There are many moments in Webster’s “Duchess of Malfi” where a handful of lines create a sort of foreshadowing for a later action in the play. A particularly interesting echo is near the end of Act I, scene i, just before the Duchess and Antonio wed. The two (though primarily the Duchess) are discussing death, and Antonio’s debts and obligations to the Duchess and Ferdinand. It is moments like this that truly make Webster’s play creepy, especially after looking back on the play (because, of course, looking back, one knows that the Duchess and Antonio are both murdered). Not only are Antonio and the Duchess standing beside her late husband’s tomb, but they are discussing death—all of which occurs just before they marry! What is most interesting is the Duchess’ use of the phrase “Quietus est.” (Act I, scene i, line 464) We discussed in class that this phrase is often pronounced over an individual’s tomb at his or her funeral. Yes, the Duchess is freeing Antonio from his debts (which is the literal translation of the phrase), but why would she choose to use a phrase so closely associated with death and funerals, just before the two wed? The use of this phrase is haunting in this instance because it is, essentially, the marriage of Antonio and Duchess that brings about their deaths. It is almost as if, in a superstitious way, it is because of the discussion of death (and most specifically, in my opinion, the use of “quietus est”) that the marriage begins (continues, and ends at death) in such an ominous, negative manner. This moment early in the play should also alert the audience of what is to come—that something strongly negative (most logically, death) should arise from this peculiar situation.

A Word Before You Go

"The Duchess of Malfi" is unusual structured for a tragedy in the fact that its titular character dies at the end of the fourth act, as opposed to the fifth. Though in theory robbing the final act of its most tragic death, it instead shocks and unsettles the character, and imbues the final act death of Antonio with an enormous amount of tragic impact, impact which may not have been felt as strongly as he was not quite as familiar or multifaceted a character as the Duchess. Moreover, the death scenes of these two characters exhibit one of the strongest instances of echo in the entire work. Both characters, after being fatally wounded, are visited by a repentant Bosola whoa informs them of the status of their family members. Though the scenes are nearly identical in each case, the information he imparts is necessarily opposite, rendering them undeniably similar yet distinct.

After wounding the Duchess, Bosola experiences a change of heart, renouncing the influence of her brothers and swearing filial loyalty to Antonio. His monologue is cut short by the Duchess' sudden signs of life as she opens her eyes and calls for Antonio. He responds with, "Yes, madam, he is living; the dead bodies you saw were but feigned statues; he's reconciled to your brothers; the pope hath wrought the atonement." to which she responds, "Mercy." and dies (IV, 341-5). Here, Bosola's mixture of truth (her family is still alive) and falsehood (Antonio is certainly NOT reconciled with her brothers) is Bosola's attempt to grant her a peaceful death, which he does, both saving his own character in the audience's eyes and providing for the tormented duchess the exit she deserves.

Antonio's death scene plays out nearly identically: after being mortally wounded he is attended by Bosola, who says, "I'll whisper one thing in your dying ear shall make your heart break quickly: Thy fair Duchess and two sweet children--" to which Antonio heartbreakingly interjects "Their very names kindle a little life in me," "are murdered! (V, 54-57)" Antonio goes on to give a short speech in which he essentially thanks Bosola for informing him, as after hearing such sad news he has nothing to live for, and so does not mind dying. The radical difference in Bosola's news still brings the same fate to Antonio as it did to the Duchess, resignation and understanding. In such a bleak play as this it is fitting that the only happiness afforded to these characters is a peaceful death, their mirror image death scenes perhaps indicating a reconnection in the afterlife. The key figure in these scenes, however, is Bosola, who functions like the crypt in act five, repeating the same action but in a "ghostly manner" the second time around.

