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In: John Webster, The Duchess of Malfi

In the Jacobean age tragedy mostly degenerated into melodrama. A melodrama lacks in subtlety and depth of characterization, and the dramatist depends for his effects on the exploitation of crude physical horrors. There is much in John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi that is merely melodramatic and sensational, lurid and gruesome. AllContinue Reading

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In: John Webster, The Duchess of Malfi

The Duchess of Malfi, written by John Webster around 1612–1613, is a quintessential Jacobean tragedy renowned for its dark tone, psychological depth, and intricate exploration of power, corruption, and identity. Set in the court of Malfi in southern Italy, the play centers on the widowed Duchess who secretly marries herContinue Reading