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Need help on themes in John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi? Check out our thorough thematic analysis. From the creators of SparkNotes.
- Love and Male Authority
The Duchess of Malfi explores love and male authority in a...
- Politics and Corruption
The Duchess of Malfi takes place in Roman Catholic Italy,...
- Class
The Duchess ’s marriage to Antonio is not just remarkable...
- Love and Male Authority
The Duchess of Malfi study guide contains a biography of John Webster, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Best summary PDF, themes, and quotes.
- Corruption
- Deception
- Cruelty
- Heroism
- Metatheater
Corruption is one of John Webster's most pervasive themes in The Duchess of Malfi, operating on at least three levels: political, moral, and physical (bodily). Antonio Bolognaintroduces the theme in the opening lines of Act 1, Scene 1. In commenting to Delio about the French court, he remarks that politics function like a fountain that can be easil...
The tendrils of deceit extend to almost all the major characters in the play. The Cardinal, Ferdinand, and Daniel de Bosola dissemble, or present a false notion of themselves, continuously. Indeed deception seems part of their nature. In contrast to innate dishonesty, however, virtuous characters such as the Duchess of Malfi, Antonio Bologna, and D...
The theme of cruelty, like the theme of deception, intersects and overlaps with the theme of corruption in the play. The principal exemplar of cruelty is Ferdinand, the Duchess of Malfi's twin brother. Four scenes with Ferdinand stand out in the dramatization of this character trait. In Act 2, Scene 5, Ferdinand's volcanic rage at his sister leaves...
The two characters with a substantial claim to heroism in the play are the Duchess of Malfi and Antonio Bologna. The Duchess risks her position and her life in remarrying, against the express wishes of both her brothers. Furthermore, she woos and wins a man of lower social status, flying against custom and court precedent. She is keenly aware of th...
As in a number of plays of the period—for example, Shakespeare's Hamlet and Ben Jonson's Volpone—The Duchess of Malfi contains prominent references to the theater and to acting. These metatheatrical elements remind audiences they are watching a play that has been written,staged, and acted to provoke their curiosity, admiration, and thought. The fir...
Struggling with the themes of John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi? We've got the quick and easy lowdown on them here.
John Webster. The Duchess of Malfi Themes. The main themes in The Duchess of Malfi are fate and belief, and appearances and reality. Fate and belief: Fate, not God, appears to control the...
Main themes. Corruption. Abuse of power. Status of women and responsibility for the tragedy. Cruelty. Class. Objectification. Theatrical devices. Historical staging. The 1623 quarto. Reception and performance history. Media adaptations. In popular culture. Notes. References. External links.
The Duchess of Malfi: Themes. Explanations, analysis, and visualizations of The Duchess of Malfi 's themes. The Duchess of Malfi: Quotes. The Duchess of Malfi 's important quotes, sortable by theme, character, or scene. The Duchess of Malfi: Characters. Description, analysis, and timelines for The Duchess of Malfi 's characters.
