Duchess of Malfi

The evils of greed and ambition overwhelm love, innocence, and the bonds of kinship in this dark tragedy concerning the secret marriage of a noblewoman and a commoner.

The evils of greed and ambition overwhelm love, innocence, and the bonds of kinship in this dark tragedy, first presented circa 1613. John Webster's great Jacobean drama focuses on a secret marriage that strikes the disastrous spark to an inferno of violence. When the Duchess of Malfi marries Antonio, a household steward, her two fiendishly jealous brothers ? hoping to inherit her title and estates ? plant a household spy whose treachery leads to a bloody and horrifying climax.

Often compared to Shakespeare in terms of his dynamic plots and poetic lyricism, Webster created radical, profoundly original works that feature shifting perspectives and thought-provoking challenges to conventional moral judgments. Required reading for courses in seventeenth-century English literature, this provocative masterpiece from the Golden Age of English drama will not only be welcomed by students and teachers of English literature but also a wide audience of general readers.

ISBN: 9780486406602
Author: WEBSTER, JOHN
Format: Paperback
Publication date: 02/02/1999
RRP: $10.99
Pages: 96
Dimension: 209mm X 131mm
Imprint: Dover Publications