The White Devil | Topics for Further Study

Research the life and writings of Machiavelli. How does his political theory, particularly that articulated in The Prince inform Webster’s writing of The White Devil?

Examine several heroines of Renaissance tragedy such as Lady Macbeth, Cleopatra, the Duchess of Malfi, and Vittoria. How do each of these female characters embody contemporary Renaissance ideas about women?

Read several revenge tragedies, beginning with Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy and including Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus and Hamlet. As a group, what do these plays have in common with The White Devil? How does the revenge tragedy change across time?

How does the animosity between Catholics and Protestants in England in the seventeenth century manifest itself in the play? What historical, political, religious, and social events reflect this animosity? Is the question of religion ever adequately resolved?