Every Man Out of His Humour

by Ben Jonson, Helen Ostovich (Editor)

Despite its popularity when it first appeared in print in 1600, Every Man Out of His Humour has never appeared as a single modern critical edition until now. The volume's introduction and annotations convey early modern obsessions with wealth and self-display by providing historical contexts and pointing out the continuity of those obsessions into modern life. The play is of interest because of its influence on the course of city comedy and its wealth of information about social relationships and colloquial language at the end of Elizabeth's reign.

Jonson's experiments in generating theatrical meaning continued throughout his career, but Every Man Out of His Humour--with its youthful vigour and extraordinary visualizations of the urban capacity for self-deceit--is a text that enriches the understanding of all the plays that come after it.

Genres: Classics, Plays, Drama

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1599

About the author

Benjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems. A man of vast reading and a seemingly insatiable appetite for controversy, Jonson had an unparalleled breadth of influence on Jacobean and Caroline playwrights and poets. A house in Dulwich College is named after him.

See more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Jonson

Reviews

[M.L. Rio · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hate Jonson and I’m not sorry

[Archie Hamerton · Rating 1 out of 5]

this is HORRENDOUS and Jonson frankly makes me feel a little bit sick so will someone tell me pls how i’ve ended up writing my weekly essay on it

[Aaron White · Rating 3 out of 5]

An old and difficult play to read through, though it has some fun parts and good points. The librivox dramatization is not the best - but try it out - I play Fungoso.
https://librivox.org/every-man-out-of...

[Katy · Rating 3 out of 5]

ok this one got some chuckles out of me. the dog! the cat! the drama!

FINALLY DONE READING JONSON HOLY SHIT

[Richard Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Slow going but some rewards.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although admittedly long and occasionally obscure, I will defend this play for being genuinely funny even in 2019, if solely for the joy of watching the character of Fungoso rant and rail as he desperately mires himself in debt attempting to keep up with Brisk’s rapidly changing, foppish outfits, only to persistently find himself one day behind the fashion. The inclusion of an acting greyhound is also a major plus for me, who doesn't love a dog on stage! (Well, Jonson apparently - poisoning the dog isn't really comedy is it). Ok it can be hard to follow, I don't speak Latin, and what on earth is going on in that cup scene, but it's still a pretty decent comedy - and entertainingly, any misgivings about the play are anticipated by the onstage critics Cordatus and Mitis, who speak to our modern ears in debating if the scenes you've just patiently tried to decipher might actually just be too long, and with little plot. I love the satire of social climbers dressing the part but never getting the part, and would love to see a modern production of this - perhaps an analogy to the influencer generation with Puntarvolo off on his gap year, and Fungoso trying to follow instagram eyebrow trends...?

[Gill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good Lord but it's long! Two commentators explain everything, just in case the audience missed it the first time, and such plot as there is rambles all over the place. The best bits are funny and show what Ben will go on to achieve, but it's not exactly a surprise that it was a flop in 1599.

Read as part of the "Extra Mile" Shakespeare Institute online readathon in the Covid-19 summer of 2020.

And again, three years on, with the complete Lord Chancellor/King's Men re-read. So long we split it over two evenings. It can never have been performed in full, but Ben insisted on publishing every last word and comma.

[Grace Mc · Rating 3 out of 5]

The poor dog