Ben Jonson : his craft and art /

This is the first comprehensive study of Jonson's works: plays, masques, royal entertainments, poetry, translations, criticism, philosophy, and philosophical reflection. In contrast to previous critical studies, which are thematically oriented, selective in their coverage, or attentive to a phase of Jonson's career, this book examines the entire oeuvre of more than 40 years. What emerges is a compelling interpretation of a self-conscious craftsman both eclectic and experimental, who is sensitive to the relationships between the poet and his readers, the dramatist and his audience, and who is extraordinarily aware of the vicissitudes of one's critical reputation. The foregoing elements in this richly suggestive and superbly written account are unified by an overarching outlook that perceives Jonson's artistic self in a state of constant struggle to assimilate, transform, and supersede the works of his predecessors and contemporaries and to perfect by revision his own earlier achievements. Index; select bibliography. Highly recommended for graduate and upper-division undergraduate students. -A. C. Labriola, Duquesne University