The Duchess of Malfi Literary Elements

drama; tragedy

Malfi (Almafi), Italy, 1504-1510

There is no singular narrator present in the play, though it most closely follows the thoughts and experiences of the Duchess before her death.

bleak, despairing, pessimistic, critical

The protagonist of the play is the Duchess of Malfi. The antagonists are the Cardinal, Ferdinand, and Bosola (before his conversion).

The major conflict in the play is that the Duchess secretly marries her steward, Antonio, against her brothers' wishes. This secret marriage inspires the brothers to seek revenge on their sister and her new husband.

The climax of the play occurs when Ferdinand executes the Duchess, her two children, and her maid, Cariola.

Ferdinand's frequent references to wolves at the beginning of the play foreshadow his madness, in which he thinks he is being transformed into a werewolf.

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The play makes frequent allusions to the Christian Bible, Ancient Greek and Roman mythology and literature, and other Renaissance texts including Webster's other famous play, The White Devil.

Important imagery in the play includes the theater, bodies and souls, darkness, and bestiality.

The central paradox in the play is that, though the Duchess is a powerful, high-ranking woman, her two brothers are the ones who control her fate.

The Cardinal and Ferdinand are in many ways parallel characters, as they are both malicious and villainous throughout the play. When Ferdinand goes mad, it is a physical manifestation of his internal guilt and shame, something that the Cardinal – as the ultimate villain of the play – does not comprehend.

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The play makes frequent use of inverse personification called zoomorphism, in which people are compared to animals. These references help emphasize the play's argument that men are base creatures who act savagely against one another in order to advance themselves.