Notesale: Turn your study into money

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‘Webster  Q uickly  Introduces  U s  to  a  V ariety  o f  C haracters  W ho  R eadily  B reak  the  B ounds  o f  
Conventional  M orality’  D iscuss  t his  V iew  o f  A ct  O ne
...
 However,  
Webster  also  presents  the  audience  with  moral  characters  too  such  as  Cornelia
...
 Lodovico  has  broken  the  
bounds  of  conventional  morality  because  Webster  reveals  to  the  audience  that  he  has  ‘acted  certain  
murders’
...
   Here,  Webster  has  immediately  presented  the  audience  with  an  immoral  character  as  
‘The  White  Devil’  begins  with  Lodovico’s  banishment  for  the  crime  as  he  exclaims  ‘Banished?’  in  
anger  for  his  punishment
...
 In  the  next  
scene  Webster  introduces  even  more  characters  who  seem  to  have  loose  morals  in  the  eyes  of  the  
audience
...
 Brachiano  is  trying  to  court  
Vittoria  despite  having  a  wife  who  ‘has  come  to  Rome’  that  night
...
   
Vittoria  is  to  give  an  ‘audience’  to  Brachiano  which  is  suggestive  that  they  shall  sleep  together  that  
evening
...
 By  presenting  the  
characters  as  adulterous  before  revealing  any  other  characteristics  of  the  pair  Webster  gives  a  strong  
impression  to  the  audience  that  Brachiano  and  Vittoria  are  immoral
...
 
 
The  audience  also  gain  a  negative  view  of  Flamineo  (Vittoria’s  brother)  as  he  arranges  the  
liaison  between  Brachiano  and  Vittoria  because  he  has  no  ‘mass  of  wealth’  and  believes  that  
Brachiano  could  help  him
...
 Flamineo  appears  not  
only  immoral  here  but  selfish  in  the  eyes  of  the  audience  as  committing  adultery  is  potentially  very  
dangerous  for  Vittoria  if  her  husband  were  to  discover  she  had  done  so
...
 Therefore,  
Webster  has  created  yet  another  immoral  character  but  who  differs  from  the  rest  adding  to  the  
variety  of  characters  in  the  play
...
 In  fact  
Cornelia  is  the  only  character  in  act  one  who  has  upright  Christian  values
...
 By  preventing  the  liaison  between  her  daughter  and  Brachiano  
Webster  shows  the  audience  that  Cornelia  is  moral  because  she  upholds  the  marriage  vows  of  

Vittoria  and  stops  sins  from  occurring
...
 
 
Vittoria  seems  to  fit  in  neither  category  of  immoral  of  moral
...
 However,  the  
audience  also  see  Vittoria  express  guilt  at  her  actions  unlike  her  brother  who  is  ‘engaged  to  mischief’  
and  so  will  seek  revenge
...
 
 
 
In  conclusion,  Webster  presents  to  the  audience  many  characters  who  are  immoral  in  
several  different  ways  very  quickly  in  act  one
...
 Cornelia  adds  variety  to  the  play  by  
being  the  only  truly  moral  character
...
 
Webster’s  characterisation  paves  the  way  for  greater  development  of  plot  and  characterisation  in  
act  two  and  creates  intrigue  in  the  audience  who  want  to  see  what  crimes  will  happen  next

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