Abstract

Ben Jonson, Literary Style, and Presents Most Famous Plays

Ali Abdul Mohsin Hadi Al-Hajmee

Volume: 13 Issue: 2 2023

Abstract:

Drama has always fascinated audiences. Audiences have been captivated by dramatic presentations of the plights of others since antiquity, which not only satisfies their natural curiosity but also provides a platform from which dramatists can tackle pressing issues of the day and present them in a manner that is both easily understood and literately accessible. Many of Ben Jonson's plays, like Volpone, or The Fox (1606) and The Alchemist (1610), are caustic condemnations of prevailing societal norms. The famed British poet and dramatist Ben Jonson was born in London on 11 June 1572. His father, who was a priest, died just a month before his birth, and his mother promptly remarried again master bricklayer Robert Brett. After getting a classical education at school, Ben Jonson rose from an apprentice bricklayer and soldier to become one of the most acclaimed playwrights and poets of the 17th century. As a writer, he had a troubled beginning, having spent time in prison for writing a controversial play and then murdered another actor shortly after his release. Jonson was a contentious figure due to the extent to which he satirised the English upper classes as he grew in stature. Although he never entirely reconciled himself to English authority, his talent as a dramatist and courtier earned him a pension from King James I and, in effect, the position of unofficial Poet Laureate of England. He brought to the fore the comedy of humor. The current study aims to study the English Playwright Ben Johnson, commenting on his literary style, and presents his most famous plays Volpone, or The Fox (1606) and The Alchemist (1610). The research paper falls into introduction, two sections, and a conclusion which sums the whole findings.

DOI: http://doi.org/10.37648/ijrssh.v13i02.038

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