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damc's review against another edition
3.0
a bit convoluted and hard to follow (at least for a quick read). definitely better in performance.
erweatherburn's review
4.0
I spent a long time reading and studying this play, and with each second that I spent on it, I enjoyed it a little bit more. I say this because, when I first read this play through, I hated it. Then I read it again and I simply disliked it, and then I read it through slowly, analysing every page. It was only then that I really came to appreciate The White Devil for what it is: a work of art.
The story is a little odd, and it’s not quite up to the standards of Webster’s more popular play, The Duchess of Malfi, but the ideas behind it are incredible. There are so many intricate links between the character of this play, and so many societal inversions, such as the evil cardinal (a repeated trope from The Duchess of Malfi) and the titular white devil, whoever that may be.
It’s a little hard to follow at first, but it’s probably an easier read than some of Shakespeare’s plays; unfortunately, plays are one of the few things that don’t belong in a book-format. The Duchess of Malfi was made to be performed, so if you really want to experience this fantastic story, that’s probably the route you should take.
The story is a little odd, and it’s not quite up to the standards of Webster’s more popular play, The Duchess of Malfi, but the ideas behind it are incredible. There are so many intricate links between the character of this play, and so many societal inversions, such as the evil cardinal (a repeated trope from The Duchess of Malfi) and the titular white devil, whoever that may be.
It’s a little hard to follow at first, but it’s probably an easier read than some of Shakespeare’s plays; unfortunately, plays are one of the few things that don’t belong in a book-format. The Duchess of Malfi was made to be performed, so if you really want to experience this fantastic story, that’s probably the route you should take.
jackpumpkinhead's review against another edition
4.0
MONTICELSO: Your champion's gone.
VITTORIA: The wolf may prey the better.
I cannot believe I enjoyed this so much. It's trashy emo murder Shakespeare and I am LIVING FOR IT. Webster was also a beautiful writer. And some of the lines are still (painfully) pertinent today:
"This fellow by his apparel some men would judge a politician, but call his wit in question, you shall find it merely an ass in's foot-cloth."
VITTORIA: The wolf may prey the better.
I cannot believe I enjoyed this so much. It's trashy emo murder Shakespeare and I am LIVING FOR IT. Webster was also a beautiful writer. And some of the lines are still (painfully) pertinent today:
"This fellow by his apparel some men would judge a politician, but call his wit in question, you shall find it merely an ass in's foot-cloth."
oldswampy's review
4.0
Useful edition of an interesting early 17th-century play. Has more details about textual variants and some other things than many readers will find useful, but this can easily be ignored. Now in a second edition, though I read this (the first). Now looking forward to seeing it on stage.
paperbookmarks's review against another edition
3.0
Studying this for school and I found it really rather good. You can see a lot of comparison to 'The Duchess of Malfi' and its really interesting with regard to looking at human nature.
minnahelena's review against another edition
2.0
Irritating amount of Shakespeare paraphrasing, but an enjoyably ridiculous Revenge Tragedy plot.
lnatal's review against another edition
2.0
From BBC Radio 3 - Drama on 3:
First performed in 1612, John Webster's revenge play is here set in a 1950s underworld of shifting alliances and sudden violence.
Adapted and directed by Marc Beeby
The wealthy Brachiano conceives a violent passion for the married Vittoria Corombona. Her brother Flamineo, Brachiano's secretary, plots to bring his sister and his master together, in the hope of advancing his own career. Their plans are impeded by the return to Rome of Isabella - Brachiano's wife, and sister to the powerful Francisco. Desperate for Vittoria, Brachiano arranges to have both Isabella and Vittoria's husband murdered. And in so doing makes an implacable enemy of the deadly Francisco...
The play was first performed in 1612, but this production sets the action in a murky underworld of the 1950s - a world that seeks to hide its shifting alliances, betrayals and sudden violence beneath a veneer of honor and respectability.
First performed in 1612, John Webster's revenge play is here set in a 1950s underworld of shifting alliances and sudden violence.
Adapted and directed by Marc Beeby
The wealthy Brachiano conceives a violent passion for the married Vittoria Corombona. Her brother Flamineo, Brachiano's secretary, plots to bring his sister and his master together, in the hope of advancing his own career. Their plans are impeded by the return to Rome of Isabella - Brachiano's wife, and sister to the powerful Francisco. Desperate for Vittoria, Brachiano arranges to have both Isabella and Vittoria's husband murdered. And in so doing makes an implacable enemy of the deadly Francisco...
The play was first performed in 1612, but this production sets the action in a murky underworld of the 1950s - a world that seeks to hide its shifting alliances, betrayals and sudden violence beneath a veneer of honor and respectability.
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