Lesson Plan Two
The learning objective here is to focus on the Cardinal by firstly looking at what is said about him by characters we know we can trust: Antonio and Delio and then look at the Cardinal in action to see how what they say is embodied.
Starter Activity
In Act One we are given initial character sketches of the brothers: this is the exchange between them on the Cardinal:-
DELIO. Now, sir, your promise: what 's that cardinal?
I mean his temper? They say he 's a brave fellow,
Will play his five thousand crowns at tennis, dance,
Court ladies, and one that hath fought single combats.
ANTONIO. Some such flashes superficially hang on him for form; but observe his inward character: he is a melancholy churchman. The spring in his face is nothing but the engend'ring of toads; where he is jealous of any man, he lays worse plots for them than ever was impos'd on Hercules, for he strews in his way flatterers, panders, intelligencers, atheists, and a thousand such political monsters. He should have been Pope; but instead of coming to it by the primitive decency of the church, he did bestow bribes so largely and so impudently as if he would have carried it away without heaven's knowledge.
Work in pairs to establish (at least) five points made here about the cardinal. Remember to distinguish between points about his character and examples of his behaviour.
You may well have selected some of the following:-
- 'Brave' here means daring, showy and attention seeking. The cardinal loves the limelight.
- He indulges in all the secular activities we would associate with a wealthy courtier, including spending heavy sums on gambling. All this worldliness is to show us the extent of his ungodliness. …
