The White Devil

How does John Webster use imagery in The White Devil?

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The imagery is related to the Dumb Show. Another convention of the Elizabethan and Jacobean stage is the dumb show. This is a pantomime included within the structure of the play to show some dramatic scene without dialogue. In The White Devil, Webster chooses to include two dumb shows: one to show Isabella's murder, and the other to show Camillo's death. Dramatists such as Webster had specific reasons for choosing to incorporate a dumb show in the play rather than present the action directly. Sometimes, a writer might want to condense a very complicated set of actions into a shorter time frame. Another reason a dumb show might be included is to somehow set the action portrayed in the dumb show apart from the characters in the play and from the audience. Dumb shows often reveal hidden motives, making visible what the characters in the play strive to keep secret.