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tregina's review against another edition
3.0
I read this for the first time when I was a university student, and to be honest it didn't make much of impression. But then at the time I was cramming so many new texts into my head every week that few things did.
This time I read it for fun, and absorbed a lot more.
The challenge for any literature of this era is that one will inevitably compare it to Shakespeare and find it wanting. Even a play such as The Duchess of Malfi, which on its own is quite well written and well constructed, is plain and not nearly as clever in comparison. It lacks a kind of poetry and imagery, and feels somewhat coarse as a result.
What it does have is the character of the Duchess herself, a woman who defies convention as well as the dictates of the men of her family and marries beneath her class, for love. It was a revolutionary act and a revolutionary portrayal.
Now, every single woman in the play is eventually murdered, which is less than ideal, but then so is nearly every ever significant man. It is a tragedy after all. Not a sublime one, but an effective one all the same.
This time I read it for fun, and absorbed a lot more.
The challenge for any literature of this era is that one will inevitably compare it to Shakespeare and find it wanting. Even a play such as The Duchess of Malfi, which on its own is quite well written and well constructed, is plain and not nearly as clever in comparison. It lacks a kind of poetry and imagery, and feels somewhat coarse as a result.
What it does have is the character of the Duchess herself, a woman who defies convention as well as the dictates of the men of her family and marries beneath her class, for love. It was a revolutionary act and a revolutionary portrayal.
Now, every single woman in the play is eventually murdered, which is less than ideal, but then so is nearly every ever significant man. It is a tragedy after all. Not a sublime one, but an effective one all the same.
arash's review against another edition
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
smartinez9's review against another edition
3.0
Kind of a cross between Scott’s Marmion, Shelley’s The Cenci, and Lewis’s The Monk. Much more explicit than you would expect of a book written in 1613, but I much prefer a Jacobean comedy.
myriam7's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
zanm's review against another edition
5.0
4.8 (rounded up)
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The end just pissed me off (Bosola...when I get my hands on you...), but generally great, with a quick plot and banger lines. A better romance/tragedy than Romeo and Juliet.
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The end just pissed me off (Bosola...when I get my hands on you...), but generally great, with a quick plot and banger lines. A better romance/tragedy than Romeo and Juliet.
hopegreen's review against another edition
4.0
one of the most unexpectedly magnificent reads of my degree. twisted and troubling, but masterfully composed. the candlelit 2014 globe production is scorched into my brain.
voldymoore's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
An excellent jacobean revenge tragedy reflecting class rigidity and attitudes towards female dominance alongside themes of treachery, madness, lust, and murder.