As A Jacoben Play

Research Journal of English Language and Literature (RJELAL)
A Peer Reviewed (Refereed) International Journal Vol.8.Issue 2. 2020

Impact Factor 6.8992 (ICI) http://www.rjelal.com; (April-June)
Email:[email protected] ISSN:2395-2636 (P); 2321-3108(O)
RESEARCH ARTICLE
THE DUCHESS OF MALFI AS A JACOBEAN PLAY
Dr. VIVEKANAND RAO

Assistant Professor, National PG College Barahalganj, Gorakhapur, UP, India
Abstract
Drama is the form of literature that presents dialogue and performance written for
theater, television, radio, and film. The article is about Jacobean revenge tragedy, or
revenge play of Webster’s Duchess of Malfi, that is a dramatic genre in which the
protagonist seeks revenge for an imagined or actual injury. It flourishes during
Jacobean period in the history of England. As it is supposed that the source of this
revenge play is dealing with horror, and melodramatic atmosphere. The
Dr. VIVEKANAND RAO
Article Received:14/04/2020 sentimentalism, horror and terror are treated in a very different way.
Article Accepted: 04/05/2020 All the major features of the revenge play of the Jacobean Age are there in the
Published online: 11/05/2020 Duchess of Malfi and the dramatist has proved himself as the master dramatist of the
DOI: 10.33329/rjelal.8.2.111
play of horror and revenge. It is one of the best revenge plays by Webster. The play
has a central theme of revenge, horror and sensationalism. It has the melodramatic
style and all these have made the play a supreme example of the revenge play like
Gorboduc and Hamlet. The whole atmosphere of the drama is full of awe and
tortures.
Key Words: Drama, Revenge Play, Jacobean, Horror and terror.
INTRODUCTION elements" to be tragic. Not every death is

considered a tragedy. The problem play is a form of
Drama is a mode of fictional representation
drama that emerged during the 19th century as part
through dialogue and performance. ... Drama is also
of the wider movement of realism in the arts. It deals
a type of a play written for theater, television, radio,
with contentious social issues through debates
and film. In simple words, a drama is a composition
between the characters on stage, who typically
in verse or prose presenting a story in pantomime or
represent conflicting points of view within a realistic
dialogue. There are several types of dramas as
social context.
comedy, Tragedy, Problem play, Revenge play etc.
Comedy is a literary genre and a type of dramatic The revenge tragedy, or revenge play, is a
work that is amusing and satirical in its tone, mostly dramatic genre in which the protagonist seeks
having a cheerful ending. The motif of this dramatic revenge for an imagined or actual injury. The term,
work is triumph over unpleasant circumstance by revenge tragedy, was first introduced in 1900 by A.
creating comic effects, resulting in a happy or H. Thorndike to label a class of plays written in the
successful conclusion. A tragedy is an event of great late Elizabethan and early Jacobean eras (circa 1580s
loss, usually of human life. Such an event is said to to 1620s). The revenge tragedies of William
be tragic. Traditionally, the event would require Shakespeare and his contemporaries stemmed from
"some element of moral failure, some flaw in Roman tragedy, in particular, Seneca's Thyestes. The
character, or some extraordinary combination of Duchess of Malfi (originally published as The Tragedy
111 Dr. VIVEKANAND RAO

