The Duchess of Malfi Power Quotes

These lines are spoken by Pescara, a minor noble who's definitely wise to the dark side of the courtly scene. Instead of acting as a unified, guiding body, "great men" are always fighting amongst themselves and tearing apart the countries they're meant to be leading.

Up until the very end, the Duchess insists upon her title as prince, and in final stages of Ferdinand's plot to "bring her to mortification" Bosola's pointing out that, in the grand scheme of things, rulership means diddly squat. All of this power that the Duchess claims to have, he says, is basically imaginary—the only real land she owns is the clay that makes her coffin.

Easily one of the most famous lines of this play, although people definitely disagree on how they feel about it. The Duchess is in her darkest hour, imprisoned by Ferdinand, and about to be executed. In the face of Bosola's attempts to freak her out as much as possible and her imminent death, the Duchess's utterance of these words is interpreted by plenty of readers as an impressive, dignified response to a horrifying situation. But, you can also see this is a sad moment where the Duchess is clinging to a title that imprisons her more than it gives her power. She's investing in the very system that's destroying her.