The White Devil

John WebsterProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.3

Word count: 157K words
Chapters: 16

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The White Devil by John WebsterAuthor: Webster, John, 1580?-1625?,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Jul 16, 2004

Editor's review

The White Devil is John Webster's representative tragedy, often placed in the English Renaissance revenge tragedy tradition. It interweaves court, marriage, betrayal, and violence; the language is dense, the imagery bleak, and the characters scheme amid moral gray. This Project Gutenberg edition is an English public-domain electronic text, convenient for reading the play itself and suitable for close reading in drama courses. Its value lies not in smooth plotting but in verbal tension and suspended moral judgment: audiences find no wholly innocent character, yet are drawn in by the rhetorical force of the lines. Watch how Webster makes dialogue carry double meanings, how female characters seek room to act within constrained structures, and how the logic of revenge consumes everyone. Readers used to modern fiction may find the dense metaphors and slow exposition a barrier; but at a slower pace, it offers a cold, powerful sense of the stage.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers of English Renaissance drama who want plays beyond Shakespeare
Fans of revenge tragedy interested in moral darkness and the rhetoric of violence
Drama students who need close reading of lines and scenes
Readers in English literature courses who need public-domain play texts

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer light reading and clear moral conclusions
Readers with little patience for early modern English and dense metaphor
Stage researchers who need modern annotation and performance history materials

Reading tips

Learn the basic conventions of revenge tragedy first to reduce confusion over plot
Read act by act and scene by scene, noting relationships and key lines after each
Read major confrontation scenes aloud to feel the rhythm and puns of Webster's lines
After finishing, compare with an introduction to check whether you overlooked the situations of female characters

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What does "the white devil" in the title refer to?

"The white devil" is usually understood as a figure white on the surface and sinister within, connected to the hypocrisy and moral disguise of the play's characters. It is not a supernatural monster but a malice wrapped in the appearance of virtue. Watch which characters contrast surface and substance, and how the title echoes the structures of deception in the plot.

Can I read The White Devil without having read Shakespeare?

Yes, but some preparation helps. Webster belongs to the same early modern English drama tradition as Shakespeare, with dense language and many allusions; without any familiarity with the stage conventions of the period, the opening can be hard. Read a brief background introduction on the basic structure of revenge tragedy, then read the first two acts slowly; usually you will find your footing.

Does the Gutenberg edition of The White Devil have annotations?

The Gutenberg edition mainly provides a public-domain electronic text and generally lacks modern scholarly annotation, collation, or performance history. It meets basic needs for reading the original and for course discussion, but for unfamiliar words, allusions, or textual variants, consult a modern annotated edition. For formal research, verify the copy text and editorial principles.

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About the author

John Webster Author · English · 1580–1632

John Webster (1580?–1632?) was an English dramatist, born in London around 1580 and died around 1632. Public information about his life is limited, and many details of his career remain uncertain, so later readers have chiefly come to know him through his works. He is known for the tragedies The White Devil and The Duchess of Malfi, which are regarded as the finest English tragedies of the seventeenth century apart from Shakespeare. Their subjects often involve court intrigue, desire, and death, and their style is dark and grave, with language rich in imagery and tension. He also co-wrote several plays with Thomas Dekker and others, and a collection titled Webster & Tourneur has come down to us.