Abstract
An analysis of the character of Bosola in Webster's "The Duchess of Malfi" contending that the character, like the play, is shrouded in uncertain mists of evil, ugliness, and depravity. The author looks at the experiences of the character and how the character changes throughout the play.

From the Paper
"The Duchess of Malfi takes place in what Northrup Frye called a "sick and melancholy society" (Rabkin 119). Rupert Brook described Webster's characters as "writhing grubs in an immense night" (Rabkin 112). Evil, ugliness, and depravity rule. Beauty and goodness are doomed. In the beginning the character Bosola appears to fit right in, to be an unprincipled man with no conscience. Whether this is his real self, or whether he is an actor playing a part in order to survive in a polluted and perverted world, or whether he changes during the course of the action are some of the questions Webster enshrouds in the mist of this play. Finding clarity is the responsibility of each individual reader or viewer, as it was, in the end, up to Bosola to find his own way through the mist."

Tags:john, personality, evil, ugliness, depravity, responsibility, personality

Abstract
In this paper the author examines the theme of tragedy that runs through this play. In so doing he looks at the primary relationships in the play - the relationship between the Cardinal, the Duchess and Ferdinand and the relationship between the Duchess and Antonio which he suggests is central to the play. He also suggests that the character of Bosola is an additional factor in the events that lead to the tragic end. The author examines each of these factors in turn, looking at the characters involved, their characteristics and the meaning of each factor and concludes by showing, not only how all these events led to the tragic ending, but also what meaning this has for the reader.

From the paper:

"The central tragedy of the play is that of the Duchess. She is represented as a fine woman in terrible circumstances. Her tragic flaw is her need to follow her heart. She defies the reality of the situation and makes the decision to marry Antonio and ultimately suffers for this choice. The tragedy of the situation is that she does nothing wrong. Her relationship with Antonio is pure. Even with the tragedy that results, she accepts this as a consequence of loving Antonio and accepts her fate."

Tags:play, illicit, love, revenge, murder, tragedy, demise, heroine, duchess, family, values, ferdinand, antonio, bosola, evil, good, society, struggle

Abstract
This paper analyzes Act II, Scene 1 from "The Dutchess of Malfi", Webster's Senecan drama of blood and revenge, that is set in Italy during the Reniassance and features an Iago-like villain named Bosola.

From the Paper
"In John Webster's drama "The Duchess of Malfi", a convoluted set of personal relationships exists which pits brothers against a sister and in which class as well as greed play a crucial role in setting different characters in motion and at odds with one another. In Act II, Scene 1, much of this conflict is explained and the characters of key figures in the tragedy are made clear. This essay will analyze this specific scene, linking it thematically..."

Tags:John Webster, Dutchess of malfi, literary analysis, Renaissance drama

Abstract
This paper discusses how the ideas presented in "The Duchess of Malfi" are inequality, injustice, and corruption, which were in fact commentaries on the England of the Elizabethan-Jacobean era. The paper looks at how the tragedy of "The Duchess of Malfi "ends with the death of the members of the ruling class: Duchess, Cardinal and Duke Ferdinand; as well as the poor Antonio and Bosola. While the Duchess's soul lives through the voice Echo, her son from Antonio remains the only descendant. At the end of the play, Delio announces that the Duchess and Antonio's son will be the duke. The paper contends that this is the cultural materialist view that one day 'the lower' can win; even rule the state.

From the Paper
" When Ferdinand pretends to forgive the Duchess and offers his sister a dead man's hand instead of his own, and shows her wax figures that she mistakes for her murdered husband and children, it becomes a real psychological torture. Being a mother and a wife, the Duchess is shocked to see their death figures. Just after that moment, Ferdinand's calling Bosola marks the Duchess's torture being worse. She has lost his family and now, she is made to feel that she has lost her name too: When she asks Bosola "Who am I?", he replies, "Thou art a box of worm seed" (The Duchess of Malfi IV.ii.122-23). However, Duchess the sad mother is still strong and marks the Jacobean theatre as a rebellious woman in her lines: "I am Duchess of Malfi still" (The Duchess of Malfi IV.ii.139). "

Tags:ferdinand, patriarchy, malcontent, bosolo