Great men

There is an echo of the words "great men" in Duchess of Malfi. The Duchess' words at the end of act 3 summarizes how the notion of "great men" works in the play. She aks Bosola who is greatest. She tells him a story about how fish are values and ends, "So, to great men, the moral may be stretched: men oft are valued high when th' are most wretch'd." In the context of this play we are presented with men who hold varying levels of status and power but also different levels of character and integrity as well. The men in the highest offices, such as the Cardinal and Ferdinand, are the least great men in the play even though they are most commonly refered to as great men. Pescara, when talking about the Cardinal and the others says, "These factions amongst great men, they are like..." (3 . 3 . 35) "Great man" is echoed again in act 5. Bosola directly calls the Cardinal a great man. This repetition of great man helps enforce an idea in our head of great men who are in a position to fall from grace- which is exactly what happenes. In act 5 scene 5 Antonio speech echoes this theme without saying the words directly. In his speech before he dies he refers to "our quest for greatness." This ties Antonio to the words already in mind of "great man." And this is true, in the right sense of the words Antonio is a great man. In the last lines of the play this point is hammered home one last time when Delio says, "Nature doth nothing so great, for great men,/As when she's pleased to make them lords of truth:"

Bosola's Haunting

    At the very beginning of the play Bosola has just come in and then the Cardinal comes in after him; Bosola addresses him bluntly: "I do haunt you still" (1.1.27).  Bosola goes onto explain that he has been on a slave galley for some time in some way connected to the Cardinal.  To the Cardinals retreat he says "Some fellows, they say are possessed with the devil, but this great fellow were able to posses the greatest devil, and make him worse" (1.1.44-46).  This sets up what Bosola and the rest of society think about Cardinals and this one in particular.  Then there is the even more "haunting" line:

    "He and his brother are like plum trees that grow crooked over standing pools; they are rich and o'erladen with fruit, but none but crows, pies, and caterpillars feed on them.  Could I be one of their flattering panders, I would hang on their ears like a horse-leech till I were full, then drop off" (1.1.48-53).

    Bosola tells an enormous chunk of the plot all right here before the 54th line of the entire play!  He espouses how crooked the Cardinal and Ferdinand are, how rotten they are, and how it would be wise of him or good for him to grab on while he can and when full or when profited from them, let go and vanish.  If one pays attention to this line then it makes the end where he turns on the brothers inevitable but it seems to be easy to forget all this in the "dark" of the murder of the duchess and her children.  

    Bosola does indeed echo his own lines in actions by becoming full and dropping off but after he does so, he sees it fit to kill both brothers and in doing this dies himself...like a poor horse-leech.

Devouring Dead

During the torturous scene of the Duchess' death in Act IV, the Duchess prophetically proclaims before her strangulation, "Go tell my brothers, when I am laid out/they may feed in quiet."  This notion of devouring is echoed again in Act V.  It is revealed that Ferdinand has fallen into madness, exhibiting wolf-like behaviors, digging up graves in the dead of night, and coming home bearing dead body parts over his shoulder.  Ferdinand has been "devouring" graves, and this moment is incredibly creepy and disturbing if one questions exactly whose grave he has been eating?  Is it the Duchess's leg he steals?  

Not only does Webster provide a literal fulfillment of this devouring prophecy, but a metaphorical one.  Ferdinand becomes mad because he has been nursing, or feeding himself with the haunting memory of his dead sister.  Bosola also is haunted with the death of the Duchess.  He cries, "Still methinks the Duchess/Haunts me.  There, there!-/'Tis nothing but my melancholy./O Penitence, let me truly taste thy cup,/That throws them down only to raise them up."  Bosola, though haunted by the memory of murdering the Duchess, reasons that it is his cup of bitterness to drink, to consume, to bear.  In a sense, he too, is devouring the Duchess.

Ironically, though Ferdinand and Bosola are men who devoured the Duchess until she was no more, and continue to devour her even after she is gone, they are in turn devoured by her memory.  Ferdinand and Bosola, as well as the Cardinal are slain in order to avenge the Duchess' death, while Antonio, perhaps the sole survivor who retains a vivid memory of his beloved, remains, allowing her memory to live on. 

Identity in Death

There are a number of subtle echoes that resonate through “The Duchess of Malfi” but I found one in particular to be very intriguing. Very early on in the play, we get the sense that perhaps the Duchess is not meant to live. Throughout the play she seems to face quite a struggle in her attempt to fit in to the land of the living. We first gain this sense when we find her almost nonchalantly writing her will in Act 1. (1.1.376) The abrupt manner in which the Duchess seems to propose and marry Antonio seems only to intensify this notion that she is struggling to maintain a purpose for her life.

