Jan 2, 2010

The Duchess of Malfi | Author Biography

John Webster was born in London, England, probably in 1579 or 1580. Like most of the facts about Webster's life, his birthdate is not recorded in any documents that survive to this day; scholars estimate his birthdate by extrapolating from existing records of his parents' marriage in 1577. It is known that his father was also named John and that the father earned a good living as a coachmaker, but the name and background of Webster's mother is not known.

It is likely that Webster attended the prestigious Merchant Taylors' School, an institution established for children of members of the Company of Merchant Taylors. There, he would have received a solid basic education, which included exposure to literature in Latin and English, and he would have participated in musical and dramatic performances.

Although the play itself has been lost, there is evidence that Webster was part of a group that was paid in 1602 for writing Caesar's Fall. This play, written on commission, is the earliest known work to which Webster contributed. Webster would continue to collaborate with other playwrights, including Thomas Dekker, Thomas Middleton, and Michael Drayton, for much of his career. Most of these plays were written for performance by particular theatrical companies. They were intended to be popular successes, not texts for study, and the successful playwright was able to produce histories, comedies, tragedies—whatever the market demanded. In or near 1605, Webster married a woman named Sara Peniall. Their first son, also named John, was baptized in 1606, and several other children followed. Webster was apparently able to support his family through his writing.

Webster's two most important plays were both written by him alone: The White Devil (1612) and The Duchess of Malfi (published 1623, but written in 1613 or 1614). Both draw heavily on the Italian tradition of sensation and tragedy, which was popular at the time. Webster also wrote prose “character” sketches, a ceremonial pageant, and various odes and verses, none of which is as important today as his plays. Over his career, Webster wrote approximately ten plays in collaboration and at least four individually. During his lifetime, he was well-known as a playwright and as a visible member of London's upper middle class.

Webster's last known play, Appius and Virginia, was produced in London in 1634. Though no records of his death have been found, references to Webster in the work of other writers seem to indicate that he died no later than late 1634.