The White Devil

by

John Webster

Extreme Unction, also known as the Last Rites or the Anointing of the Sick, is a Catholic sacrament given to those who are very ill or dying. In the play, Lodovico and Gasparo, in disguise as Capuchin monks, pretend to offer Brachiano Extreme Unction—only to, at the last moment, reveal their true identities as his mortal foes.

Extreme Unction Quotes in The White Devil

The The White Devil quotes below are all either spoken by Extreme Unction or refer to Extreme Unction. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
External Virtue vs. Internal Truth Theme Icon
).
Act 5, Scene 3 Quotes

Here, the rest being departed, LODOVICO and GASPARO discover themselves.

LODOVICO:
Devil Brachiano, thou art damn’d.
[…]You that were held the famous politician,
Whose art was poison.

GASPARO:
And whose conscience, murder.

LODOVICO:
That would have broke your wife’s neck down the stairs,
Ere she was poison’d.

GASPARO:
That had your villainous sallets.

LODOVICO:
And fine embroider’d bottles, and perfumes,
Equally mortal with a winter plague.

GASPARO:
Now there ’s mercury—

LODOVICO:
And copperas----

GASPARO:
And quicksilver----

LODOVICO:
With other devilish ’pothecary stuff,
A-melting in your politic brains: dost hear? […]
And thou shalt die like a poor rogue […]
And be forgotten
Before the funeral sermon.

Related Characters: Lodovico (speaker), Gasparo (speaker), Brachiano, Isabella
Related Symbols: Poison
Page Number: 133
Explanation and Analysis:
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The White Devil PDF

Extreme Unction Term Timeline in The White Devil

The timeline below shows where the term Extreme Unction appears in The White Devil. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 5, Scene 3
External Virtue vs. Internal Truth Theme Icon
Class and Corruption Theme Icon
Leading by Example vs. Leading by Force Theme Icon
Lodovico and Gasparo enter, still dressed as Capuchin monks. Flamineo instructs them to administer the extreme unction , and they exit with Brachiano. Flamineo reflects that at the moment of death, princes... (full context)