of the Duchess of Malfi) is a Jacobean revenge become alarmingly prominent in the life of
tragedy written by English dramatist John Webster the upper classes of society.”
in 1612–1613. ... Published in 1623, the play is
As it is supposed that the source of this
loosely based on events that occurred between 1508
revenge play is dealing with horror, and
and 1513 surrounding Giovanna d'Aragona, Duchess
melodramatic atmosphere of William Painter’s
of Malfi. Revenge tragedy is a theoretical genre in
Palace of Pleasure. It is a product of Jacobean era;
which the principal theme is revenge and revenge's
therefore, the moral vision of the playwright is
fatal consequences. Formally established by
obvious. The sentimentalism, horror and terror are
American educator Ashley H. Thorndike in his 1902
treated in a very different way. In the play,
article "The Relations of Hamlet to Contemporary
Ferdinand is The Duke of Calabria, Cardinal is his
Revenge Plays," a revenge tragedy documents the
brother. They have a widow sister, The Duchess of
progress of ... John Webster: The Duchess of Malfi
Malfi. She is young, spirited and high-minded lady. In
and Other Plays. John Webster was an English
the words of Antonio:
Jacobean dramatist best known for his tragedies The
White Devil and The Duchess of Malfi, which are “She throws upon a man so sweet a look, That
often regarded as masterpieces of the early 17th it were able to raise one to a galliard…For her
century English stage. discourse, it is so full of rapture, You only will
begin, then to be sorry…”
Duchesss of Malfi : 17th century Jacobean Play :
She has a steward (servant) and he is
John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi (1613)
Antonio, whom she loves passionately. But her two
is a Jacobean play and almost all the features of the
brothers, Ferdinand and Cardinal, warn her not to
age are reflected in the revenge-play. The period
remarry. For her remarriage will be a disgrace to the
from 1603 to 1625 that was followed by Elizabethan
royal blood. Later Ferdinand also confesses that he
Era (1558-1603) was the period of James I. In Latin
warned her not to marry again so that he might
“James” means “Jacobus” and thus this period is
inherit her property.
famous as Jacobean period in the history of England.
Shakespeare, Beaumont, Fletcher, Jonson, Webster, “What was the meanness of her match to
Ford and Tourneur etc. were remarkable dramatists me? Only I must confess, I had a hope Had
of the age. The age was an age of immorality and she continued widow to have gained An
corruption. It is reflected in the literature. In the field infinite mass of treasure by her death.”
of drama, horror, revenge, pathos and
sentimentality, lack of creative spirit, lack of Thereupon the Duchess marries Antonio secretly.
technical skill, immorality and vulgarity and loss of Suspecting that the Duchess may remarry,
national-appeal are reflected very well. The two Ferdinand and Cardinal place in her employment a
remarkable tragedies, The White Devil (1612) and spy called Bosola. He describes both the brother as:
The Duchess of Malfi (1613) were no exceptional by
Webster. “He and his brother are like plum-trees that
grow crooked over standing pools; they are
The tone and caliber of Jacobean drama had rich, and o’erladen with fruit, but none but
necessarily to depend upon the tastes and crows, pies, and caterpillars feed on them.
aspirations of the society. G. C. Macaulay has Could I be one of their flattering panders, I
summed up the degenerate condition of Jacobean would hang on their ears like a horse-leech till
society in these words: I were full, and then drop off.” Bosola
“The Court of James I had lost the chivalrous (1.1.47-51)
aspirations of the earlier time and the moral- He is an ex-galley-slave and villain to the last
corruption which had been hold in check, at degree. Years pass and Basola informs her brothers
least to some extent, by noble ideas, had that she has married Antonio and has children from

