John Webster’s The White Devil is a classic example of a revenge tragedy, a genre that thrived during the late Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. As is generally the case in a revenge tragedy, the pursuit of vengeance is the driving force of the plot. Characters in the play are primarily motivated by a desire to avenge perceived wrongs and injustices, even as they engage in morally questionable acts themselves. This web of deceit and retribution claims the lives of most of the characters by the end of the play.
Another important hallmark of revenge tragedies is their intricate and convoluted plots. Accordingly, The White Devil is centered upon a complex storyline filled with schemes, disguises, manipulations, and deceptions. Characters from all classes, ranging from servants to the Pope, engage in Machiavellian strategies including murder and bribery to attain their revenge and outmaneuver their enemies. Many of Webster’s plays feature poison as a plot-device; in The White Devil, poison is used many times in complex ways. Isabella, for example, is killed when she kisses a poisoned picture of her husband, Brachiano. Brachiano is himself later killed by poison that is placed inside his helmet by Count Lodovico. As Brachiano’s son, Giovani, assumes power at the play’s conclusion, his decision to torture and execute those involved in the play’s various revenge plots suggests that the cycle of violence will continue.
