Studies in English Language and Literature

Question: Webster draws our attention to the existence of corruption in all walks of life in the Jacobean society. Do you agree?/ The play is a mirror to Jacobean England. Answer: John Webster, in his Jacobean revenge and decadent tragedy named The Duchess of Malfi , draws our attention to the existence of corruption in all walks of life in the Jacobean society. In this context, we must have a clear idea of decadence. It refers to the devaluation of moral values, In the Jacobean English society, the people had no good sense, morality, ethics etc. They were only interested in their self-profit and taking revenge. Then sensationalism became the favourite of the English people. Fundamentally, depending on such mentality and temperament of the Jacobean English people, the dramas presented the 'decadent philosophy'. In The Duchess of Malfi , we come to notice a decadent social picture that is full of corruption, immorality, bloodshed, dance of death,