him. The two brothers arrive to capture Antonio and classes of society, horror, revenge and immorality;
the Duchess red-handed. So the Duchess and ─── around all the features are there in the
Antonio fly and separate from each other. Antonio melodrama of revenge by the dramatist of moral-
escapes but the Duchess is captured. Ferdinand and vision, Webster. The mentioned lines clear that the
Bosola then subject her to painful mental-tortures. play is a pure Jacobean play.
“You are very cold. Duchesss of Malfi : As a Revenge Play :
I fear you are not well after your travel : The Duchess of Malfi (1613) is well-known
revenge play in the history of Jacobean English
Ha ! Lights ; Oh horrible !”
Drama (1603-1625) of England by an outstanding
Finally the brothers send killer who strange horror playwright, John Webster. The revenge play
her. Ferdinand goes to see her dead body. He is is a type of tragedy which is centered on the subject
greatly shocked to see her lying dead. His shock matter of revenge and has horror, terror,
takes the form of great remorse and he goes mad. sensationalism and melody of great charm. The
Thus Retribution starts falling upon the murderers. dramatist was very much impressed by the writings
Cardinal now wants to get rid of Basola because later of Seneca, Kyd, Sackville and Norton. The impact of
knows all about his evil against the murdered Gorboduc (1561) seems paramount in the Duchess
Duchess. When Bosola comes to know that Cardinal of Malfi of the dramatist. The dramatist has followed
wants to kill him, he is filled with great anger and the tradition of the Jacobean writers in writing his
remorse. At night he kills Antonio mistaking him for play and this is the reason why the themes of The
Cardinal. Then he goes to Cardinal and fatally Duchess of Malfi and the White Devil (1612) are
wounds him. When Cardinal cries for help, based on revenge and horror.
Ferdinand arrives and fatally wounds Bosola, who
The Chief Elements of Revenge Play in The Duchess
turn to kill Ferdinand. The play comes to an end
of Malfi
here.
a) A shocking murder has been committed and
“Integrity of life is fame’s best friend, which,
it cries out for revenge.
nobly, beyond death, shall, crown the end.”
b) Some persons take up revenge as a sacred
Bosola’s internal struggle is shown in the duty.
play. On some level, he wants to be good, and rues c) There is a Machiavellian villain who acting on
being made into “a villain"; yet, he feels bound to his own behalf, or for other,causes wide-
Ferdinand because of the “bounty” that Ferdinand spread bloodshed.
has given him, and he wants “to avoid ingratitude.” d) New types of tortures and horror are
As he says: produced.
“I would have you curse yourself now, that e) The objects of revenge are often better than
your bounty, Which makes men truly noble, the so called avengers.
e’er should make Me a villain. O, that to avoid f) Some characters grow mad or feign madness;
ingratitude For the good deed you have done and The imagery and language employed
me, I must do All the ill man can invent. Thus often suit the violence of the action.
the devil Candies all sins o’er; and what Almost all the major features of the revenge play of
heaven terms vile, That names he the Jacobean Age are there in the Duchess of Malfi
complimental.” Bosola (1.1.262-8) and the dramatist has proved himself as the master
To sum up the discussion of the article The dramatist of the play of horror and revenge and is in
Duchess of Malfi as a Jacobean play, we may say that the lines of Seneca, Norton, Sackville. William Henry
as Doctor Faustus is a child of Renaissance, no doubt Hudson writes in An Outline History of English
The Duchess of Malfi is a child of Jacobean age. As Literature that :
the age is characterized by corruption in the upper

