Laborious Ben Jonson's Lexicon

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Laborious Ben Jonson's Lexicon UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones December 2017 Studies in Words: Laborious Ben Jonson's Lexicon Steven Hrdlicka University of Nevada, Las Vegas Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/thesesdissertations Part of the Language Description and Documentation Commons, and the Other Languages, Societies, and Cultures Commons Repository Citation Hrdlicka, Steven, "Studies in Words: Laborious Ben Jonson's Lexicon" (2017). UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones. 3140. http://dx.doi.org/10.34917/11889709 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Scholarship@UNLV with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones by an authorized administrator of Digital Scholarship@UNLV. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STUDIES IN WORDS: LABORIOUS BEN JONSON’S LEXICON By Steven Hrdlicka Bachelor of Arts in English University of Nevada, Las Vegas 2004 Master of Arts in English University of Nevada, Reno 2010 A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy - English Department of English College of Liberal Arts The Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas December 2017 Dissertation Approval The Graduate College The University of Nevada, Las Vegas September 15, 2017 This dissertation prepared by Steven Hrdlicka entitled Studies in Words: Laborious Ben Jonson’s Lexicon is approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy - English Department of English Richard Harp, Ph.D. Kathryn Hausbeck Korgan, Ph.D. Examination Committee Chair Graduate College Interim Dean Donald Revell, Ph.D. Examination Committee Member Timothy Erwin, Ph.D. Examination Committee Member Margaret Harp, Ph.D. Graduate College Faculty Representative ii ABSTRACT This dissertation examines significant words in Ben Jonson’s poetic lexicon that the poet inherited, borrowed, and shaped from antiquity and through the Middle Ages. Jonson used etymology as a means to rhetorical inventio, a common practice in the Renaissance. Etymology comprehended more than mere word derivation in the Renaissance but also notably included philological study. Ben Jonson’s extensive knowledge of language, history, architecture, the plastic arts, and philosophy is well known, but the extent to which Jonson’s knowledge of these subjects contributed to his understanding and use of poetic language is not. Thus this dissertation seeks to explore the intellectual and poetic history of a number of key terms and to demonstrate the extent to which Jonson can be seen to conceive of simultaneously both new and old uses of these words in his distinctively renaissance context, an era characterized by radical change and innovation. In addition, this dissertation compares Jonson’s use of important words such as “book,” “sense,” and “author” to how other authors such as John Donne, George Herbert, John Milton, Shakespeare, Robert Southwell, and Sir Phillip Sidney use them, and demonstrates that these other authors were also to some extent aware of the complex etymological and intellectual history of particularly rich words. John Donne’s poem, Amicissimo & meritissimo for example, provides contemporary contextual evidence for Jonson’s curious understanding of poetic “labour” which aids understanding of the way Jonson redeploys classical language in the Renaissance. This dissertation is meant to be a reference work for a wide range of audiences, useful to both the Renaissance specialist and the undergraduate student alike, and aims to shed light on distinctively renaissance issues that would naturally lead to further inquiry and research. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to whole-heartedly thank my dissertation committee for the direction that I received throughout the writing of this dissertation. Dr. Timothy Erwin happily distilled his expertise and many years of study of poetry and the visual arts over casual and delightful conversations and for that I am grateful. Dr. Donald Revell inspired me beyond words to wonder at the seeing of poetry—beyond scansion and into music. Only a living poet can do that. Dr. Margaret Harp helped keep things afloat (when I thought that I might sink) and also provided welcome Continental contexts that I would be wise to consider when turning to further research and developing this dissertation into a manuscript for publication. To the chair of my committee, Dr. Richard Harp, I owe all that I am in arts (How nothing’s that!): My digging into words and origins, the great works, classical and renaissance rhetoric and composition, Modern Irish painting and poetry, and most of all, into teaching. This all came about through a rare flood of generosity and patience. He thoughtfully mentored my development with various projects that somehow always suited my inclinations (and yet still kept the door ajar to encourage study of other periods, authors, arts, and of general literary ideas). Add to this that Dr. Harp’s office door was always open, just as he was open to discuss whatever was on my mind—whether it were my self-inflated anxieties with The Gutenberg Galaxy or with graduate school. I aspire to be like Dr. Harp in many ways, especially to grow to become liberal with my time