The Fourth Act of The Duchess Essay -- The Duchess Plays Literature Es

The Fourth Act of The DuchessThe first necessity of baroque is that the audience should begripped, excited, moved 1 - so says Ralph Berry. The fourthly act ofThe Duchess of Malfi certainly succeeds under all these criteria,being the dramatic crux of the play. The events that occur in thefirst scene are undoubtedly crucial, but it is the characters immenselyvaried reactions to them that are vitally important. Rich imagery isdeeply interwoven with the fabric of play - indeed, it is an essentialpart of its function - and the scenes proceedings are on the wholeovershadowed by the telling relationship between Ferdinand, Bosola andthe Duchess that is explored throughout act IV, scene i.Often, it is in the most trying times that the true nature of peopleis allowed to diversify through their veiled everyday existence. In thisscene, the Duchess is subjected to imprisonment and cruel tortures byher malevolent twin brother who is still unable to come to terms withhis sisters emancipation an d intimate relationship with Antonio.Bosola is beginning to experience emotions he had previously repressedor never had the capacity to experience in court life. He is pressure toastatically struggle with inner turmoil and design for himself a newsystem of morality. Because of these simultaneous occurrences, thethree major characters rles are brought out to the front of the peak for punctilious analysis. The whole of Act IV is a protracteddying as, step by step, by degrees, the Duchess is made to face theutmost pain, misery and evil 2. As this happens, the very best andmost deplorable characteristics are teased out and, as theirrelationship develops, the tensions between these three persons causethe... ...voked combines with horrors typical of theperiod and the mingled relationship between the Duchess, Ferdinand andBosola elicits responses that have a far greater effect on the outcomeof the play than any other aspect of the drama or events that haveoccurred.---------------------- -----------------------------------------------1 Ralph Berry, The Art of John Webster (Clarendon Press, 1972)2 Jan Kott, A personal essay (1986)3 Professor John Jump, The White Devil and The Duchess of Malfi4 John Webster, The White Devil, (Mermaid, 1996)5 Peter Murray, A debate of John Webster (Mouton, 1969)6 Professor John Jump, The White Devil and The Duchess of Malfi7 Irving Ribner, Jacobean Tragedy The Quest For Moral Order (Methuen, 1962)8 U. M. Ellis Fermor, The Jacobean Drama An Interpretation (Methuen, 1936)