John Webster-The White Devil(a tragedy)-Vittoria Corombona(the main character)is involved in an adulterous love affair with the Duke

of Brachiano.She is finally brought to court(to trial)for adultery. he !ur!ose of this scene is to demonstrate that the court is corru!t"drawn by ambition and lust"being much more guilty than her.## he $hite Devil##is a satire of the royal court"combined with the theme of revenge and with the notion that"in moments of crisis"even the evil characters can redeem themselves by stoic dignity.##%h"ha!!y they that never saw the court&'or ever knew great men but by re!ort##. he ambition and lust which drive $ebster#s characters are beyond ordinary human com!ass.## he characters are after they know not what##((arlowe).The Duchess of Malfiis a revenge tragedy . he duke dies and the duchess of (alfi is forbidden to remarry by her two brothers.%ne of her brothers ho!es to inherit her fortune(the Cardinal)"but she remarries her steward")ntonio Bologna.She has three children by him"then the revenge of the two brothers intervenes. here is a !iling u! of horrors and cruelties"but the duchess kee!s her dignity"her moral integrity and sanity and she acce!ts her fate with serenity .She considers death an eliberation. he main theme is the theme of revenge and retribution through murder. here are some beautiful !ublic moments such as the duchess#s s!eeches to her husband and her children. he atmos!here created by $ebster is a demonstration of the dee!er truth a man suffered in $ebster#s age"thus $ebster makes a statement about his contem!orary age.*n $ebster#s !lays"the theme of revenge undergoes com!lete changes+the avengers are no longer the heroes"but the villains of the story. he sym!athy of the audience goes with the victims rather than with the avengers.'emesis also acts u!on the avengers which means that $ebster is less interested in !lot and that he is rather interested in his characters.$ebster#s ##!rinci!le of unity## is the ##atmos!here## develo!ing in the course of his tragedies .,is characters are com!le-"round characters and the audience is made aware of their de!ths of consciousness and subconsciousness. he characters are made to reflect u!on each other in antonymic !airs or grou!s.$ebster#s characters have more than ordinary human ambitions and lusts-they are .austian"killing"betraying"scheming and !lotting for vague reasons.)s far as $ebster#s style is concerned"he is second to Shakes!eare only as a dramatic !oet.,is language shows influences of both Shakes!eare#s vocabulary(the use of somatic elements"words"comments on themes such as death )and /ohn Donne#s baro0ue conceits and une-!ected images.$ebster#s dialogues are full of similies"enumerations"antitheses"rhetorical 0uestions and many other figures of s!eech. he gloomy atmos!here of /ohn $ebster#s !lays antici!ates that of the 1V***th century 2othic novel. he /acobean drama brought about some novelties in the relation between the !ublic and the theatre"in the relation between art and entertainment"in the scenery and in the

condition of the actors.*t differed from the 3lisabethan drama"which was a !o!ular drama4the /acobean drama was a class oriented drama.$hereas the 3lisabethan drama integrates !oetry in its structure"the /acobean drama has great !oetic moments which are"however"se!arated from its structure. he /ascobean drama re!resents the last echoes of the aristocratic sensibility"after it"it is the middle classes and their characteristic literary creations"the novel"which will !lay the most im!ortant !art in the literary history.