Ben Jonson Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...

(c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) collected his plays and other writings into a book he titled ''The Workes of Benjamin Jonson''. In 1616 it was printed in London in the form of a folio. Second and third editions of his works were published posthumously in 1640 and 1692. These editions of Ben Jonson's works were a crucial development in the publication of English Renaissance drama. The first folio collection, ''The Workes of Benjamin Jonson'', treated stage plays as serious works of literature and stood as a precedent for other play collections that followed—notably the

First Folio ''Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies'' is a collection of plays by William Shakespeare, commonly referred to by modern scholars as the First Folio, published in 1623, about seven years after Shakespeare's death. It is cons ...

of Shakespeare's plays in 1623, the first

Beaumont and Fletcher Beaumont and Fletcher were the English dramatists Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher, who collaborated in their writing during the reign of James I (1603–25). They became known as a team early in their association, so much so that their joi ...

folio in 1647, and other collections that were important in preserving the dramatic literature of the age.

The first folio, 1616

''The Workes of Benjamin Jonson'', the first Jonson folio of 1616, printed and published by

William Stansby William Stansby (1572–1638) was a London printer and publisher of the Jacobean and Caroline eras, working under his own name from 1610. One of the most prolific printers of his time, Stansby is best remembered for publishing the landmark first ...

and sold through bookseller

Richard Meighen Richard Meighen (died 1641) was a London publisher of the Jacobean and Caroline eras. He is noted for his publications of plays of English Renaissance drama; he published the second Ben Jonson folio of 1640/41, and was a member of the syndicat ...

, contained nine plays all previously published, two works of non-dramatic poetry, thirteen masques, and six "entertainments". *Plays: ** '' Every Man in His Humour'' ** '' Every Man out of His Humour'' ** ''

Cynthia's Revels ''Cynthia's Revels, or The Fountain of Self-Love'' is a late Elizabethan stage play, a satire written by Ben Jonson. The play was one element in the ''Poetomachia'' or War of the Theatres between Jonson and rival playwrights John Marston and T ...

'' ** '' The Poetaster'' ** ''

Sejanus His Fall ''Sejanus His Fall'', a 1603 play by Ben Jonson, is a tragedy about Lucius Aelius Sejanus, the favourite of the Roman emperor Tiberius. ''Sejanus His Fall'' was performed at court in 1603, and at the Globe Theatre in 1604. The latter perfo ...

'' ** '' Volpone'' ** '' Epicoene, or the Silent Woman'' ** ''

The Alchemist An alchemist is a person who practices alchemy. Alchemist or Alchemyst may also refer to: Books and stories * ''The Alchemist'' (novel), the translated title of a 1988 allegorical novel by Paulo Coelho * ''The Alchemist'' (play), a play by Be ...

'' ** ''

Catiline His Conspiracy ''Catiline His Conspiracy'' is a Jacobean tragedy written by Ben Jonson. It is one of the two Roman tragedies that Jonson hoped would cement his dramatic achievement and reputation, the other being ''Sejanus His Fall'' (1603). Background Jonso ...

'' * Poetry: ** ''Epigrams'' ** ''The Forest'' * Masques: ** '' The Masque of Blackness'' ** '' The Masque of Beauty'' ** '' Hymenaei'' ** ''

The Hue and Cry After Cupid ''The Hue and Cry After Cupid,'' or ''A Hue and Cry After Cupid,'' also ''Lord Haddington's Masque'' or ''The Masque at Lord Haddington's Marriage,'' or even ''The Masque With the Nuptial Songs at the Lord Viscount Haddington's Marriage at Cour ...

'' ** '' The Masque of Queens'' ** '' The Speeches at Prince Henry's Barriers'' ** ''

Oberon, the Faery Prince ''Oberon, the Faery Prince'' was a masque written by Ben Jonson, with costumes, sets and stage effects designed by Inigo Jones, and music by Alfonso Ferrabosco and Robert Johnson. ''Oberon'' saw the introduction to English Renaissance theatre ...

