The White Devil
by John Webster
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"Adultery, intrigue, murder, revenge: the densely-packed plot of The White Devil touches on topics that are representative of the atmosphere of Jacobean tragedy. Part tragedy, part satire of a corrupt political world, the play explores the relations of the powerful to the disempowered; the opportunities and constraints of women trying to survive in a male-dominated society; the complex distribution of social hierarchy by birth, wealth, gender, race; and the way the skills licensed by the show more theatre itself - including disguise and both the performance and interpretation of character - become crucial survival skills, in a world of hidden motives and concealed intentions. Now comprehensively re-edited, with an introduction that addresses issues of performance, cultural and historical context, and interpretation, exploring the dark energy that has impelled audiences and scholars to return to this play again and again across four centuries. Arden Early Modern Drama editions offer the best in contemporary scholarship, providing a wealth of helpful and incisive commentary and guiding the reader to a deeper understanding and appreciation of the play"-- show lessTags
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Member Reviews
John Webster's The White Devil is a Jacobean tragedy exploring themes of revenge, corruption, love, and betrayal through morally ambiguous characters. The play centers on Vittoria Corombona, who becomes entangled in a murder plot with Duke Brachiano, leading to a cycle of vengeance orchestrated by her brother Flamineo and others. Its analysis reveals a complex critique of patriarchal power structures and a cynical view of the human condition, where appearances are deceptive and virtue is often lost or hidden behind a facade of wickedness.
I read this in anticipation of seeing the Shakespeare's Globe production in London. Classic Jacobean revenge-tragedy, with lots of wit, cynicism, corruption, lust, betrayal and human-ill nature. Before we had "The Walking Dead", we had . . . this.
The text is downloadable, free, at the Gutenberg Project.
The text is downloadable, free, at the Gutenberg Project.
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Author Information
53+ Works 3,170 Members
Webster seems to have participated in many dramatic collaborations, but his undisputed work consists of only three plays: The White Devil (1612), The Duchess of Malfi (1614), and The Devil's Law Case (1623). His two great tragedies, The White Devil and The Duchess of Malfi, are darkly poetic and brooding, especially in their sardonic show more villain-spokesmen, Flamineo and Bosola. As critic Robert Dent has shown, Webster plundered other authors for his laborious, jewel-like, sententious, and epigrammatic style, but the overall effect is one of a soaring and passionate poetry. Webster employs the full gamut of violent and sensational effects, especially in The Duchess of Malfi, to render a physical sense of horror. His plots are drawn from the political and amorous intrigues of Renaissance Italy. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The White Devil
- Original title
- The white divel : or the tragedy of Paolo Giordano Ursini, Duke of Brachiano, with The life and death of Vittoria Corombona the famous Venetian curtizan
- Alternate titles
- The White Devil, or Vittoria Corombona
- Original publication date
- 1612 (performed) (performed)
- First words
- In publishing this tragedy, I do but challenge myself that liberty, which other men have taken before me; not that I affect praise by it, for, nos hæc novimus esse nihil, only since it was acted in so dull a time of winter, ... (show all)presented in so open and black a theatre, that it wanted (that which is the only grace and setting-out of a tragedy) a full and understanding auditory; and that since that time I have noted, most of the people that come to that playhouse resemble those ignorant asses (who, visiting stationers' shops, their use is not to inquire for good books, but new books), I present it to the general view with this confidence:
Nec rhoncos metues maligniorum,
Nec scombris tunicas dabis molestas.
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- Members
- 368
- Popularity
- 84,834
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (3.40)
- Languages
- 6 — English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 53
- ASINs
- 13
