"The Duchess of Malfi" is a play written by John Webster in the early 17th century, and it tells the tragic story of a powerful Duchess who falls in love and secretly marries Antonio. The Duchess's two brothers, Ferdinand, and the Cardinal are opposed to her marriage and plot to destroy her happiness. As the play progresses, the Duchess and Antonio are caught and tortured by Ferdinand and the Cardinal's henchmen. The Duchess's children are also murdered, and in the end, the Duchess herself is strangled to death. What will Antonio do without his love? The Duchess's love for Antonio is in direct opposition to the expectations of her brothers and society. This conflict ultimately leads to her downfall. Ferdinand and the Cardinal are portrayed as corrupt and ruthless individuals who abuse their power for personal gain. The Duchess, on the other hand, is shown as a benevolent ruler who genuinely cares for her loved ones! To know the end, completely, readers should read this powerful depiction of the consequences of ambition, greed, and betrayal.
John Webster was an English Jacobean dramatist who lived around 1578 and died around 1632. His tragedies The White Devil and The Duchess of Malfi are often thought of as masterpieces of the early 17th-century English stage. He lived and worked at the same time as Shakespeare. Webster's life is hard to understand, and no one knows when he was born or when he died. His father, also named John Webster, made carriages. On November 4, 1577, he married Elizabeth Coates, the daughter of a blacksmith. It is likely that Webster was born soon after, in or near London. The family lived in the parish of St. Sepulchre. His father, John, and uncle, Edward, were both Freemen of the Merchant Taylors' Company. Webster went to Merchant Taylors' School in London's Suffolk Lane. On August 1, 1598, "John Webster, formerly of the New Inn," was admitted to the Middle Temple, which was one of the Inns of Court. His plays show that he was interested in law, so he may be the playwright. In the mid-1620s, Webster was still writing plays, but Thomas Heywood's Hierarchie of the Blessed Angels talks about him in the past tense, which suggests he was dead at that time.
