Elizabethan revenge tragedy, or “tragedies of blood” such as The White Devil, The Tragedy of Hoffman and The Revenger’s Tragedy, are notorious for the obscure and inventive ways their characters kill each other. Red-hot crowns, poisoned helmets, poisoned paintings, poisoned Bibles, poisoned swords, poisoned wine- the world around a character in one of these plays seems to be innately toxic.
Looking closer at some of the poisonings suggests a link in the playwrights’ world-view in revenge drama between toxicity and Catholicism. The poisoned skull of Vindice’s mistress in The Revengers Tragedy by Marston/Torneur (1607), the poisoned Bible in The Duchess of Malfi by Webster (1614), the poisoned picture of Bracciano in The White Devil by Webster (1612) are particularly good examples.
England was a staunchly Protestant country by the time these plays were written, and had been since Elizabeth had ascended the throne in 1585. Anti-Catholic sentiment was rife, and revenge tragedy was deliberately set in the courts of France and Spain, both Catholic countries, with their aura of intrigue, sorcery and exotica. The chaplain to the Venetian Ambassador (himself a Catholic) complained in a letter that Cardinal in The Duchess of Malfi was portrayed as scheming, venal and murderous. Catholics in England were regarded rather like American Communists during the 1950s, as secretive, insidious, and likely to “infect” others with their ideology.
With this in mind, those particular poisonings take on a new dimension. The venomous skull which Vindice carries about with him seems to have affinities with the relics of saints which were part of Catholic devotion, but were condemned by Protestants as idolatrous. The poisonous painting of Bracciano, which Isabella keeps behind a curtain and kisses, could be seen as an icon, another trapping of worship forbidden to Protestants after the Reformation. Especially since the death occurs during a “dumb-show” or silent passage of actions, during which the poisoners “burn perfumes” in front of the picture, and Isabella herself “kneels down as to prayers, then draws the curtain of the picture, does three reverences to it and kisses it thrice.” The audiences of Renaissance drama would have recognised these movements as a parody of Catholic worship, all the more corrupt as they are carried out before the picture of a lover rather than a saint.
The Cardinal’s poisonous Bible in The Duchess of Malfi carries a far more obvious religious significance. He asks her to swear not to reveal his murder of the Duchess by kissing a Bible, which she agree to do “Most religiously” – as irony, since the audience has already seen her decide to abandon the Cardinal for the mercenary and assassin Bosola. After she has done so, he gloats that “thou art poisoned by that book”, which recalls the Protestant emphasis on the value of the Scriptures over Catholic sacrament and ritual. The Cardinal is a classic “stage Catholic”, willing to barter his soul for the sake of earthly wealth.
Of course these plays do not give an accurate portrayal of Catholic practice, but they do vividly demonstrate how attitudes to religious differences made their way into the structure of revenge drama. For the revenge dramatists, Catholicism offered an exciting and titillating world of intrigue and danger, as well as a dramatic range of ritual.