“JOHN WEBSTER (1580 ?-1625 ?) was a by the writings of Seneca, Sophocles, Sackville,
dramatist of somber cast of genius and great Norton and Kyd. Webster was profoundly interested
power, though his morbid love of the violent in expressions of extremes of the human sufferings.
and the horrible led him too often to sheer Horror is piled on horror in the most sensational
sensationalism. His White Devil and Duchess purpose in The Duchess of Malfi.
of Malfi contain scenes of tragic passion
It is the charm of the writing of Webster that
unrivalled outside Shakespeare.”
he has made horror the center of interest in his
On the whole, The Duchess of Malfi is one of tragedies like the White Devil (1612) and The
the best revenge plays by Webster. The play has a Duchess of Malfi. The dramatist is a master-
central theme of revenge, horror and playwright from the point of view of composing
sensationalism. It has the melodramatic style and all sensational plays of horror. William Henry Hudson
these have made the play a supreme example of the writes in An Outline History of English Literature
revenge play like Gorboduc and Hamlet. The whole that:
atmosphere of the drama is full of awe and tortures.
“JOHN WEBSTER (1580 ?-1625 ?) was a
This passage marks the transition from the dramatist of sombre cast of genius and great
Cardinal and Ferdinand’s warnings to the Duchess power, though his morbid love of the violent
against marriage, to her willful decision to propose and the horrible led him too often to sheer
to Antonio anyway sensationalism. His White Devil and Duchess
“Shall this move me? If all my royal kindred
unrivalled outside Shakespeare.”
Lay in my way unto this marriage,
As is clear by the mentioned lines that Webster’s The
I’d make them my low footsteps; and even Duchess of Malfi is full of the scenes of murder,
now, torture, fear, awe, and revenge; therefore, it is a
Even in this hate, as men in some great horror play. The dramatist has followed the tradition
battles, of the ancient great writers of the horror play and
made himself an outstanding literary figure in the
By apprehending danger, have achieved field of drama of Jacobean age. He has surpassed
Almost impossible actions (I have heard almost all the tragedians of his era and made a
soldiers say so) remarkable contribution to the development of the
play of horror.
So I, through frights, and threatening, will
assay John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi (1613)
is a sensational drama on the theme of revenge
This dangerous venture.”
which is full of melody, horror, torture, awe and very
The Duchess (1.1.332-9) much exciting situations or scenes. The melodrama
is a type of drama of revenge and terror. According
John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi (1613) is one of
to the Webster’s Dictionary, it is “a drama with a
the best horror plays in the history of Jacobean
romantic story or plot, sensational incidents, and
(1603-1625) English Literature. The horror play is a
usually including some music and song or any
type of tragedy which has the subject matter of
sensational and emotional drama”. The Duchess of
revenge and full of awful-scenes. The word “horror
Malfi is a sensational and emotional drama of horror
is derived from Latin word “horrere” which means
based on the revenge theme. It is one of the best
“to make the hair stand on end, tremble, shudder”
melodramas in the history of 17th century English
and it also refers : ‘murder’, ‘torture’, ‘fear’,
literature by Webster.
‘madness’, ‘terror’ and ‘frightening’. Horror is an
essential element in The Duchess of Malfi by The dramatist seems very much influenced by
Webster. The dramatist seems very much influenced the writings of Seneca, Sophocles, Sackville, Norton

and Kyd. Webster was profoundly interested in very clear that Webster has a good art of
expressions of extremes of the human sufferings. characterization just like Shakespeare and Marlowe.
Horror is piled on horror in the most sensational For his, characters are not imaginative and
purpose in The Duchess of Malfi. supernatural; they are real human beings ──── the
blend of good and evil.
It is the charm of the writing of Webster that
The Duchess is the Duchess of Malfi. She
he has made horror the center of interest in his
has two brothers: Cardinal and Ferdinand. She is a
tragedies like the White Devil (1612) and The
young, beautiful widow in the beginning of the play
Duchess of Malfi. The dramatist is a master-
and later becomes the beloved of Antonio and at last
playwright from the point of view of composing
becomes the wife of her lover ──── it is the cause of
sensational plays of horror. William Henry Hudson
her suffering and murder. She is a fine and
writes in An Outline History of English Literature
psychological female character that is created by the
that:
greatest insight and skill of the art of
“JOHN WEBSTER (1580 ?-1625 ?) was a characterization of the dramatist with the help of
dramatist of sombre cast of genius and great the poetic-power.
power, though his morbid love of the violent
HER MERITS
and the horrible led him too often to sheer
sentimentalism. His White Devil and Duchess
a) Duchess is the heroine of the play.
b) She has a very beautiful and charming
unrivolled outside Shakespeare.”
personality.
Charles Lamb has pointed out the supreme dramatic c) She is pious and virtuous in her nature.
effectiveness of the melodramatic scenes. He says : d) She is courageous lady and does heroic
“To move a horror skillfully, to touch a soul actions in the play.
to the quick, to lay upon fear as much as it can e) She is an optimistic and enthusiastical lady.
bear … this only a Webster can do”. f) She has faith in both, the virtue and God.
g) She is very loving and sacrificing-mother.
To conclude the discussion, we may claim h) She is passionate beloved and devoted wife,
that The Duchess of Malfi is a melodrama because it too.
deals with the romantic and sensational story with i) She has wit and common-sense.
melody in a pure voice of verse. By the apt use of the j) She has sweet or rapturous voice.
melody and horror, the dramatist has made the play k) She maintains her dignity of status in any
an interesting sensational story. It would be right to situation and
claim that the play is one of the well-known l) She is a noble and mystic lady.
melodramas in the history of Jacobean English
Drama. Duchess is a very pretty lady and she has
The Duchess in the Duchess of Malfi (1613) is charm enough to attract the attention of the
the central figure of the whole story of the revenge spectators. She has a fascinating and charming
play by an outstanding Jacobean playwright (1603- personality. She has gifted art of discourse and she
1625), John Webster. The chief female character in is so religious and pious. Commenting on the
the story is called the heroine (The Oxford character of Duchess, Antonio opines:
Dictionary), and from this point of view, the Duchess “For her discourse, it is so full of rapture,
is the heroine of the drama. She is dominated You only will begin, then to be sorry …”
character and plays an important role in the thread
of the story of the drama. Without the character of There is undisputed fact of the character of
Duchess, we cannot imagine the story of The Duchess that she is a courageous lady, she maintains
Duchess of Malfi. To talk of the play means to talk her purity and spotless-nature even in the most
the Duchess. As it is created by the dramatist, it is critical situations. She is imprisoned in her own

