The Duchess of Malfi Continuum Renaissance Drama Series Editors: Andrew Hiscock, University of Wales Bangor, UK, and Lisa Hopkins, Sheffield Hallam University, UK Continuum Renaissance Drama offers practical and accessible introduc- tions to the critical and performative contexts of key Elizabethan and Jacobean plays. Each guide introduces the text’s critical and perform- ance history but also provides students with an invaluable insight into the landscape of current scholarly research through a keynote essay on the state of the art and newly commissioned essays of fresh research from different critical perspectives. A Midsummer Night’s Dream Edited by Regina Buccola Doctor Faustus Edited by Sarah Munson Deats King Lear Edited by Andrew Hiscock and Lisa Hopkins 1 Henry IV Edited by Stephen Longstaffe ’Tis Pity She’s a Whore Edited by Lisa Hopkins Women Beware Women Edited by Andrew Hiscock Volpone Edited by Matthew Steggle THE DUCHESS OF MALFI A Critical Guide Edited by Christina Luckyj Continuum International Publishing Group Th e Tower Building 80 Maiden Lane, Suite 704 11 York Road New York London SE1 7NX NY 10038 www.continuumbooks.com © Christina Luckyj and contributors 2011 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. EISBN 978–1–4411-1500–3 Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. Typeset by Newgen Imaging Systems Pvt Ltd, Chennai, India Printed and bound in India Contents Acknowledgements vii Series Introduction viii Timeline ix Introduction 1 Christina Luckyj Chapter 1 The Critical Backstory 14 David Gunby Chapter 2 The Duchess High and Low: A Performance History of The Duchess of Malfi 42 Roberta Barker Chapter 3 The State of the Art: Critical Approaches 2000–08 66 Dympna Callaghan Chapter 4 Staging Secret Interiors: The Duchess of Malfi as Inns of Court and Anticourt Drama 87 Curtis Perry and Melissa Walter Chapter 5 The Duchess’s Marriage in Contemporary Contexts 106 Leah S. Marcus Chapter 6 ‘Can this be certain?’: The Duchess of Malfi’s Secrets 119 Frances E. Dolan vi CONTENTS Chapter 7 ‘Greek is Turned Turk’: Catholic Nostalgia in The Duchess of Malfi 136 Todd Borlik Chapter 8 A Survey of Resources 153 Christy Desmet Bibliography 175 Notes on Contributors 193 Index 196 Acknowledgements I am grateful to Lisa Hopkins and Andrew Hiscock, general editors of this series, for giving me the opportunity to edit this volume on a play I wrote about many years ago – a play that continues to ‘haunt’ me as much as the Duchess does Bosola. I also thank the staff at Continuum for their patience with and understanding of my obligations as depart- ment Chair, which invariably led to delays in the publication schedule. Most of all, I want to express my gratitude to all the contributors to this volume. Scattered across the globe, busy with their own commitments, they nonetheless responded promptly and graciously to my requests and suggestions. I can only conclude that they too are lovers of this extraordinary, enigmatic and endlessly fascinating play. In particular, Leah Marcus generously provided us with the proofs of her Arden edi- tion of The Duchess of Malfi, published by the Arden Shakespeare, an imprint of A&C Black Publishers Ltd. We all benefited from her work on the text and from her Introduction, which overlaps slightly with her contribution to this volume. As always, my deepest thanks to Keith, Julia and Stefan Lawson: ‘All discord without this circumference / Is only to be pitied and not feared’. Series Introduction The drama of Shakespeare and his contemporaries has remained at the very heart of English curricula internationally and the pedagogic needs surrounding this body of literature have grown increasingly complex as more sophisticated resources become available to scholars, tutors and students. This series aims to offer a clear picture of the critical and per- formative contexts of a range of chosen texts. In addition, each volume furnishes readers with invaluable insights into the landscape of current scholarly research as well as including new pieces of research by leading critics. This series is designed to respond to the clearly identified needs of scholars, tutors and students for volumes which will bridge the gap between accounts of previous critical developments and performance history and an acquaintance with new research initiatives related to the chosen plays. Thus, our ambition is to offer innovative and challenging Guides which will provide practical, accessible and thought-provoking analyses of Renaissance drama. Each volume is organized according to a progressive reading strategy involving introductory discussion, critical review and cutting-edge scholarly debate. It has been an enor- mous pleasure to work with so many dedicated scholars of Renaissance drama and we are sure that this series will encourage you to read 400- year-old playtexts with fresh eyes. Andrew Hiscock and Lisa Hopkins Timeline 1478: Birth of Giovanna d’Aragona. 1498: Giovanna rules as regent in the Duchy of Amalfi after her hus- band’s death. 1510: Giovanna’s clandestine marriage to Antonio Bologna revealed. 1511: Giovanna and her two younger children imprisoned and presum- ably killed. 1513: Antonio Bologna murdered by Daniele da Bozzolo. 1554–1573: The four volumes of Matteo Bandello’s Novelle published (‘Il signor Antonio Bologna sposa la duchesse d’Amalfi’ being the twenty-sixth in Part One). 1565: Belleforest, Histoires tragiques published (including ‘The Unfortunate marriag e of Seigneur Antonio Bologna with the Duchess of Malfi, and the piteous death of both’). 1567: William Painter, Palace of Pleasure published (‘The Infortunate Mariage of a Gentleman, called Antonio Bologna, with the Duchesse of Malfi, and the pitifull death of them bothe’, being the twenty-third novel). 1578/79: John Webster born to John Webster Sr. a wealthy London coachmaker. 1598: John Webster (possibly the dramatist) admitted to the Middle Temple, Inns of Court. 1602: Payment to Webster (with a team of collaborators including Dekker, Heywood, Chettle, Munday, Middleton and Drayton) recorded in Henslowe’s Diary for plays now lost.