with students, and to be able to nascantur in admiratione—to lead students into the thrill of discovering things on their own. I would also like to thank Brandon Schneeberger for his friendship and comments. His editorial eye, friendly open criticism, and tireless ear all helped me complete this dissertation. iv How can I even begin to thank my parents? Not only did they continually support my efforts throughout all of this but they also kept me grounded. After all, they grew up and went to school in Europe! Regardless of the amount of research I consulted on painting, architecture, history, language, and the like, I have not even come close to equaling their deep yet casual knowledge of these subjects. In addition, they pulled me away from the dissertation a number of times when needed. For example, last summer at Wheeler in the Great Basin National Park we all braved nature’s surprises for a couple of days at 10,000 feet—splitting logs, stargazing, and that kind of thing. Finally, to my wife Kimberlee I know I owe the deepest debts. How many books and papers were scattered all over our tiny house, taking up even our dinner table with findings and research only some of her photographs can tell, many of which she snapped in chuckling disbelief of what nature and necessity can do. What those photographs and these words cannot tell is the endless support and genuine interest we have shared in our mutual study of painting and poetry. I would not have completed this dissertation without the many good and great conversations we had, made possible through patience, which then always resulted in Kim’s significant, honest comments. Thankfully, I listened. v DEDICATION za Tatko mi i Majka mi koi su mi dali život i podrška da bi mogao da ostvarim ovo posvetim ovj rad i moju molitvi na Oče naš— vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1: Introduction to Ben Jonson’s Lexicon...........................................................................1 Overview of Criticism on Ben Jonson’s Authorship.............................................12 Chapter 2: Medieval Ben Jonson ..................................................................................................21 Division, Store, Gather...........................................................................................21 Flower, Honey, Composition..................................................................................24 Eating, Digestion, Ruminating...............................................................................27 Author.....................................................................................................................30 Book and Original..................................................................................................38 Light, Commonwealth, Life, Name, Raise, Stand, Story (History).........................42 Face and Mirror (Glass)........................................................................................55 Seeing Shakespeare’s Face....................................................................................57 Chapter 3: Sense in Jonson’s Poetry and Masques........................................................................62 Picture....................................................................................................................62 Overview of Issues in Jonson’s Visual Poetics......................................................63 Sense and Sentence...............................................................…………………......72 Body, Soul, Memory...............................................................................................73 Image, Imagination, Phantasy, Common Sense.....................................................75 Sense in Jonson’s Poetry………………………………………………………....79
Recommended publications
  • The Reception of Horace in the Courses of Poetics at the Kyiv Mohyla Academy: 17Th-First Half of the 18Th Century
    The Reception of Horace in the Courses of Poetics at the Kyiv Mohyla Academy: 17th-First Half of the 18th Century The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Siedina, Giovanna. 2014. The Reception of Horace in the Courses of Poetics at the Kyiv Mohyla Academy: 17th-First Half of the 18th Century. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University. Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:13065007 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA © 2014 Giovanna Siedina All rights reserved. Dissertation Advisor: Author: Professor George G. Grabowicz Giovanna Siedina The Reception of Horace in the Courses of Poetics at the Kyiv Mohyla Academy: 17th-First Half of the 18th Century Abstract For the first time, the reception of the poetic legacy of the Latin poet Horace (65 B.C.-8 B.C.) in the poetics courses taught at the Kyiv Mohyla Academy (17th-first half of the 18th century) has become the subject of a wide-ranging research project presented in this dissertation. Quotations from Horace and references to his oeuvre have been divided according to the function they perform in the poetics manuals, the aim of which was to teach pupils how to compose Latin poetry. Three main aspects have been identified: the first consists of theoretical recommendations useful to the would-be poets, which are taken mainly from Horace’s Ars poetica.
