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Works: Volume 4: Cynthia's Revels, Poetaster, Sejanus His Fall, Eastward Ho (The Oxford Jonson)

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Works: Volume 4: Cynthia's Revels, Poetaster, Sejanus His Fall, Eastward Ho (The Oxford Jonson)
Ben Jonson
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Ovid, Virgil, Horace and Two Inept Poets
Fierce, funny comedy from the age of Shakespeare

Poetaster (The Revels Plays)
Ben Jonson
Manufacturer: Manchester University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0719016371

Book Description

Ovid. I like not this sudden and general heaviness amongst our godheads; 'tis somewhat ominous. Apollo, command us louder music, and let Mercury and Momus contend to please and revive our senses.

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Ovid. I like not this sudden and general heaviness amongst our godheads; 'tis somewhat ominous. Apollo, command us louder music, and let Mercury and Momus contend to please and revive our senses.

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Ovid, Virgil, Horace and Two Inept Poets.......2004-05-10

Poetaster - one of Ben Jonson's earliest plays - was first staged in 1601, the same year as Hamlet. A poetaster is a trivial rhymester, a writer of doggerel, at best an inferior poet. A poetaster is pretentious, and places undue value on his own work. Apparently, the first occurrence of this term is in this play.

Ben Jonson was an exuberant individual that was often in trouble, with perhaps the most public example being the so-called War of the Theatres (1599-1601). Somehow he had managed to become entangled in an acrimonious exchange with two rival playwrights, John Marston and Thomas Dekker, and this satirical play, Poetaster, was a return volley from Jonson. Despite its setting in ancient Rome, the audience quickly recognized that the two rather mean-spirited, envious, inept poets, Crispinus and Demetrius, represented Marston and Dekker.

Poetaster is less scholarly than some of Jonson's plays, and consequently is easier going, but good footnotes are still to be valued. Although Jonson's ridicule of Crispinus and Demetrius comprises a significant number of scenes, this play is more about the Roman poets Ovid, Virgil, and Horace and their relationship with governmental authority.

Contrary to his father's urgings that he study law, Ovid pursues poetry; Ovid evens transcribes his law notes into poetry. Ovid loves and is loved by Julia, the only daughter of Emperor Augustus Caesar. Ovid has great talent, but exercises poor judgment leading to conflict with the Augustus himself.

Virgil, a commoner by birth, is a favorite of Augustus. The emperor seats Virgil by his side and asks him to read from the Aeneid. In contrast to Ovid, Virgil symbolizes the unity of poetry with the state.

Horace is a younger, less-experienced poet that has become the innocent victim of envy and libel by Crispinus and Demetrius. Vindicated by Roman law, Horace is allowed to select an appropriate punishment. Horace's (that is, Jonson's) punishment for Crispinus (that is, Marston) is memorable.

If you are new to Jonson, I suggest beginning with his better known comedies like The Alchemist and Volpone. But don't neglect his lesser known plays. Poetaster is quite good, and it is interesting for its insight on the Elizabethan theatre.

Fierce, funny comedy from the age of Shakespeare.......2000-06-24

Shakespeare's friend and rival, Ben Jonson, shows off his classical learning and comic brilliance at the same time with a satire about the Roman poets. Lovesick Ovid and honest Horace are the heroes, with a pack of liars, slanderers, and terrible amateur poets (or "poetasters") as the villains. This play isn't as popular as Jonson's best known works, like _Volpone_ and _The Alchemist_, but there aren't many playwrights who can get laughs both from literary criticism and from vomiting, let alone get laughs from both at the same time. Jonson can. If you like Shakespeare's grittier works (say, _Troilus and Cressida_) or the comedies of Thomas Middleton, this is definitely for you.

Experiments in Stage Satire: An Analysis of Ben Jonson's Every Man Out of His Humour, Cynthia's Revels and Poetaster (European Univ Studies, Vol 131)

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Experiments in Stage Satire: An Analysis of Ben Jonson's Every Man Out of His Humour, Cynthia's Revels and Poetaster (European Univ Studies, Vol 131)
Hanna Scolnicov
Manufacturer: Peter Lang Pub Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Every Man Out of His Humour, Cynthia's Revels And the Poetaster: The Works of Ben Jonson Part Two

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Every Man Out of His Humour, Cynthia's Revels And the Poetaster: The Works of Ben Jonson Part Two
Ben Jonson
Manufacturer: Kessinger Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Book Description

1816. Part Two of Nine. Dramatist, poet, scholar and writer of court masques, Ben Jonson was the leading literary figure during the reign of King James I. Jonson was known as an avid scholar of Latin and Greek, and his mastery of the classics, the high-spirited buoyancy of his plays and the brilliance of his language have earned him a reputation as one of the great playwrights in English literature. To exhibit the follies of men Jonson created the comedy of humors which are fully developed in Every Man out of His Humour and Cynthia's Revels. By caricaturing Marston in Every Man out of His Humour he became part in the stage quarrel, in which his two plays, Cynthia's Revels and The Poetaster, were to figure prominently. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.

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