Bhumika Gupta B.A. (Hons) English Roll No.

2991

Character Analysis of Bosola

Webster created the character of Bosola from several different men in his sources, including the historical Daniel de Bosola who murdered Antonio. Combining various roles in the story has made Bosola a complex and sometimes a contradictory character. Bosola, whose character puts him in the category of the Renaissance dramatists' type, 'the malcontent', is in the service of Ferdinand, acting as a spy on The Duchess. He provides a great comedy element to the play, even though he is actually disgustingly unpleasant. He is the character who appeals to the working class in the audience who go to plays to see a blood-bath as entertainment. In the opening scene, Bosola appears as the malcontent, a typical Renaissance figure, an antihero with a bitter, sarcastic, dark view of life. Ironically he also becomes the chief spokesman for the play, demanding the audience's attention and, to some degree, understanding. In common with villains fond of direct audience address, such as Iago, Bosola seems to owe much to the medieval - Vice. He also seems to possess some attributes of the stereotypical Machiavellian character, the satirist, and the blunt soldier. But the most significant contribution to the composition of Bosola is the malcontent stereotype. The malcontent is a certain character type that emerges in Jacobean revenge tragedy. A malcontent can be identified by the number of traits he possesses. He is a discontented person; a rebel; disaffected, satirical and melancholic; bereaved or dispossessed and detached from an often corrupt society by his grievances; he has knowledge and intelligence without status. The key character in 'The Duchess of Malfi', Bosola can easily be said to have these. The initial presentation of Bosola in the first scene of the play certainly does agree with this description of the malcontent. Antonio defines him as a "black malcontent" whose "foul melancholy will poison all his goodness". We see him making sarcastic remarks, being critical of court and Church and feeling bitter after his imprisonment in the galleys. The very first description of Bosola by Antonio asserts the popular opinion of Bosola by the characters in the play, and this agrees with the statement that Bosola is a malcontent: "Here comes Bosola,

The only court-gall; yet I observe his railing Is not for simple love of piety, Indeed he rails at those things which he wants, Would be as lecherous, covetous, or proud, Bloody, or envious, as any man, If he had means to be so." Here we see Bosola as dispossessed and detached from others due to his yearning for what he cannot have. Webster mostly presents Bosola as a malcontent through his criticisms of the world and of humanity. Bosolas melancholy is described by Antonio as a form of affectation, like a garment worn as a fashion accessory: Because you would not seem to the world puffed up with your preferment, you continue this out-of-fashion melancholy. Leave it, leave it.(Act II. Scene 1.88-90) For Ferdinand, Bosolas melancholy is equally a garment to be doffed or donned at will, and eminently exploitable as a mask for an intelligencer: Be yourself: Keep your old garb of melancholy; twill express You envy those that stand above your reach, Yet strive not to come near em. (Act I. Scene 1. 277-80) Bosola thinks of himself as a realist, self-aware with an honest assessment of his nature and condition, but actually he proves to be more of a disillusioned idealist. Even though he plays the faithful henchmen in murdering for the brothers, neither of them shows any gratitude towards him. Bosola can be described as a convincing character as unlike some of the characters in the play, his opinions and principles change throughout, therefore constantly altering the audience's views about him. He is the only character to communicate to the audience via soliloquy, divulging his true thoughts and intentions which often differ from his outward appearance, making him psychologically realistic and interesting. Although this would suggest he is a convincing character, Bosola, at times, falls into set roles of the Jacobean Tragedy; malcontent, satirist and

avenger. Webster uses Bosola to fulfill these conventions of the genre and to direct and drive the plot, especially after the Duchess' death. Even though Webster uses Bosola in this way, he is more than a mere tool as his character extends beyond the established roles of the genre, giving a more complete character. Like Antonio, Bosola is low-born, and therefore entirely dependent for material success on the patronage of his social betters. His role thus contributes significantly to an important aspect of the play: its examination of class relations in a highly stratified society. Bosolas wit and satirical edge are throughout the play leveled at a patronage system that rewards toadying rather than merit. Yet the play makes clear the invidious position he is in. Indeed, Antonio has already given us his opinion of Bosola: yet I observe his railing Is not for simple love of piety, Indeed he rails at those things which he wants, Would be as lecherous, covetous, or proud, Bloody, or envious, as any man, If he had means to be so. (Act I. Scene 1.238) Bosola is torn between an acute awareness of the social and moral deficiencies of the patronage system and a longing for social advancement that binds him to it. His vision of himself as a horse-leech, greedily sucking the brothers blood until he drops off, captures something of this doubleness: he may despise the yes-men who thrive in the courtly milieu, but at the same time he wants to share in the material prosperity they enjoy. Bosola has in common with Iago from William Shakespeares Othello his status as a disgruntled servant, though Webster invests his version of this character type with a level of moral awareness absent from Shakespeares viciously resentful ensign.

BIBLIOGRAPHY The Dangerous Edge of Things: John Websters Bosola in Context & Performance by John F Buckingham The Ambiguity of Bosola C G Thayer.