The Yale Ben Jonson

2 primary works • 6 total works

Complete Masques

by Ben Jonson

Published 10 September 1969

The Alchemist

by Ben Jonson

Published 3 January 1928

Jonson's comic masterpiece, recently revived at the National Theatre with Simon Callow in the title role.

Ben Jonson

by Ben Jonson and Dr. Helen Ostovich

Published 26 March 1963

This edition of Ben Jonson's four middle comedies places the works in the popular history and culture of the times, 1605-1614, and surveys the influences, both classical and contemporary, on Jonson as a playwright. On-the-page annotations recreate the audiences perception of the plays as performances by commenting on the...

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This edition of Ben Jonson's four middle comedies places the works in the popular history and culture of the times, 1605-1614, and surveys the influences, both classical and contemporary, on Jonson as a playwright. On-the-page annotations recreate the audiences perception of the plays as performances by commenting on the stage-directions, the self-conscious theatricality of characters and scenes, and the vivid colloquialisms of early modern London that give the dialogue a heightened dimension of realism.

Brief introductions to each play discuss the local settings, sources, theatre history and further readings. The general introduction includes a biography of Jonson, a chronology of the plays and masques, and separate essays on each play, dealing particularly with Jonson's satirical treatments of trends and shams of the day, whether political, social, commercial, or spiritual.

Volpone

by Ben Jonson

Published 1 January 1958

Renaissance comedy, first performed in 1605. Includes complete text in modernized English, critical and explanatory notes and Introduction. From the Yale Ben Jonson edition.

Bartholomew Fair

by Ben Jonson

Published 1 January 1960

Ben Jonson's comedy "Bartholomew Fair", which, after holding the stage for over a century, is now less well known, is offered here in an edition, based on the text of the first edition, which affords help to the modern producer and reader. In this play, written and acted in...Read more

Ben Jonson's comedy "Bartholomew Fair", which, after holding the stage for over a century, is now less well known, is offered here in an edition, based on the text of the first edition, which affords help to the modern producer and reader. In this play, written and acted in 1614, Jonson produced his first comedy since "The Alchemist" in 1610. Both that play and "Volpone" (1605) had presented an extraordinary variety of corrupt energies withing an intricate moral and aesthetic structure. To some critics, the looser construction and the less trenchant satire of "Bartholomew Fair" have seemed to show Jonson returning to the "loose multiplicity" of his earlier works. Horsman reconsiders this notion, illustrating how Jonson fills the play with "varied humours", which preserve the appearance of freedom while never actually losing control.

Epicoene

by Ben Jonson

Published 1 December 1966