Henry Carter Hull

Benjamin Jonson was a Renaissance dramatist, poet, and actor, known best for his satirical plays and lyric poems. Jonson focused on creating works that implemented elements of the realistic as well as the absurd. Jonson's most performed play, and the one that sparked a period of great success for the playwright, is "Volpone, or The Fox". Volpone, a Venetian con artist, is feigning to be on his death bed, pitting several aspirant heirs against one...

"Bartholomew Fair" was written in 1614, during the time considered to be Jonson's heyday (1605-1620), and is one of the playwright's most popular works. The story takes place on St. Bartholomew's day, where in the town of Smithfield an annual fair was held. To Jonson, the fair was a representation of society. In addition to the chaotic fair itself, characters like the justice-seeking Adam Overdo; Bartholomew Cokes, a confident but witless man of means;...

Benjamin Jonson (1572-1637) was a Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor, known best for his satirical plays and lyric poems. His career began in 1597 when he held a fixed engagement in the "Admiral's Men", and although he was unsuccessful as an actor, his literary talent was apparent and he began writing original plays for the troupe. Jonson had a knack for absurdity and hypocrisy, a trait that made him immensely popular in the 17th century Renaissance...

"The Staple of News" is a satire on the newspaper and news agency business that was quickly developing at the time. The plot draws on at least five plays by Aristophanes, and tells the story of the plutocratic Lady Pecunia, an array of wooers and jeerers, and a group of women who represent "females out of control," a common theme of Jonson's work.

"The New Inn, or The Light Heart" was performed in 1629, only a year after Jonson suffered a stroke. The story takes place in an inn-house, where Lady Frances Frampul meets the melancholy Lord Lovel, and a complex series of far-fetched events ensues.

One of his early comedies, "The Case is Altered," strays from the playwright's normal works in both structure and plot. These anomalies and the work's exclusion from Jonson's three folio collections lead to confusion among scholars regarding its authorship. The story borrows plots from two plays by Plautus, "Captivi" and "Aulularia," with its characters and events recreated and transported to Elizabethan England. This was Jonson's first attempt at...

Ben Jonson's career began in 1597 when he held a fixed engagement in the "Admiral's Men", and although he was unsuccessful as an actor, his literary talent was apparent and he began writing original plays for the troupe. Jonson's works are particularly recognizable because of his consistencies in style, intricacy of plot, characterization and setting. He focused on creating works that implemented elements of the realistic as well as the absurd. His...

Benjamin Jonson (1572-1637) was a Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor, known best for his satirical plays and lyric poems. He worked shortly as an actor in "The Admiral's Men", but soon moved on to writing original plays for the troupe. Jonson's works are particularly recognizable because of his consistencies in style, intricacy of plot, characterization and setting. He focused on creating works that implemented elements of the realistic as well...

Despite its popularity when it first appeared in print in 1600, Every Man Out of His Humour has never appeared as a single modern critical edition until now. The volume's introduction and annotations convey early modern obsessions with wealth and self-display by providing historical contexts and pointing out the continuity of those obsessions into modern life. The play is of interest because of its influence on the course of city comedy and its wealth...

"The Alchemist" by Ben Jonson is a comedic play that satirizes the greed and gullibility of its characters. Set in London, it follows three con artists who exploit the desire for wealth and transformation. As they pose as alchemists, chaos ensues when their schemes collide. The play humorously examines human flaws and the pursuit of unrealistic ambitions, showcasing Jonson's wit and social commentary.