THE Cenci tutorial prep PDF

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Examining The Cenci by Percy Bysshe Shelley...

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THE CENCI, PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY; TUTORIAL PREP 1. Hamlet and Beatrice are similar in: a. The murderous father-figure/ Patriarch b. An eloquent and sympathetic Tragic hero c. Their demise lying in the consequences of their active decision to avenge evil through violent means Yet, they are dissimilar in: a. Beatrice’ resolve is much more consistent than that of Hamlet; she never wavers 2. Shelley’s atheism permeates the text through: a. Overt criticism of the impersonal autocratic power of the Pope; ‘They must die’ b. Monica Brzezinski Potkay’s essay = Shelley uses Milton’s exploration of Satan/Sin/Death to demonstrate the flaws in the notions of the Trinity/Atonement; Blasphemously, the Count represents God, who mercilessly punishes Beatrice/ Jesus. c. Shelley demands the challenging of religious/political ‘oppressors’ 3. Beatrice is to be widely sympathised with; she understood poignantly how her lack of power was tied to patriarchal socio-political power structures, of which she was particularly silenced within the family unit and from the shame associated with incest. She certainly challenges notions of victimhood as she is ultimately victorious over her oppressors as, though she died, her story has lived on, and in taking violent action against the Count was able to find a platform to denounce his name without unveiling her own secret. She is undoubtedly morally culpable, yet to denounce her as a base ‘criminal’ is surely wrong. 4. There is intense solidarity between Lucretia and Beatrice as women who have both endured wrongs under the same Patriarch. 5. Certainly, Ginger Strand and Sarah Zimmerman make a convincing case for Beatrice representing more accurately an extension/ identification of Shelley himself than any considerations of her value as a historical figure in her own right; the portrait Shelley so admired was not in fact Beatrice, nor is it conclusive that Shelley’s climax – the rape of Beatrice – ever occurred. In the climate of the Peterloo Massacre and the wake of the French Revolution, Shelley found identification with Beatrice as a figure who was able to successfully reach an audience and direct them to her plight. 6. The success of both the Pope and the Count in effecting change/ action with few words i.e. the one word which is never repeated which drives Beatrice to temporary madness and the Pope’s ‘They must die’ is greatly dependent on their respective subservient audiences; the power and wealth of both the Patriarch of society and the Patriarch of religion are interdependent; the Count requires the protection against accountability offered by the Pope whilst the Pope requires the funding of the Count. With their joint power, language becomes secondary to the efficacy of action. Indeed, paradoxically, against Beatrice’ moving monologues in which she explains the tyranny she and her family have faced, and against her plea to the crowds of aristocrats at the banquet, she is continually silenced; in her ultimate embrace of silence in refusing to admit her guilt, she is able to die the death of martyr, rather than criminal. The efficacy of action was ultimately not hindered by her initial lack of a listening audience as Beatrice had the resolve to pursue violence; her ability to command within the courtroom all but the Judge and the Pope (the Pope being absent and having authorised anyway the death of the Count and the Judge being under obligation to adhere to the ruling of the Pope) is significant in Shelley’s assumed sentiment that, although revolutionaries may not be immediately successful in their lifetime, they are capable of action. 7. The notion that The Cenci is unpoetical and undramatic must surely be refuted. Indeed, Shelley acknowledged repeatedly the decidedly theatrical nature of the play. Further, the lamentations of Beatrice, though simple enough in language for performance to the masses/ commercial mass attractiveness, are surely easily poetical. 8. Shelley utilises the Medieval setting; domestic settings of dungeons/ castles/ prisons. Beatrice’s monologue concerning the description of the landscape where the Count was planned to be murdered

is also in keeping with Gothic convention. These conventions were utilised by Shelley in order to engage his audience as Gothic drama was the vogue of the early 19th century. 9. The fact both major events of the plot (the rape of Beatrice and murder of the Count) take place offstage surely helps the drama in that Shelley is able to more easily mould his audience’s sympathies towards Beatrice. No passivity of Beatrice can be exposed from the rape which his audience may have distorted; in seeing only her highly traumatised state, the audience can only conclude that Beatrice was entirely helpful; she is shaded from reductive analysis of whether her protests were sufficient. Furthermore, no sympathy can be created for the Count if the murder is not shown; it may be possible to feel sympathy for even the worst of tyrants if they are killed in their sleep in such an unceremonious way....