The Duchess almost seems to drown out the echo of her fate through Acts 2 and 3, but the echo returns to us in full force in Act 4. While the Duchess is being tortured and prepared for her execution, she shows a great deal of composure. Cariola describes the way the Duchess looks as, “Like to your picture in the gallery,/ A deal of life in show, but none in practice;/Or rather like some reverend monument/ Whose ruins are even pitied.”(4.2.31-34) Although the Duchess is still alive, Cariola sees her as otherwise. She describes the Duchess as something other than living in the sense that she can be observed but has little affect of her own. We finally see the Duchess transition into her element in Act 4 when she is executed. She shows such great resolve in her dying moments that we find ourselves admiring her most at her point of death. Like Cariola’s description, we find the Duchess’ image much more potent when she no longer exists in the flesh than we did for the first three acts of the play.

We see the final resonation of this particular echo in Act 5 as the Duchess seems to haunt everyone involved with her death. This area of the play gives the audience the sense that perhaps the Duchess isn’t dead in the common sense. This concept is strengthened when her echo reaches Antonio. Perhaps the Duchess merely found her identity in her death. Whatever the reason, the Duchess’ echo seems to have more influence than she did in life.

The Ballad of The Two Faithful Friends

An interesting echo that occurs in the play is between Ferdinand and the Duchess and the Duchess' mentioning of the ballad of Alexander and Lodwick. Alexander and Lodwick (according to our text's footnotes) were so alike that they couldn't be told apart. Lodwick married the Princess of Hungaria as Alexander and placed an unsheathed sword between them each night as a mark of his unwillingness to betray his friend. The Duchess mentions this story to Antonio after their secret marriage in Act 1 scene 1 to appease some of his fears about her brothers. She describes putting a similar sword between herself and Antonio in bed. The Duchess seems to realize that Ferdinand (her twin)will see this secret marriage as an issue, her chastity already in question since she must put "a naked sword" between them. While this seems like a sweet gesture towards Antonio's fears, it also echoes the split that will come between them. The sword could represent Ferdinand, who will cut them both while they sleep. The sword could also represent the Duchess and Antonio being separated by force. The Duchess' mentioning of the Ballad "The Two Faithful Friends" seems to foreshadow the events of her betrayal. What and odd ballad to mention at so tender a moment.

Antonio's Prophetic Atatements

One of the major echoes that occuurs in the beginning of the play is gestures that are made by the Duchess and Antonio, and also remarks that Antonio makes regarding the marriage. In Act I scene i, around lines 398, interesting conversation begins to take place. Antonio is speaking of the duties of being a father, and what it means to be a father. Tje Duchess calls attention to Antonion "bloodshot" eyes, in which the Duchess tells him to "use my ring 't"(l404). The Duchess explaims that it is her wedding ring from her previous marriage, which is important to note that ended in death. She said that she had never parted with it only to Antonio-her second husband. Once the Duchess has parted with her ring, Antonio says that [the ring] has made him "stark blind" and goes on to say that "There is a saucy and ambitious devil/Is dauncing in this circle"(ll 412-413). This entire scene is ver foreboding and someaht creepy. We get the idea that this ring is a sort of haunting-being once owned by her dead husband. When Antonio mentions the "saucy devil", it is very foreboding of the marriage that is to come. Considering that both Antonio and the Duchess' demise comes from this secret exchange of vows, it is interesting thatand quite prophetic on Antonio's part to make mention to the devil that is "dauncing" in their circle of marriage. The reader/audience can clearly see that Webster has used this scene to prepare those for what is to come for the married couple.Webster does not leave much room for ambiguity-for this scene is fairly straight forward in its remarks about the marriage.

Just a Bloody Nose?

Antonio risks much through his marriage to the Duchess.  There is no doubt that upon entering into the marriage, Antonio is aware of the fact that he is putting his life on the line, not to mention the lives of many other individuals of the court.  He knows that blood could be shed as a result of his union with the Duchess, but it is questionable as to how seriously he takes this idea into account.

