The Duchess of Malfi Questions and Answers - eNotes.com

The Duchess of Malfi Questions and Answers

Comment on the title of the play The Duchess of Malfi.

Why is The Duchess of Malfi called a decadent play?

What is the role of Bosola in The Duchess of Malfi?

Is The Duchess of Malfi a revenge tragedy?

Who is the central character in the play The Duchess of Malfi?

Who says "Cover her face. Mine eyes dazzle"?

Can the duchess be called a tragic hero?

Explain how The Duchess of Malfi is an example of Jacobean tragedy. Describe at least two different ways that this work fits.

Theme of madness in The Duchess of Malfi?

How is gender represented in The Duchess of Malfi?

Analyze the reflection of contemporary society in The Duchess of Malfi.

Who is Julia in The Duchess of Malfi?

What are the major themes and ideas in The Duchess of Malfi?

Discuss the line "Ambition, madam, is a great man's madness" from The Duchess of Malfi.

Describe the murder scene in the play The Duchess of Malfi.

What is the historical significance of John Webster's play The Duchess of Malfi?

What was the significance of Bosola giving the Duchess the apricots? Did she get sick from eating too much, too fast or was it that apricots make pregnant women sick?

In the wooing scene in John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi (act 1, scene 3), is the Duchess's speech written in prose or blank verse?

Where does Bosola stand in the fight between good and evil in The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster?

Why is The Duchess of Malfi set in Italy?

Compare Ferdinand and the Cardinal in The Duchess of Malfi. How do they contribute to the Duchess's death?

How does The Duchess of Malfi relate to the revenge play tradition?

How does the Duchess of Malfi die?

Why does the Cardinal kill Julia in The Duchess of Malfi?

Which characters stray from blank verse in The Duchess of Malfi, and when do they do it?

How does The Duchess of Malfi end? Can you suggest an alternative ending?

Where does Ferdinand go after leaving Bosola with the duchess's body in The Duchess of Malfi?

How is the duchess portrayed in The Duchess of Malfi?

Why does Ferdinand tell the duchess not to get a parrot?

Analyze the significance of Ferdinand's madness in The Duchess of Malfi.

What are the plot and character similarities and differences between The Duchess of Malfi and Othello?

Who is the character Bosola in The Duchess of Malfi?

How does Bosola discover the Duchess's childbirth?

What was the portrayal of the Duchess in The Duchess of Malfi, and how it can reflect social criticism?

How does Antonio accuse Cariola of betraying him and the Duchess?

What is Webster's view of women through Duchess and Julia in The Duchess of Malfi?

Analyze The Duchess of Malfi as a drama with a static protagonist.

Which lines are spoken in verse by the Duchess and Bosola?

What are the similarities between The Duchess of Malfi and Macbeth?

How does John Webster's play The Duchess of Malfi represent Italy as a psychological condition and a space of cruelty, fear, courage, and revenge?

Discuss the hardships and tragic death of the Duchess in The Duchess of Malfi.

What does Bosola's mask symbolize in act 3, scene 5, considering he already has the Duchess?

What is the nature of power centered in men like Cardinal and Ferdinand?

What is The Duchess of Malfi based on?

Who is described as very honest in act 1, scene 1 of The Duchess of Malfi?

Please give a critique of aristocracy in as presented in The Duchess of Malfi?

Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi explores the issue of female agency vis a vis the Duchess’ symbolic identity. How is the Duchess' personality defined by the others around her?

In the drama, is there a significant difference between Bosola's two disguises, and why does he dress as an old man?

Why is the Duchess nameless in The Duchess of Malfi? How is this related to the social status of women in her time and her dependence on her brothers?

Analyze the significance of the Duchess's story in act 3, scene 5.