Ben Jonson: Four Plays

by Ben Jonson

Overview

Bringing together four of the most popular and widely studied of Ben Jonson's plays, this anthology focuses on the city comedies for which Jonson is best known today: The Alchemist (edited by Elizabeth Cook), Volpone (edited by Robert N. Watson), Bartholmew Fair (edited by G.R. Hibbard) and Epicoene or The Silent Woman (edited by Roger Holdsworth).

Today Jonson's works are widely considered to be amongst the best produced in his period. The new introduction by Robert N. Watson explores the plays in the context of early modern theatre, culture and politics, as well as providing a guide to the language, characters and themes. On-page commentary notes gloss the text in greater detail, making this the ideal edition for study and classroom use.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781408179642
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	07/31/2014
Series:	New Mermaids
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	744
Sales rank:	143,997
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Robert N. Watson is Distinguished Professor of the Humanities at the University of California Los Angeles, USA, and is a leading scholar of early modern drama.
Ben Jonson (1572-1637) was an English dramatist and poet, whose reputation amongst playwrights of the period is only second only to Shakespeare's. Although Jonson found little success as an actor, his reputation as a dramatist was firmly established in 1598 with Every Man in his Humour. This sucess was followed by Every Man out of his Humour and the classically influenced satire Cynthia's Revels. Jonson wrote all of the major comedies upon which his reputation is now based during the period 1605 to 1614.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Further Reading
The Alchemist
Volpone
Bartholmew Fair
Epicoene or The Silent Woman
Notes on the Texts