In The Duchess of Malfi, Act II Scene I, Bosola says to the Old Lady: "And though continually we bear about us A rotten and dead body, we delight To hide it in rich tissue..." Discuss the corrupt world presented in the light of this quotation.

... In The Duchess of Malfi, Act II Scene I, Bosola says to the Old Lady: "And though continually we bear about us A rotten and dead body, we delight To hide it in rich tissue..." Discuss the corrupt world presented in the light of this quotation. The world presented in The Duchess of Malfi is one in which morals, conventions and order are corrupt, and deception and sickness flow through the land, affecting all involved. The court is described in terms of sickness and disease, which represents the corrupt world. Antonio's first speech compares the court to a fountain 'whence should flow pure silver-drops' yet if the pureness becomes tainted 'death and diseases through the land [will] spread'. This first comparison indicates that the court nourishes the land, and the court's ruler nourishes the court itself. Ferdinand, and his brother the Cardinal are as plum trees 'growing crooked over standing pools'. It is

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