| The Duchess of Malfi is a tragedy by John Webster(1850-1635),an English dramatist.This play has been popular among the critics and their studies focus on the marriage of the Duchess and the complex interpersonal relationships in the play.Researches conducted by scholars at home into this play are relatively insufficient,who mainly focus on the family tragedy and language environment in the play.Scholars abroad have done a lot of researches on this play.Animal similes and metaphors’ effects on characterization,however,are left in negligence.In this thesis,it is argued that animal similes and metaphors are important techniques adopted in The Duchess of Malfi.Webster describes the complex emotions of the characters by using different kinds of animals.Starting with the in-depth study on animal similes and metaphors,readers can have a better understanding of the artful shaping of characters and the rational development of plots.By absorbing the culture and thoughts of the society at that time,readers can have accurate understandings of the moral rules and the decadent system of the dark society.By using text analysis and contrastive analysis,this thesis makes an analysis on different animal similes and metaphors and different characters for further exploring the special usage of animal similes and metaphors and the significance of the characterization.Meanwhile,animal similes and metaphors also can better display the unique artistic expression and_charm of the tragic work. |
