Publisher's Synopsis
Convention and Contravention in Ben Jonson's Three Comedies: Volpone, TheAlchemist, Bartholomew Fair is a book about Jonson's convention of comedy thatis a disguise for the realities of life. The book aims to show the importance of thetruths that are generally away from the human eye in Jonson's time through scrutinyof Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair. Selected plays are in a dialoguewith Shakespeare's As You Like It, Measure for Measure, and Twelfth Night, andclose analysis of the texts of the plays offers the reader a detailed study of the upsidedown world of the comedic, carnivalesque period that enables characters freethemselves of their responsibilities. The plays end in harmony, taking all scatteredparts of the disarray of the carnival time back to its normal. Madness, lack of morality,deceitfulness, confusion, misunderstandings, and disguise are common elements inall the plays discussed in the book. Ben Jonson takes the opportunity and presents acritical viewpoint about the Elizabethan and Jacobean laxity and leniency, making thecarnivalesque spirit central to his criticism. This book intends to immerse into ways inwhich characters create chaos within themselves in the selected plays. Shakespeare'sselected plays are supplementary texts that richly add layers, branches, and offices tothe reading of Jonson's society rather than just enriching the comedic impact of theperformances.
