Critic quotes

Stephen Purcell on tragedies

'Superficially, many Jacobean tragedies might be seen to illustrate the dangerous consequences of abandoning the laws of God and state.'

David Cecil on evil as powerful

'Webster envisages evil in its most extreme form: and he presents it...as far more powerful than good.'

David Cecil on the world as corrupt

“The world as seen by [Webster] is, of its nature, incurably corrupt”

Rupert Brooke on men being like animals

“[Webster's world] is inhabited by people driven, like animals, and perhaps like men, only by their instincts, but more blindy and ruinously.”

John L.Selzer on C and F

'Both the Cardinal and Ferdinand are driven by degree

John L.Selzer on how C and F rule the court

The elitist brothers rule their courts according to their own corrupt whims and populate the courts with the most unworthy sycophants.'

John L.Selzer on the Cardinal and religion

Beneath his [the Cardinal's] robe he is, of course, the corrupt churchman, the embodiment of the poisoned bible he carries.'

John L.Selzer on the Cardinal and the French king ( comparison )

'He is [the Cardinal] a man, who is the opposite of the French king whose rule is held up in act 1 for emulation’

what did pearson say about the ghost of the duchess?

“the dead duchess haunts the final act as constant reminder of a better way of living”