The tone of The Duchess of Malfi remains dark throughout, an effect that is exacerbated as the play grows more brutal and violent. Though the play explores love and the characters make positive connections with each other, they are ultimately overcome by the violence and corruption of their situation. This makes the world seem oppressive, and the audience has the sense that the characters are straining against their circumstances. Ultimately, the characters are able to reflect on this sensation, as they feel more and more pessimistic. One example comes in Act 5, Scene 5, during the play’s violent conclusion. As he dies, Bosola responds to the violence that he has witnessed. He says:
In what a shadow, or deep pit of darkness,
Doth womanish and fearful mankind live!
Let worthy minds ne’er stagger in distrust
To suffer death or shame for what is just—
Mine is another voyage.
Bosola’s reflection on the hellish landscape of his life is significant because he is the character with the most lines; the audience follows him through most of the conflict and feels a sense of finality with his death. His pessimistic perspective on the conditions of humankind, and on his own gruesome end serve to remind the audience of all that has transpired before them. As the play comes to a close, the love and positivity of the relationships at its start have faded, leaving only darkness and death in their wake. The play’s tone sinks lower as Bosola dies, leaving the audience with a stage full of bodies.
