 Although Marston warns in his introductory epistle “some things I have willingly erred, as in supposing a Duke of Genoa, and in taking names different from that city’s families,” some scholars believe that Marston intended the Genoa presented in "The Malcontent" to be an accurate historical depiction of the actual city.Domenico Lovascio argues that the rapid-fire succession of leaders in the play is an accurate reflection of the historically politically unstable city, a city rife with corruption, treachery, and plots.A subject of ongoing critical analysis, the character of Malevole is often discussed as a prototype for other, more famous characters in the Early Modern dramatic canon.