    [Show full text]
  • Representations of Counsel in Selected Works of Sir Philip Sidney
    Representations of Counsel in Selected Works of Sir Philip Sidney The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Henson, Marie Celeste. 2015. Representations of Counsel in Selected Works of Sir Philip Sidney. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:17467248 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA Representations of Counsel in Selected Works of Sir Philip Sidney A dissertation presented by Marie Celeste Henson to The Department of English in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the subject of English Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts May 2015 © 2015 Marie Celeste Henson All rights reserved. Dissertation Advisor: Professor James Engell Marie Celeste Henson Representations of Counsel in Selected Works of Sir Philip Sidney Abstract This dissertation addresses the historical, political, and literary-rhetorical framing of counsel in selected works of Sir Philip Sidney: his Letter to Queen Elizabeth (1579), The Old Arcadia (1580), the first two books of The New Arcadia (1585), and the strikingly different final book of The New Arcadia. In these works, Sidney makes resourceful and varying use of the topos of the mirror. First, I show in what ways Sidney serves as the Queen’s mirror in advising her against the marriage to the Duke of Alençon.
    [Show full text]
  • Reading Jonson Historically
    CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by The University of Sydney: Sydney eScholarship Journals online SYDNEY STUDIES Invading Interpreters and Politic Picklocks: Reading Jonson Historically IAN DONAIDSON A central problem in the methodology ofboth the new and 'old' historicism turns on the nature ofthe link that is assumed to exist between historical description and literary interpretation. The monolithic accounts ofElizabethan systems ofbelief assembled by so-called old historicists such as E.M.W. Tillyard (it is common these days to complain) seem often quite at variance with the diverse and at times rebellious energies ofthe literary texts which they are apparently devised to illuminate. Even inthe work of a more sophisticated old historicist such as L.C. Knights the supposedly related activities ofhistorical and literary investigation seem often to tug in contrary directions. The divergence is apparent, for example, in the very structure of Knights's influential study of Drama and Society in the Age of Jonson, the first half of which offers a stolid, Tawney-derived historical account ofeconomic conditions inEngland during the late Elizabethan, early Jacobean period (entitled 'The Background'), while the second half ('The Dramatists') advances livelier readings ofthe work ofindividual authors. The connections here between foreground and 'background', text and context, 'drama' and 'society', literature and history are quite loosely articulated and theoretically undeveloped.l A similar disjunction is often evident in the work of a new historicist such as Stephen Greenblatt, as he turns from a closely-worked meditation upon a particular and highly intriguing historical incident - often quirky in nature, but assumed also to be in some way exemplary - to ponder the particularities of a literary text.
    [Show full text]
  • Jonson's <I>The Alchemist</I> and the Limits of Satire
    Quidditas Volume 21 Article 5 2000 The Repudiation of the Marvelous: Jonson’s The Alchemist and the Limits of Satire Ian McAdam University of Lethbridge Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/rmmra Part of the Comparative Literature Commons, History Commons, Philosophy Commons, and the Renaissance Studies Commons Recommended Citation McAdam, Ian (2000) "The Repudiation of the Marvelous: Jonson’s The Alchemist and the Limits of Satire," Quidditas: Vol. 21 , Article 5. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/rmmra/vol21/iss1/5 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Quidditas by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. The Repudiation of the Marvelous: Jonson’s The Alchemist and the Limits of Satire Ian McAdam University of Lethbridge ur present conception of alchemy is, at best, shadowy and con- fused. As Charles Nicholl states in The Chemical Theatre, “The Omodern image…tends in two directions: one scientific, the other magical. The first defines alchemy simply and chronologically as early chemistry…out of which modern chemistry began to emerge during the seventeenth century.”1 On the other hand, “alchemy is popularly defined as one of the ‘occult arts’.… To us, the alchemist’s avowed quest for miraculous substances—the Philosopher’s Stone which converts all to gold, the Elixir Vitae which confers immortality—belongs to the realm of magic rather than science.”2 Nevertheless, to consider Renaissance atti- tudes towards alchemy, we have to recognize that in certain circles the magical viewpoint, the one we are now so quick to dismiss, was held in veneration, there being yet no clear distinction between magic and sci- ence.
