The Duchess Of Malfi by John Webster as A Revenge Tragedy

The Duke’s resentment towards his late wife in committing grave crimes (to him) justifies her post-mortem punishment and even humiliation. As he could not force her to cede her sexuality in life, he had her killed in order to triumph. By merely displaying this painting to the envoy and retelling the story of “My Late Duchess,” the Duke finalizes his intentions to embark on yet another battle to control the sexuality of his future Duchess, and claim victory of that of his previous’.

This is the driving force behind why Ferdinand takes it upon himself to fix the wrongdoings of his sister. Ferdinand himself had affairs and was not penalized for it due to his male body. Men, without the ability to get pregnant, can hide what they have done from the public eye unless the woman gets pregnant. Men are not meant to keep this unrealistic expectation of remaining pure, as they could often save their reputations just by word of mouth if they were clever enough. Even when it came to widowhood, men and women did not have the same results. Should a man lose his wife, remarrying was not seen as shocking or damaging to one’s reputation. Sandra Cavallo and Lydan Warner discussed this idea of widowhood and state how losing a husband changed the woman’s life, while men did not have as much of a change in their everyday lives (3-4). Ultimately, Ferdinand had power due to his body that the Duchess could never

In the article, Thomas Middleton, William Shakespeare and the Masculine Grotesque, written by Celia R. Daileader, Daileader made claim to the statement of The Revenger's Tragedy being a feminist Hamlet. These claims are backed up by various theories and quotations from both The Revenger's Tragedy and Hamlet and can be easily argued with. In this essay, the argument of The Revenger's Tragedy being more feminist than Hamlet will be discussed by firstly looking at the context of The Revenger's Tragedy and Hamlet as well as by briefly delving into minor aspects of The Spanish Tragedy as well as examples from other Renaissance plays mentioned in Daileader's article.

Through Duke Ferrara’s description of his departed Duchess, it is apparent that he is a controlling individual whose dissatisfaction with the Duchess’ loose behavior led to him arranging her death. When Duke Ferrara was talking to the marriage negotiator about the portrait he has of his last Duchess, he states, “sir, ‘twas not/her husband’s presence only, called the spot/of joy into the Duchess’ cheek” (13-15). When commenting on the expression of his deceased Duchess in the painting, Duke Ferrara claims that the blush of pleasure on her cheeks was caused by numerous individuals, not solely he. Later summarizing the tragic flaw of the Duchess, Duke Ferrara asserts, “a heart–how shall I say?–too soon made glad,/too easily impressed; she liked whate’er/she looked on, and her looks went everywhere” (23-24). With these words, Duke Ferrara alleges that too many things amazed the Duchess, which dissatisfied him. Also through “her looks went everywhere” (24), Duke Ferrara uses a reference to sexual promiscuity to demonstrate his anger toward her lack of emotional restraint. At the end of his monologue, Duke Ferrara discusses the repercussions of the Duchess’ flirtation: “O...

In the age that Elizabeth lived, a royal marriage always affected politics and the economy; therefore she had to make a thoughtful decision on whether or not to marry, and if she did choose to marry, who would become her husband. Two outcomes of marriage existed in Elizabeth's era; England would experience a growth in foreign relations, and the marriage could produc...

In Mary Stuart’s early years, she was already beginning to get used to the life that she was going to live, one that was of royalty. The man she was soon going to marry, Francis II, loved her greatly, even at such a young ...

In the two texts “My Last Duchess” and “Porphyria’s Lover” both by Robert Browning describe the horrific events of two doomed lovers and their mistresses. The text of Duchess tells of a jealous lover who is suspicious of his lover’s smile. His jealousy consumed his life to where the point of where his wife died, either from a murder from her lover or from suicide, that we will never know. In the text of Porphyria by Robert Browning also, describes the suspicion he has when his wife comes home from a night on the town, to which the jealous husband strangles her with he own hair. These disturbing texts reveal the jealously of men when it comes to loving their women. Both of these texts of “My Last Duchess” and “Porphyria’s Lover” both share extreme similarities and major differences.

The seventeenth century marked the beginning of modernity in social hierarchy. King Charles II had come back from the continent after ten years in exile with a new thought on how to treat women. “These women were intimately connected with the king. They would experience the most immediate and profound effects of the restoration. In order to see these effects, be a major member of the royal court, and gain a higher social standing, women became royal mistresses. The women of Charles’ court had gained celebrity, independent wealth, and influence, and this was unrecognizably modern for this age and time.” Charles had learned about how to have a successful marriage and many relationships with his mistresses from the aristocratic women of France. Women in France were not only playing a prominent role in French court but they were gaining respect for it. French aristocratic women were debating and writing about what they wanted from their relationships. These novels of allegorical love were guidebooks to help men get well on the...

...r the Count's desire to maintain an image as a lavish donor to extract the greatest possible financial benefit.  One might also conclude that the Duke had just divulged that he had no real intention to fulfill his reciprocal legal obligation to provide marriage settlements guaranteeing support for the Count's daughter if she became his widowed Duchess.  Such a thought might well by bolstered by the Duke's reference to the Count's daughter as his "object."

Le’ Morte d’ Arthur is a medieval romaunce by Sir Thomas Malory about King Arthur, Camelot and the Knights of the Round Table, violence plays a very crucial part in the story. Many different kinds of violence occur in this set of stories, some of which are very ordered and fine, like jousting, and also disordered violence like war. The worst type of violence though is when people use violence to get vengeance, which is a major theme, because many of these knights are mad at others. While many of the knights in the book are concerned with getting revenge, these actions and the search for vengeance are often futile and almost always end badly.