'' ** '' Love Freed from Ignorance and Folly'' ** '' Love Restored'' ** ''A Challenge at Tilt, at a Marriage'' ** ''The Irish Masque at Court'' ** '' Mercury Vindicated from the Alchemists'' ** '' The Golden Age Restored'' * Entertainments: ** '' The King's Entertainment in Passing to His Coronation'' 'The Coronation Triumph''** ''A Panegyre, on the Happy Entrance of James'' ** '' A Particular Entertainment of the Queen and Prince (at Althorp)'' 'The Satyr''** ''A Private Entertainment of the King and Queen (on May-Day)'' 'The Penates''** ''The Entertainment of the Two Kings (of Great Britain and Denmark)'' 'The Hours''** ''An Entertainment of King James and Queen Anne'' The first five of the masques, from '' The Masque of Blackness'' through '' The Masque of Queens'', had been printed previously; as had ''A Panegyre, on the Happy Entrance of James'' and the ''Epigrams''.

The abortive 1631 addition

In 1631 Jonson planned a second volume to be added to the 1616 folio, a collection of later-written works to be published by

Robert Allot Robert Allot (died 1635) was a London bookseller and publisher of the early Caroline era; his shop was at the sign of the black bear in St. Paul's Churchyard. Though he was in business for a relatively short time – the decade from 1625 to 16 ...

. Jonson, however, became dissatisfied with the quality of the printing (by John Beale), and cancelled the project. Three plays were set into type for the projected collection, and printings of those typecasts were circulated—though whether they were sold commercially or distributed privately by Jonson is unclear. The three plays are: * ''

Bartholomew Fair The Bartholomew Fair was one of London's pre-eminent summer charter fairs. A charter for the fair was granted to Rahere by Henry I to fund the Priory of St Bartholomew; and from 1133 to 1855 it took place each year on 24 August within the preci ...

'' * '' The Devil Is an Ass'' * '' The Staple of News'' Allot died in 1635; in the 1637–39 period, the rights to Jonson's works were involved in a complex legal dispute between

Philip Chetwinde Philip Chetwinde (fl. 1653–1674) was a seventeenth-century London bookseller and publisher, noted for his publication of the Third Folio of Shakespeare's plays. A rough start Chetwinde was originally a clothworker. Through his 1637 marriage ...

, the second husband of Allot's widow, and stationers Andrew Crooke and John Legatt. Crooke and Legatt believed they owned the rights to the works.

The second folio, 1640/1

Two folio collections of Jonsonian works were issued in 1640-41. The first, printed by Richard Bishop for Andrew Crooke, was a 1640 reprint of the 1616 folio with corrections and emendations; it has sometimes been termed "the second edition of the first folio." The second volume was edited by Jonson's literary executor Sir Kenelm Digby, and published by

, in co-operation with Chetwinde. That volume contained later works, most of them unpublished or uncollected previously—six plays (including the three printed in 1631), two of them incomplete, and fifteen masques, plus miscellaneous pieces. In the Digby/Meighen volume—identified on its title page as "the Second Volume" of Jonson's works—the varying dates (1631, 1640, 1641) in some of the texts, and what editor William Savage Johnson once called "irregularity in contents and arrangement in different copies," have caused significant confusion. * Plays: ** ''

'' ** '' The Devil Is an Ass'' ** ''

The Magnetic Lady ''The Magnetic Lady, or Humours Reconciled'' is a Caroline-era stage play, the final comedy of Ben Jonson. It was licensed for performance by Sir Henry Herbert, the Master of the Revels, on 12 October 1632, and first published in 1641, in V ...

