectful of religious practice.
3. "bound thee to't by death"
  1. She's found to keep his secret in death; idea that deception can only be maintenance in death.
4. Act 5, Scene 2
5. Can link this to the Cardinal in general due to his religious position.
  1. Lots of scandals in Catholic church- many nuns and priests engaged in sexual affairs much like the cardinal does with Julia.
  2. Manipulates way into position and attempts to do the same in heaven. Much like some priests tried to do.
6. The Catholic church at the time had too much power- reflects the amount of power the Cardinal has.
7. Many priests were illiterate and uneducated regarding scriptures. Only got the position based on family connections, political pull and bribery.
8. Priests commonly go against the codes they preach about, much like the Cardinal does- "thou shalt not kill" (assuming that he preaches at all)

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Theme of Corruption

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	Created by Amy Johnson almost 3 years ago