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John Webster was a later contemporary of Shakespeare, and The Duchess of Malfi, Websterâs best known play, is considered among the best of the period. It appears to have been first performed in 1612â13 at the Blackfriars before moving on to the larger and more famous Globe Theatre, and was later published in 1623.
The play is loosely based on a real Duchess of Amalfi, a widow who marries beneath her station. On learning of this, her brothers become enraged and vow their revenge. Soon the intrigue, deceit, and murders begin. Marked by the periodâs love of spectacular violence, each character exacts his revenge, and in turn suffers vengeance at the hands of others. Coming after Shakespeareâs equally sanguine Hamlet and Kydâs The Spanish Tragedy, Websterâs The Duchess of Malfi brings to a close the era of the great Senecan tragedies of blood and revenge. As the Jacobean period progressed, the spectacle became more violent and dark, reflecting the publicâs growing dissatisfaction with the corruption of King Jamesâ court.