The Duchess of Malfi (Broché)

John Webster's heroine is that rare thing in early seventeenth-century Europe, a woman with political power. As sole ruler she is more powerful than any man in her own duchy ; but from outside Malfi there are forces that will prove too strong - the demons of the subconscious that unbalance her violently jealous brothers. Webster's play, influenced by Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and Othello, shows humanity expressing its sunniest and its blackest potential in sexual and family relations, as incestuous jealousy in the men breeds voyeurism, insanely sadistic torture and finally murder, yet paradoxically brings out the unbroken spirit and loving kindness of their victim, a solitary woman.
Webster creates vivid stage images through which to explore the tragic interplay of free will, fixed fate, and accident, in magnificent poetry. This student edition contains a lively Introduction with background on the author, date and sources, theme, critical interpretation and stage history. The Editor, Brian Gibbons, is also the author of further editions in The New Mermaids, the Arden Shakespeare and the New Cambridge Shakespeare.
He has published many articles about English Drama and Poetry, two books, Jacobean City Comedy, and Shakespeare and Multiplicity, and he is a founding General Editor of The New Cambridge Shakespeare.