The Duchess of Malfi
Type
Classification
1
Creator
1
Subject
6
Content
1
Is derivative of
1
Label
The Duchess of Malfi
Language
eng
Index
no index present
Literary form
fiction
Main title
The Duchess of Malfi
Nature of contents
dictionaries
Summary
The Duchess of Malfi (originally published as The Tragedy of the Dutchesse of Malfy) is a Jacobean revenge tragedy written by English dramatist John Webster in 1612-1613. Published in 1623, the play is loosely based on events that occurred between 1508 and 1513 surrounding Giovanna d'Aragona, Duchess of Amalfi (d. 1511), whose father, Enrico d'Aragona, Marquis of Gerace, was an illegitimate son of Ferdinand I of Naples. As in the play, she secretly married Antonio Beccadelli di Bologna after the death of her first husband Alfonso I Piccolomini, Duke of Amalfi. The play begins as a love story, when the Duchess marries beneath her class, and ends as a nightmarish tragedy as her two brothers undertake their revenge, destroying themselves in the process
Target audience
adult
Incoming Resources
- Has instance1