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In a little while I’ll go back and talk about why I’m doing this, but for now I’ll just acknowledge that I’ve finished reading the The Duchess of Malfi for the first time. For me, the most interesting aspects are the role of Bosola, and the effects called for in the faux carnage tableaux presented to Duchess and the intrusion of the madmen scene. There is so much prose in it that when an simile arrives, it seems remarkable, and the scansion often, so often, has characters’ speeches beginning in the middle of the line, ie. on third or fourth foot in the metre, not the first. Last bit to record is that were this to be staged today, the only actor who comes to mind who I’d like to see play Bosola is Andrew Scott. But he’s so interesting, I wouldn’t mind seeing him in any of the leads.
The version I read came from this text–

I’ve owned this book for I don’t know how long, bought it second hand, discounted to the unreasonable price of $.25!

Here’s the first blog entry, a look at some of the whys and wherefores.