The bloody demise of Antonio's family might be considered an "echo" of several events in Act II.  After the birth of one of his children, Antonio finds himself discussing the matter with Delio.  Antonio expresses anxiety over his delicate situation, saying, "...fear presents me / Somewhat that looks like danger (2.2. 73-74)."  Delio attempts to calm Antonio by talking his concern up to nothing more than fear and explains how men are too often haunted by little more than mere superstition.  He says, "How superstitiously we mind our evils! / The throwing down salt, or crossing of a hare, / Bleeding at nose, the stumbling of a horse, / Or singing of a cricket, are of pow'r / to daunt whole man in us (2.2. 77-81)."  Incidentally, no more than one scene later, Antonio remarks, "My nose bleeds (2.3. 42)."  Webster could not provide a more blunt line of foreshadowing!  Antonio's bloody nose is but an "echo" of the blood shed that is to come.  Antonio ignores this warning, however, saying, "One that were superstitious would count / This ominous, when it merely comes by chance. / Two letters, that were wrought here for my name, / Are drowned in blood! / Mere accident (2.3. 43-45)."  Such a statement makes Antonio appear almost foolish by the end of the play.  How could he ignore such a candid sign?  Although, it is questionable whether or not he could do anything at that point in the plot to prevent the slaughter of his family.  Perhaps his consoling self-talk is but a method of maintaining his sanity on a darkening road to death.

In the conversation between the Duchess and Antonio that ends with an agreement for the two to marry, the Duchess, at first, does not tell Antonio why he has been summoned. Instead, she tells him,
I am making my will ...
Were not one better make it smiling, thus,
Than in deep groans and terrible ghastly looks,
As if the gifts we parted with procured
That violent distraction?
(I.i.376-381)
Why, would someone bring up death right before speaking of marriage? The two are generally viewed as the antithesis of each other: one ending life and the other marking the beginning of a "new" life. Yet the Duchess, who has herself suffered from death in a marriage, brings up the topic before even asking him to marry her. It's awkward - certainly not a romantic beginning to the conversation - and it's uncomfortable. The language she uses is so vivid and specific that one wonders if this is what her husband went through on his death bed. Readers know so little about him and the Duchess's relationship with him that it seems possible.
The Duchess goes on to explain that if she were married, there would be no need for a will - everything she owns would automatically revert to her husband's holdings. She doesn't consider that her husband might not outlive her, as was the case with her first husband. This seems odd. One would think that since this has already happened to her, it would be a possibility she would address. Perhaps this is simply a part of her wooing strategy. It seems more likely, however, that she looked on the life she wants to start with Antonio as a new start, a beautiful beginning.
The passage can't truly be called prophetic, because, ironically enough, she does not end up groaning and violently mad before her death, though Cariola's desperate casting about for an excuse to halt her own execution could fit this description. She is surrounded in her last days, however, by those who sound as tormented as she would be in the death she envisions earlier in the play. Her own death, she confronts calmly and cooly, as though she is unsurprised by this tragic end to her life.

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.

Ghosts, Echoes and Reflections

Act V is filled with echoes. Thorough this final segment, various characters remind the audience of events they have just seen. This can be seen in Julia’s echoing of the Duchess. After Julia confesses her love to Bosola, he asks Julia if her advances toward him will cause the Cardinal to consider Bosola a villain. Julia contends that it will not be Bosola at all but rather Julia herself who will be blamed:

“No, he might count me a wanton,/Not lay a scruple of offence on you;/For if I see and steal a diamond,/The fault is not i’th’ stone but in me the thief/That purloins it. –I am sudden with you;/We that are great women of pleasure use to cut off/These certain wishes and unquiet longings,/And in an instant join the sweet delight/And the pretty excuse together. Had you been i’th’ street,/Under my chamber window, even there/I should have courted you” (V. ii. 187-197).

Julia’s description of a woman giving into her longings and being punished like a criminal while the object of her longings is left comparatively unharmed is a story that sounds all too familiar. This is one of the prime examples of where the ghost of Duchess seems to haunt Act V. Julia’s speech so closely mirrors the fate of the Duchess that one could argue that Julia has become possessed by the ghost of the Duchess.

With this echoing of the Duchess’s fate, Webster forces the audience to reconsider what they already seen: Why are these ‘great women of pleasure’ comparable to thieves and men to diamonds? Based on the thief and diamond allegory, were the punishments of Duchess and Antonio fair? How does this portrayal of women as decisive and active and men as passive objects relate to their depiction in the rest of the play? How does this story of throwing logic to the wind and embracing love reflect on the reference to Romeo and Juliette’s balcony scene?

