In this excerpt, Forker takes a psychological approach to character studies of Ferdinand, the Cardinal, and the Duchess. Forker maintains that the ambiguity of Webster's characters is a mark of his skill in developing individuated, strongly drawn figures.

Below, Luckyj explores how Webster's repetition of large dramatic action sequences in The White Devil and in The Duchess of Malfi "allows [each play's simple linear progression to be de-emphasized and its central experience explored and intensified, " providing at the climactic center of each tragedy, "a clear and sustained dramatic experience [that] incarnates the play's central paradox."]

In this essay, part of a larger study of the repeated image of the dead hand in literature, Rowe discusses the image of the hand as it represents both marriage and the occult in The Duchess of Malfi. Rowe focuses on the scene in which Ferdinand offers the Duchess a dead man's hand in place of his own, considering it within contemporary discourse and beliefs about witchcraft.

In the following essay, Bradbrook focuses on the contemporary context of The Duchess of Malfi to interpret the drama, including the original Jacobean production and the source story for the play. She also compares the style and structure of the play to a masque in order to illuminate the drama as it would have been perceived by its original audience.

In this essay, Kerwin places the medical theme of The Duchess of Malfi in its historical context to illuminate Webster's critique of authority in general, and monarchical authority in particular. Drawing from a substantial study of contemporary sources on medicine, Kerwin compares the medical “performances” of Ferdinand, the Cardinal, and Bosola to Jacobean medical discourse.

In this excerpt, Luckyj applies her model of Webster's use of repetition and juxtaposition to the structure of The Duchess of Malfi. Luckyj's analysis attempts to incorporate the fifth act into the structure of the play, responding to the frequent argument that the act fails to conform to the coherent pattern of the first four.

In the following excerpt, Leech examines how the behavioral inconsistencies and motivational inadequacies of Webster's characters appear to adversely affect "the scene-unit and …momentary dramatic effect" of the dramatist's collaborative efforts. The critic contrasts Webster's later works with the more consistent composition of The Duchess of Malfi and The White Devil and concludes that although uneven, his "unequal masterpieces" are redeemed in perfo...

In this essay, Oakes interprets the Duchess's struggles with identity as a function of the role of the hero, who must not have a private life. Oakes places the Duchess's behavior as a widow in the context of contemporary strictures on proper widowhood to suggest that her actions after the death of her husband are not the cause of her downfall, but instead heighten the impact of her tragedy.

In the essay below, Brown discusses two modern stagings of Webster's play, stressing the role of actors' and directors' interpretations in making the difficult scenes of the play work theatrically. Brown suggests that the modern stagings in some crucial ways may have approximated the performance conditions in Webster's own theater.

In this essay, Behling examines how the transgression of gender boundaries is conflated with transgressive sexuality in Webster's plays. The masculinity of his heroines in their political actions, she notes, makes any sexual activity or desire centered on them appear unnatural.

In the following essay, Bartels suggests that Shakespeare and Webster give their female characters real voices by making their speech acceptable through a cover of submissiveness or compliance. Contrasting the seeming meekness of Desdemona with the assertiveness of the Duchess, Bartels maintains that the characters share in representing on stage the possibility of female self-assertion.

SOURCE "The Duchess of Malfi," in Webster and Ford, Macmillan Press, Ltd., 1995, pp. 52-71. In the following excerpt, Wymer, in the light of modern adaptations of The Duchess of Malfi, analyzes Webster's characterizations, psychology of the dramatic situations, and treatment of suffering and death within the play.

John Russell Brown on The Duchess of Malfi

In the essay below, Goldberg discusses the political and intellectual context of The Duchess of Malfi, noting contemporary discussions of absolutism, the rule of James I, and individualism. Goldberg suggests that Webster was writing in opposition to the dominant worldview of the period.

Thomas Middleton's prefatory poem to Webster's The Duchess of Malfi

In the following excerpt, Brown discusses The Duchess of Malfi's structure, language, dramatic characterization, and moral perspective.

In the essay below, Pearson maintains that while the first four acts of The Duchess of Malfi are clearly a tragedy, the structure of the play fragments in the final act, with notes of satire and tragicomedy. The mixture does not work, she argues, to blend those elements, but rather to distinguish true tragedy from other forms of experience.

In the following essay, Callaghan argues that female sexual desire, and perhaps even femininity, is always depicted as monstrous in Renaissance tragedy. In addition to the Duchess, Callaghan discusses Desdemona from Othello, Cordelia from King Lear, and Vittoria from Webster's The White Devil.