'' ** '' A Tale of a Tub'' ** ''The Sad Shepherd'' (unfinished) ** ''Mortimer: His Fall'' (fragment) * Masques: ** '' Christmas, His Masque'' ** '' A Masque Presented in the House of Lord Hay'' ** '' The Vision of Delight'' ** '' Pleasure Reconciled to Virtue'' ** ''For the Honour of Wales'' ** '' News from the New World Discovered in the Moon'' ** '' A Masque of the Metamorphos'd Gypsies'' ** ''

The Masque of Augurs ''The Masque of Augurs'' was a Jacobean era masque, written by Ben Jonson and designed by Inigo Jones. It was performed, most likely, on Twelfth Night, 6 January 1622. A second performance of the masque, with textual revisions by Jonson, occu ...

'' ** '' Time Vindicated to Himself and to His Honours'' ** '' Neptune's Triumph for the Return of Albion'' ** '' Pan's Anniversary, or The Shepherd's Holiday'' ** ''The Masque of Owls'' ** '' The Fortunate Isles, and Their Union'' ** ''

Love's Triumph Through Callipolis ''Love's Triumph Through Callipolis'' was the first masque performed at the Stuart Court during the reign of King Charles I, and the first in which a reigning monarch appeared. The work was written by Ben Jonson, with costumes, sets, and stage ...

'' ** '' Chloridia: Rites to Chloris and Her Nymphs'' ** ''

The King's Entertainment at Welbeck ''The King's Entertainment at Welbeck in Nottinghamshire,'' alternatively titled ''Love's Welcome at Welbeck,'' was a masque or entertainment written by Ben Jonson, and performed on 21 May 1633 at the Welbeck estate of William Cavendish, 1st Duk ...

'' ** '' Love's Welcome at Bolsover'' * Miscellaneous: ** ''Underwoods'' ** ''Horace, His Art of Poetry'' ** ''The English Grammar'' ** ''Timber, or Discoveries''

The third folio, 1692

The 1692 single-volume third folio was printed by Thomas Hodgkin and published by a syndicate of booksellers—the title page lists H nryHerringman, E. Brewster, T. Bassett, R. Chiswell, M. Wotton, and G. Conyers.Herringman, Brewster, and Chiswell were members of the four-man syndicate that published the Fourth Folio of Shakespeare's plays in 1685. Herringman was one of three stationers who issued the second Beaumont and Fletcher folio in

1679 Events January–June * January 24 – King Charles II of England dissolves the "Cavalier Parliament", after nearly 18 years. * February 3 – Moroccan troops from Fez are killed, along with their commander Moussa ben Ahmed be ...

. The third folio added two works to the previous total: the play '' The New Inn,'' and ''Leges Convivales''. Two other works by Jonson were left out of the 17th-century folios but added to later editions: the plays ''

The Case is Altered ''The Case is Altered'' is an early comedy by Ben Jonson. First published in 1609, the play presents a range of problems for scholars attempting to understand its place in Jonson's canon of works. Date and publication The play's title was firs ...

'' and '' Eastward Ho'' (the latter written with Marston and George Chapman).

Notes

References

* Brady, Jennifer, and W. H. Herendeen, eds. ''Ben Jonson's 1616 Folio.'' Newark, DE, University of Delaware Press, 1991. * Brock, Dewey Howard. ''A Ben Jonson Companion.'' Bloomington, Indiana University Press, 1983. * Harp, Richard, and Stanley Stewart, eds. ''The Cambridge Companion to Ben Jonson.'' Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2000. * Loxley, James. ''The Complete Critical Guide to Ben Jonson.'' London, Routledge, 2002. * Williams, W. P. "Chetwin, Crooke, and the Jonson Folios." ''Studies in Bibliography'' 30 (1977).

External links

Digitized facsimile of Jonson's First Folio, 1616

Watermarks of the 1616 folio
* Digitized Facsimiles of Jonson's second folio, 1640/
Jonson's second folio, 1640/1
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jonson, Ben, folios Bibliography Masques by Ben Jonson Plays by Ben Jonson