palace by her brothers. Her brother Ferdinand meets (d) She is not a faithful sister to her brother.
her and creates such type of situation that is awful
and terrible to the Duchess. For the brother offers a
As mentioned lines are the comment on the
dead body’s hand in place of his own. But it is the
merits and demerits of the character of the Duchess,
piousness and nobility of the Duchess that after the
clear that she is an outstanding creation of the
touch of the hand, she speaks:
poetic mind of the dramatist, Webster. She is
“You are very cold dominated character in the revenge play and the
whole story of the melodrama moves around her
I fear you are not well after your travel:
and the character also shows the good art of
Ha! lights: oh horrible !” characterization of the writer of the horror play. She
Duchess is intelligent and has wit and is spotless and pious but lacks control over her
common sense. She could easily understand the passion of love.
original and real condition of any situation. As she
Duchesss of Malfi : As a Revenge Play of Moral
could understand easily her brother’s letter.
Vision :
“Send Antonio to me,
The Duchess of Malfi (1613) has a quest for
I want his head in business.” moral order during the Jacobean Era (1603-1625).
As a mother, her importance is not of less The dramatist’s vision is moral. Webster sees life as
value. The Duchess is a very loving and sacrificing a struggle between right and wrong or good and evil.
mother. Knowing that she is about to die, she Here, we come to one of the key facts about him. For
considers first of all about her children and husband, he was a child of his age, the age was the
so she is not only a true beloved but also a sacrificing reformation, and he conceived morality in religious
mother. She instructs Cariola to look after her terms. The vision of the life of the dramatist is on one
children. What she says to Cariola is very pathetic hand religious and on the other hand moral. A very
and heart-touching that discloses the secret of her famous critic, Swinburne has pointed out that:
virtuous-character, she says : “There is no poet morally nobler than Webster.”
“ I pray thee look thou giv’st my little boy, As the act for the dramatist was wrong, not
Some syrup for his cold, and let the girl because it interfered with the happiness of man in
this world, but because it was a sin, a breach of the
Say her prayers, ere she sleep.” Eternal Laws established by God who created man.
HER DEMERITS Men to him are not the helpless sport of an
indifferent fate as they were to the Greeks. The evil
It is not easy to express the demerits in the
acts are the causes of the human tragedy. The
character of the Duchess. Many readers have many
Duchess in her heroic composition to her brothers is
views of their own. There is controversy among the
a symbol of life as they are the symbols of death and
critics also on the demerits of the character of the
the play maintains a tension between the opposing
Duchess. But what is important, it is given here.
forces of the life and the death. These symbolic
(a) Duchess lacks control over her passions; she functions of the Duchess and her brothers are
loves her steward (servant). arrived in the poetic imagery of their lines. Here is an
example for making of the concept more clearly.
(b) For sometimes, she has lacks of the sense of
optimism and she accepts death better than “Though in our miseries Fortune hath a part
life.
Yet in our noble sufferings she hath none:
(c) She is a lusty widow as her brother speaks:
Contempt of pain, that we may call our own.”
“Farewell, Lusty widow.”
Lord David Cecil says that the Vth Act may be
justified from the moral point of view. It is in this act

