and contemporary Jacobean references. It is not accidental that this anti-Catholic play was written and produced in the aftermath of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605; Protestant propagandists found the story of the Borgia family a useful resource. The story was dramatized again by Nathaniel Lee in his Caesar Borgia (1679). The devil The Devil in the play's title is literal rather than metaphorical; Alexander conjures up Astaroth to aid him in his climb to power. (Barnes's play reflects the influences of earlier devil plays, notably Marlowe's Doctor Faustus.) The diabolism of the plot provides opportunities for sensationalism, with multiple ghosts, and stage spectacle, as in the conjuring scene IV,i. (The stage directions there give the King's Men some latitude in special effects: Alexander conjures up an infernal king with a red face, who is "riding upon a lion, or dragon.") At the start of V,v, Astaroth calls up two fellow devils, Belchar and Varca; they converse and dance. In the next and concluding scene, Astaroth, wearing the papal robes, surprises Alexander; the pope learns that the devil has planted tricky arithmetic in their written contract, and that his reign is over years sooner than he expected. Amid thunder and lightning, a horde of devils drag Alexander to Hell. References External links Quarto of 1607: scan at Internet Archive; scan at the Library of Congress English Renaissance plays 1607 plays Plays based on real people Plays set in the 15th century Plays set in the 16th century Plays set in Italy Fiction about the Devil Cultural depictions of Cesare Borgia Cultural depictions of Lucrezia Borgia Cultural depictions of Pope Alexander VI