Blongbroke, wants to gain political power and end the war because he wants to be wealthy and withold status and pull England out of its costly war with France. Bolingbroke manipulates the Queen and moves up politically, but the Duchess, wants to remain in control over the Queen and continue the war because that way she can continue to be the secret protector of Masham, be the dominatrix, and keep her husband, the Duke, away at war. The Duchess identifies that the Queen also loves Masham because she asks for a glass of water, which results in an argument between the Duchess amd the Queen. The Queen fires the Duchess, Bolingbroke succeeds in getting rid of the Duchess. Bolingbroke is promoted; he manipulates the Queen into blessing the marriage between Masham and Abigail, and ultimately takes action to cease the war.
I thoroughly enjoyed this play. At first I felt intimidated by its heightened language but once I allowed myself to submerge myself into the story the language grew easier to understand and the story became that much more intriguing.
To challenge myself I would like to use something from the Duchess for a monologue. It would be a challenge for me because of the heightened language but I feel it would stretch me as an actress.
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