Duchess of Malfi Essay

within the categories of sex?” Butler’s answer to this question is, of course, yes, gender is no natural fact, and is indeed produced and maintained by a programmed and repeated set of performances. I argue that the female characters in "The Duchess of Malfi" by John Webster, are completely aware of how they are perceived to act as a gender, and use the idea of “cultural performance”

Class and social structures changed frequently throughout the medieval period, the renaissance, and the eighteenth century, and this change caused much anxiety in preserving the noble class. During the medieval period, the three classes were challenged by the emergence of the merchant class which rose to the same level as the nobles during the renaissance. Finally, in the eighteenth century, this noble class was pushed out of power and then returned, throwing the class into turmoil. These changes

The Duchess of Malfi’s Agency The Duchess of Malfi is a sadistic drama about love, betrayal, and revenge. After her brothers forbid her to marry, the Duchess rebels against her submissive role, her patriarchal society, and her oppressive situation and marries—to a man beneath station—regardless. The effects of this one action, this one decision, lead to the death of her entire family, including herself. As Bosola suggests, this play illustrates the strength of fate—““We are merely the stars’

The play closes with Delio, Antonio's best friend, coming on stage right after Bosola, the Cardinal, and Ferdinand have all killed each other. He's brought in the only living son of Antonio and the Duchess, and ends the play by saying, “… Let us make noble use/Of this great ruin; and join all our force/To establish this young hopeful gentleman /In's mother's right. …Integrity of life is fame's best friend, which nobly, beyond death, shall crown the end." (5.5.109-115, 119-120). Sounds very optimistic

CHAPTER 2 - MAIN THEME: POSITION OF FEMALES IN BOTH THE ERAS The women during Elizabethan era were dependant on their males relatives to support them. They were used to forge alliances with other powerful families through arranged marriages. Women were generally tutored at home as there was no schools for girls. They can not heir to their father's title. They were not allowed to have vote and were not allowed to enter politics. Moreover, they were not allowed to act in theatres. "Women in her greatest

Bosola’s role as a malcontent – a notion which implies a restless, disillusioned spirit – is essential to the part he has to play as an antagonist to the Duchess and Antonio. As soon as he enters in Act I, scene i, this bitterness is instantly revealed in his address to the Cardinal – “I do haunt you still”, “I have done you better than to be slighted thus”. We are shown a man who, while perfectly willing

him as someone with a strong character who will not be pushed around and dominated by the brothers who seem to be in control of every other character’s lives. Bosola's moral security is again reinforced when Ferdinand offers him gold to spy on the duchess, but Bosola refuses, claiming that he will not be bought, "Take your devils, which hell calls angels! These cursed gifts would make you a corrupter, me and impudent traitor"

This past month I went to see Alchemist, at the Shakespeare Tavern in Atlanta. From previous knowledge I knew that Alchemy was a traditional practice used in the 14th century. But I never knew that the person who practices it, is called the Alchemist. I never read the playwright, so I was walking into this live production with a blank mind. The show was good. Great props, not much scenery. An actor by the name of Thom Gillott was in this production. He performed his character with such dignity and

Adelman, Janet. “Iago’s Alter Ego: Race as Projection in Othello.” Shakespeare Quarterly 48.2 (1997): 125 44. In this essay, Adelman reads Othello as a test case for Kleinian psychoanalysis’ ability to deal with problems of race. She is interested in identifying the ways in which racism is the psychic property of the racist rather than the victim. The focus of the analysis is largely based on explaining Iago as an example of Kleinian envy. This notion of envy comes from Klein’s theory about rage

was supposed to. Le Morte d’Arthur began driven by fate. Arthur was fated to become king when he pulled that sword from the rock. Hamlet on the other hand does not accept his own fate and wants to make his own decisions on life. In the Duchess of Malfi, the Duchess breaks her fate path to be with someone she loved. Ferdinand, on the other hand, was born being stuck with fate do to something wrong with his brain that made him crazy. While some people believe