that all the evil do get due punishment. Throughout 4. Nandini B. Pandey, "Medea's Fractured Self
the play, we may observe that the dramatist has a on the Jacobean Stage: Webster's Duchess of
quest for moral order within the disorder of the age. Malfi as a Case Study in Renaissance
Readership", Web. 19 September 2015.
To sum up the melodrama of the Jacobean
age The Duchess of Malfi, we may say that it has a 5. "The Duchess of Malfi". Drama Online.
creed for moral order in the society. Webster’s February 2017.
moral vision of the life which is based on the religion
6. https://www.rsc.org.uk › the-duchess-of-
is of great importance. The whole story of the
malfi › plot
tragedy is centered on the conflict between good
and evil. Such there is no poet morally nobler than
Webster in the field of English drama.
Bosola speaks these lines as he is dying. There are

multiple death speeches in the fifth act, but Bosola’s
is the final:
“We are only like dead walls, or vaulted

graves, that, ruined, yields no echo. Fare you
well. It may be pain, but no harm to me to die
In so good a quarrel. O, this gloomy world!
In what a shadow, or deep pit of darkness,
Doth, womanish and fearful, mankind live!”
Bosola (5.5.96-101)
Conclusion
To conclude we can say that The Duchess of

Malfi is a perfect revenge tragedy. There is no
denying the fact that Webster raises the original
theme of revenge to a higher plan. Although
Webster wrote this drama following the tradition of
revenge tragedy, he has modified some of its aspects
to make it unique. And he is perfect enough drawing
the art in his own style that makes it more
acceptable to the readers to accept it as a true
revenge tragedy. So, in a word we can say that it is a
perfect revenge tragedy.
References
1. Drabble, Margaret, ed. (2000). "Duchess of

Malfi, The". The Oxford Companion to English
Literature. Oxford, England: Oxford
University Press.
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Duchess_
of_Malfi
3. Chandra, Sandhita. "Webster and the Social

Tragedy." https://thefablesoup.wordpress.c
om. N.p., 25 Oct. 2005. Web. 5 Mar. 2017.

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Research Journal of English Language and Literature (RJELAL)

A Peer Reviewed (Refereed) International Journal Vol.8.Issue 2. 2020

THE DUCHESS OF MALFI AS A JACOBEAN PLAY

Dr. VIVEKANAND RAO

INTRODUCTION elements" to be tragic. Not every death is

111 Dr. VIVEKANAND RAO

112 Dr. VIVEKANAND RAO

“You are very cold. Duchesss of Malfi : As a Revenge Play :

113 Dr. VIVEKANAND RAO

114 Dr. VIVEKANAND RAO

115 Dr. VIVEKANAND RAO

116 Dr. VIVEKANAND RAO

Bosola speaks these lines as he is dying. There are

“We are only like dead walls, or vaulted

To conclude we can say that The Duchess of

1. Drabble, Margaret, ed. (2000). "Duchess of

3. Chandra, Sandhita. "Webster and the Social

117 Dr. VIVEKANAND RAO

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