The sharpest, funniest comedy about money and morals in the 17th century is still the sharpest and funniest about those things in the 21st. The full, modernised play text is accompanied by incisive commentary notes which communicate the devastating comic energy of Volpone's satire. The introduction provides a firm grounding in the play's social and literary contexts, demonstrates how careful close-reading can expand your enjoyment of the comedy, shows the relevance of Jonson's critique to our modern economic systems, and provides a clear picture of how the main relationships in the play function on the page and stage.
Supplemented by a plot summary and annotated bibliography, it is ideal for students of Jonson, city comedy and early modern drama.
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This revised edition will enable you to enjoy and interpret it afresh for yourself.
| Acknowledgements |
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vi | |
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vii | |
| Introduction |
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viii | |
| Preface |
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viii | |
| Plot Summary |
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viii | |
| The Play in Performance |
|
ix | |
| The Author |
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xv | |
| Analysis |
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xvii | |
| Money and Morality |
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xvii | |
| Sources and Analogues |
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xx | |
| Volpone and Mosca |
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xxii | |
| Celia and Bonario |
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xxv | |
| The Would-Be Plot |
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xxvii | |
| The Ending |
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xxix | |
| The Text |
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xxxii | |
| Abbreviations |
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xxxv | |
| Further Reading |
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xxxvi | |
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1 | |
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The Persons of the Comedy |
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3 | (2) |
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5 | (1) |
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6 | (3) |
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9 | (160) |
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169 | |
Robert N. Watson is Distinguished Professor of English at UCLA, USA. He is the editor of Ben Jonson: Four Plays (Bloomsbury), Every Man in His Humour by Ben Jonson (New Mermaids series) and Critical Essays on Ben Jonson. He teaches Shakespeare, English Renaissance poetry and historical ecocriticism at UCLA.
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