Inaug.-Diss--Kaiser-Wilhelms-Universität, Strassburg, 1908.

This thesis is a study of Ben Jonson's point of view. It attempts to determine that point of view by evaluating two of his critical theories, that of the humours and classical unity of action, and by examining their relationship to a selected number of his plays - The Case Is Altered, The Alchemist. Every Man in His Humour, Every Man Out Of His Humour, and Volpone. Just as his plays are a reflection of the times through his eyes, so too are these two critical theories his reflection of general ideas current in the age. The theory of humours derives from an Elizabethan concept of order in the universe and in man, and unity of action from a classical idea of unity and coherence. No attempt is made to re-examine the 'Elizabethan World Picture' or the classical world view except in so far as they relate to Jonson's particular views. Chapter I, "Historical and Philosophical Perspective”, deals with some of the main influences of Jonson's own time which appear most pertinent to his point of view. Chapter II discusses relevant, literary and critical theories, both Elizabethan and classical. Chapter III explores the imaginative connection made by Jonson between the theory of humours and unity of action; also it attempts to show how this connection enables Jonson to recreate interdependent character and action in spite of a loss to the imagination of a spiritually unified cosmos. The remaining chapters use the humour theory to examine Jonson's characters as illustrative of his point of view and considers unity of action as a guide to his developing technique. Although Jonson achieves finest technical expression in The Alchemist, it is in Volpone that one finds the fullest realization of his point of view, and for this reason Volpone is the play most closely studied. / Arts, Faculty of / English, Department of / Graduate

This study was made to trace the stage history of The Alchemist and to see what effect theatrical productions can have in developing critical awareness of Jonson's dramatic skill in this popular play. Therefore an attempt has been made to record all performances by major companies between 1610 and 1970 with cast lists and other pertinent information about scenery/ stage action and properties. The second part of the thesis provides a detailed analysis of four specific productions considered in light of their prompt books, details of acting and production, and overall critical reception. Garrick's adaption, which dominated the stage during the eighteenth century, reflected the genius of its producer but also demonstrated the skill with which Jonson balanced the plot. Garrick featured the part of Drugger, one of the minor gulls, but Jonson's plot structure remained intact as the ridiculing of human greed and stupidity continued to be the dominant characteristic. William Poel's production, on the other hand, emphasized the rapid plot development by use of a pseudo-Elizabethan stage, and he laid heavy stress on the elocution proving that the alchemical jargon was an essential element of the play and should not be cut because audiences could not understand it. The Ashland production (1961) also demonstrated the effectiveness of the pseudo-Elizabethan stage in presenting the fast moving comic action. It emphasized the farcical nature of the play and the repertory casting revealed the skill with which Jonson balanced his characters. The Old Vic production (1962), directed by Tyrone Guthrie, assumed that Jonson had to be modernized to be understood by contempory audiences, but his tampering with the text distorted and weakened the play in a number of ways. Finally, in the concluding chapter, an attempt has been made to provide an analysis of The Alchemist based on insights provided by the preceding material in an effort to show that literary criticism of a play is often closely linked with theatrical experience. The complex interweaving of subplot with subplot, the finely etched characters, the colourful language, the important themes—all are as theatrically effective today as they were in 1610. The stage history of The Alchemist demonstrates that it is one of Ben Jonson's most popular plays, and the reasons are visibly evident upon investigation of some of the theatrical productions / Arts, Faculty of / English, Department of / Graduate

Since its 1605 quarto publication, Ben Jonson's Sejanus has inspired much critical commentary. Although criticism credits Jonson with a compositorial role in the Quarto's production, critics continue to assess its marginalia as a defense against application or a scholarly pretense. Editors have pared down the marginalia, setting them as footnotes or endnotes; others have relegated them to appendices; still others have abandoned them entirely. Neither critics nor editors have weighed Jonson's marginalia beside the dramatic text they inform. Reading the Quarto Sejanus as a composite of margins and centre, within its bibliographical, theoretical, and literary contexts, shows it to be a learned study in emergent theories of historiography. In its innovations, the composite redresses the inefficacies of contemporary historians and editors. To understand Sejanus's textual interactions. the opening chapter examines tbe quarto itself. In each feature of its composition - from its title page, through its prefatory epistle, laudatory poems, and argument, to its very mise-en-page - the Quarto Sejanus declares itself the learnedly innovative product of long labour, and demands to be read as such. Chapter 2 considers the impact upon Renaissance historiographers of historiographic models, ranging from Gildas Sapiens to North's Plutarch, and theoretic models, from the Florentine to the Polybian. The composite Sejanus is innovatively Polybian in its comprehensive attention to human cause and circumstance. Sejanus' historiographic claims are tested against Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Chapter 3 begins the process of investigating Sejanus's bibliographical innovations. The investigation begins with the reception of the scholarly text in 1605 through three interdependent early-modern practices - margination. education, and reading - to show that, having no conception of supplemenlarity, the Renaissance reader read the whole page. Chapter 4 produces something afthe Quarto Sejanus's bibliographical context through two contemporary marginated texts - Matthew Gwinne's Latin drama Nero and Sir John Harington's translation of Orlalldo Furioso. Chapter 5 tests my claims to the Quarto Sejanus's bibliographical innovation within the context created in Chapter 4. The Quarto's composite fonn transcends the limits of the text to a degree unmatched by its dramatic or historiographic contemporaries, allowing Jonson to model right and ill-reasoned action through psychologically realized characters within vividly historicized events. / Graduate

This thesis discusses Ben Jonson's innovative concept of character as an effect of interactions in dramatic, political and literary spheres. The Introduction observes how the early modern understanding of ‘character' was built on classical rhetorical theory, and argues its relevance to Jonson's rhetorical and performative representations of characters. Chapter 1 looks into the bridge between epigrams and character writing, and examines the rhetorical influence of the grammar-school exercises of Progymnasmata on Jonson's representation of characters in his Epigrams. Chapter 2 examines character as legal ethos in Catiline, analysing the discourse of law that constitutes Cicero's struggle to issue senatus consultum ultimum and examining the way Catiline represents character and mischief to address the problematic issues of power and authority in King James' monarchical republic. Chapter 3 explores Jonson's challenge in his integration of the emblematic characters of Opinion and Truth in Hymenaei, and argues that the underlining contemporary medico-legal discourses help the masque to accommodate conflicting characters. Chapter 4 discusses the problematic characterization of news and rumours in Volpone, The Staple of News and the later masques, and considers the way Jonsonian characters strive to find trustworthy and legible signs of others in their exchanges of information. In Conclusion, the thesis confirms the need to re-acknowledge Jonson's writings in terms of character as rhetorical effect of these imagined interactions.

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