Word Count: 1043

Hamish Thomson HD05

Tis great pity he should be neglected. I have heard hes very valiant. This foul melancholy will poison all his goodness How much goodness do you find in Bosola? The Duchess of Malfi is a play with a family conflicted over the marriage between royalty and the underclasss. Bosola is the man that gets caught in the middle of this feud, having ties to both the two brothers, established in the beginning of the play, and the Duchess after living with her for at least a number of years. Where Bosolas loyalty lies is an ambiguous, but become clearer as the play progresses. At the beginning of the play, within the first two pages of the script, Bosola is characterised as an untrustworthy person the only court-gall. The instantaneous reaction from the audience is to take a dislike in Bosola, especially since flattring sycophants were just being discussed in the moments previously. It is also noticed that he is a very shrewd man, for Antonio notes that he only rails at those things which he wants or that will affect him. These two traits set Bosola up as a traditionally not-good character from the beginning. Contrary to the stigma set upon him by Antonio, Bosola becomes one of the most truthful speakers that the audience can rely upon. His assessment of the Cardinal and Ferdinand is most eloquently put plum trees that grow crooked over standing pools; while they look good on the outside, they are secretly dangerous and deadly to anyone that gets too close to them. The reputation of Bosola tends more favourably in the audience as he begins to take witty jibes at the Cardinal for not being honest even with all [his] divinity. The fact that the Cardinal is a sinner in secret makes this even wittier. In this first scene, Bosola becomes the most intricate character of the play: while we know that he is a calculating and selfish man, he is also very perceptive, and his quick wit endears him to the audience. Little to the appeal of the audience, Ferdinand and the Cardinal plot to recruit Bosola to spy on the Duchess; despite having sent him to slavery on the galleys, they still think they can hire him. This is where his cunning side is shown in a less favourable light when he meets with Ferdinand later on. Goodness is not one of the traits that Ferdinand has been described as ever having, and that Bosolas first inclination is to ask whose throat must [he] cut shows that he is following the same destructive path. The sudden change in the personality of Bosola is a shock to the audience, as he enters their service willingly. This begs the question as to why he does this. Having already been punished for doing the Cardinals bidding, and knowing that Ferdinand is his brother, Bosola would have wanted to avoid a similar situation. However, we know that he is very self motivated and self oriented, so this political flattring is just a step up in the social hierarchy. While being motivated to achieve in life is not a bad thing, he has demonstrated no moral conscience to limit himself with. The third act is where the Duchess becomes undone for her secret deeds with Antonio. Bosola here instigates the conflict, providing Ferdinand with a false key into her bedchamber. The years that pass for Bosola being in the residence of the Duchess has done nothing to distract him from his duty: when she has to flee for her life, he gains her trust and directs her to Ancona under the pretence of a religious pilgrimage. This intelligence is then shared promptly with the two brothers who move to put her into exile. This is, by no stretch of the imagination, a good thing to do, especially an innocent royal woman who has housed you for years.

Towards the climax of the play, with the death of the Duchess, Bosola comes to see her in a guise to demoralise her with the news of her husbands death. This torment and cruelty is unnecessary, and that Bosola is being associated with Ferdinand, who gave the order, increases the dislike of the audience to him, and therefore lessens his goodness. However, when he learns that the figures are only but framed in wax, his conscience kicks in and demands to go no further in [this] cruelty. Here Bosola takes his first step from the subservient, self oriented servant to being a conscious, sentient person. The change is recognised with the audience, but especially for the modern viewers, there would be a suspicion about his sincerity after all that he has done. Having done so much treachery on orders from Ferdinand, it is hard to accept that he would change his colours so suddenly at this point. The disappointment when Bosola goes back to kill the Duchess is still stunning, despite this. Webster builds up a tragic moment where he realises that what he is doing is wrong, yet it is completely ignored. Being the man who is there when the Duchess is killed, the stigma that he has accrued is only solidified even further. Bosola is not a good character in my eyes, and as the critic T.A.Stanley said, like beauty, goodness is in the eyes of the beholder. Being a selfish person so removed from everything except his own interests, it makes it hard for the audience to like him as a character. Being the target recipients and interpreters of the play, this would count him one of the least good, alongside Ferdinand and the Cardinal. That he never receives any compensation apart from being given a pardon for this murder, which in part, is poetic justice. The glimpses of goodness that he has before the Duchess is murdered are small and become insignificant compared to the weight of his actions that lead to her demise. Being responsible for the murder of three children is also something that he is condemned for. The ending where Bosola goes to take revenge on those that made him do the deeds that he committed is a purely egocentric motive, and does not set him as a good person.