The Caged Bird’s Woe

The idea of imprisonment resonates throughout the entirety of “The Duchess of Malfi.” Most interestingly, however, is Webster’s use of an echo is the formation of a bird being encaged. During Act 3, the Duchess comments to Antonio, “The birds that live I’the’ field/On the wild benefit of nature live/Happier than we;/for they may choose their mates,/And carol their sweet pleasures to the spring” (scene 3, lines 18-21). Although this line does not specifically state that the birds are encaged, it does allude to the fact that the Duchess and Antonio are not allowed to love; they are imprisoned (metaphorically and, later, physically) by the Duchess’ brothers. These lines are very evocative of the Duchess’ later lines in Act 4 when she is physically imprisoned by Ferdinand when she says, “The robin redbreast and the nightingale/Never live long in cages” (scene 1, lines 11-12). These lines in Act 4 “echo” the sentiment in Act 3 because of the lamentation of the fact that when birds, and people, who are supposed to be allowed to love and be full of freedom are encaged their souls begin to despair. This echo is further continued in Act 4, scene 2, when the Duchess again reiterates, “Didst thou ever see a lark in a cage?/Such is the soul in the body” (lines 127-128). This third and final echo within “The Duchess of Malfi” ties the first two echoes together. At first, (without reading the final echo) the lines appear to be ambiguous of one another. The birds having absolute freedom and then losing their freedom, their love, within the confines of a cage does not create a direct connection until the final echo scene. Although this is not a creepy connection, the very fact that the Duchess seems to be, not prophesying about the future but rather creating a strand of echoes in which to form a connection between the metaphor of Antonio and the Duchess both being like and unlike the birds. They are not allowed to love freely, like the birds are, but just like the birds their souls despair and stop singing (like a lark) once they are encaged. These echoes create a somber ambiance instead of a creepy one. Much like the future counterparts by Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou who talk about the breaking of the spirit while talking about caged birds, Webster creates a similar sensation in his echoes. It is as if we are watching as the Duchess goes from being free, to being encaged, and then to having her soul start to break. Her voice and she, herself, becomes the caged bird full of woe.