These are some of the many questions Webster challenges his audience to consider with the numerous echoes throughout the play.

"Bloody Fool"

Webster not only uses a literal echo in Act V which is interpreted as the haunting of the Duchess who was executed in Act IV, but also a foreshadowing “echo” through his verse, words, actions, and language of other central characters. Through careful analysis of the actions and words of characters such as the Duchess and Ferdinand, readers understand their morals and values to be on different sides of a spectrum. The Duchess represents light and strength through her noble death, whereas Ferdinand represents darkness and corruption through his incestuous desires for his sister as well as the actions he takes to deal with those desires. Instead of representing either light or dark, Bosola is a character that seems to be caught and in the middle of moral goodness and badness, and through the verse Webster writes, readers are shown a forewarning of the fate for the torn Bosola.

In IV right after the execution of the Duchess, Bosola and Ferdinand have an argument on how Bosola’s “services” are to be paid but instead Ferdinand accuses him for murdering the Duchess and offers him nothing. Bosola challenges and says that it was by Ferdinand’s authority that he went through with the murder of the Duchess, at which time Ferdinand replies, “…Where shalt thou find this judgment registered unless in hell? See, like a bloody fool, Th’ hast forfeited thy life, and thou shalt die for ‘t” (Act IV, lines 302-304, scene ii). This particular statement rings truth in the end of Act V when Bosola does indeed die. What is even more interesting are the words Webster uses for Ferdinand’s speech in this scene like “forfeited” and “fool.” After the Duchess dies and Bosola realizes the dishonesty of his ways and long after he can even be considered a hero, he promises to “join with thee [Antonio] in a most just revenge (Act V, line 342, scene iii) and therefore does really in a sense “forfeit” his life to gain revenge for the death of the Duchess. Ferdinand does in a way prophesize Bosola’s death, but instead of dying like a “bloody fool” as Ferdinand suggests, Bosola claims right before he dies, “It may be pain , but no harm to me to die in so good a quarrel” (Act V, lines 99-100, scene v). The prophecy of Bosola’s death is interesting and ironic because it is Ferdinand who dies a “bloody fool” and also as a consequence of the execution of the Duchess. It is by way of the Duchess’ death that Bosola slowly meets his death. It is also through Ferdinand’s manipulation and deceit towards Bolosa right after the Duchess is killed, that foreshadows truth through verse by prophesying Bosola’s death in Act V.

Textual Echoes in Duchess

A row of Mausoleums from the famous cemetery, Pere Lachaise, in Paris

Last week, you spent time searching EBBO for material that put the archive in conversation with the drama. For this week’s post, we will move from the general to the particular, by taking up Webster’s verse.

Michel de Marolless, The Nymph Echo Changed into Sound, 1655. 

In class, we discussed the unsettling “echo” scene from Act V (an act, as we suggested, haunted by the presence of the Duchess) in which Delio describes for Antonio their surroundings thusly:

“…this fortification/Grew from the ruins of an ancient abbey;/And to yon side o’th’ river, lies a wall/Piece of a cloister, which in my opinion/Gives the best echo that you ever heard,/So hollow, and so dismal, and withal/So plain in the distinction of our words,/That many have suppos’d it is a spirit/That answers.”
(5.3.1-9)

Using this particularly rich and strange moment as a model, your assignment is to try to find an example in which the play functions similarly as its own “echo chamber.”

David Alfaro Siqueiros, Echo of a Scream, 1937.

Consider, for instance, the line that Sarah discussed in her presentation:

"Some would think the souls of princes were brought forth by some more weighty causes than those of meaner persons—they are deceived: there's the same hand to them" (2.1.105-8).

The line resonates interestingly in the "severed hand" scene that Tricomi writes about.

Your task is to find your own “echo” within The Duchess and describe its resonance. Questions to consider: How is the earlier moment evocative of what comes later? Does it seem prophetic, ambiguous, contradictory, or some combination thereof? Is it creepy? Why or why not?

Note: please carefully cite the lines or stage directions that you discuss.