    [Show full text]
  • Sir Philip Sidney, Cultural Icon Also by Richard Hillyer
    Sir Philip Sidney, Cultural Icon Also by Richard Hillyer HOBBES AND HIS POETIC CONTEMPORARIES: Cultural Transmission in Early Modern England (2007) Sir Philip Sidney, Cultural Icon Richard Hillyer SIR PHILIP SIDNEY, CULTURAL ICON Copyright © Richard Hillyer, 2010. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2010 978-0-230-10238-5 All rights reserved. First published in 2010 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States - a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the World, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-28670-6 ISBN 978-0-230-10631-4 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9780230106314 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hillyer, Richard. Sir Philip Sidney, cultural icon / Richard Hillyer. p. cm. ISBN 978–0–230–10238–5 (alk. paper) 1. Sidney, Philip, Sir, 1554–1586.—Criticism and interpretation. 2. Literature and society—England—History—16th century. I. Title. PR2343.H55 2010 821 .3—dc22 2009035739 Design by Integra Software Services First edition: April 2010 10987654321 Contents Preface vii 1 “Yet Verses Are Not Vaine”: Sidney, Spenser, and
    [Show full text]
  • Iambic Metapoetics in Horace, Epodes 8 and 12 Erika Zimmerman Damer University of Richmond, [email protected]
    University of Richmond UR Scholarship Repository Classical Studies Faculty Publications Classical Studies 2016 Iambic Metapoetics in Horace, Epodes 8 and 12 Erika Zimmerman Damer University of Richmond, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.richmond.edu/classicalstudies-faculty- publications Part of the Classical Literature and Philology Commons Recommended Citation Damer, Erika Zimmermann. "Iambic Metapoetics in Horace, Epodes 8 and 12." Helios 43, no. 1 (2016): 55-85. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Classical Studies at UR Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Classical Studies Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of UR Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Iambic Metapoetics in Horace, Epodes 8 and 12 ERIKA ZIMMERMANN DAMER When in Book 1 of his Epistles Horace reflects back upon the beginning of his career in lyric poetry, he celebrates his adaptation of Archilochean iambos to the Latin language. He further states that while he followed the meter and spirit of Archilochus, his own iambi did not follow the matter and attacking words that drove the daughters of Lycambes to commit suicide (Epist. 1.19.23–5, 31).1 The paired erotic invectives, Epodes 8 and 12, however, thematize the poet’s sexual impotence and his disgust dur- ing encounters with a repulsive sexual partner. The tone of these Epodes is unmistakably that of harsh invective, and the virulent targeting of the mulieres’ revolting bodies is precisely in line with an Archilochean poetics that uses sexually-explicit, graphic obscenities as well as animal compari- sons for the sake of a poetic attack.
    [Show full text]
  • The Uses of Melancholy Among Military Nobles in Late Elizabethan England
    10.6094/helden.heroes.heros./2014/QM/04 36 Andreas Schlüter Humouring the Hero: The Uses of Melancholy among Military Nobles in Late Elizabethan England The interest of this article is twofold: fi rst, to aggressive foreign policy against Spain that establish and explore the intricate connection involved England with military on the continent between two key concepts in the fashioning of from the mid-1570s (“Leicester-Walsing ham English military nobles: the hero and melan- alliance”, Adams 25 and passim). The queen choly; and second, to explain their usages and herself referred to Sidney once as “le plus ac- usefulness in the last decades of the sixteenth compli gentilhomme de l’Europe” (Sidney, Cor- century, when both terms were used a lot more respondence II 999). He travelled Europe exten- frequently than ever before in the English lan- sively and brought many ideas and practices of guage (see, for hero, Simpson et al. 171 and the Mediterranean Renaissance and of the Euro- Low 23–24, and for melancholy, Babb 73). It is pean republic of letters into the practical life and possible to link this increase at least partially to behaviour of his generation of fellow court hope- the advance ment of one particular social fi gura- fuls, such as Walter Raleigh, Robert Devereux, tion1: the generation of young courtiers of Queen the 2nd Earl of Essex, and Fulke Greville. In this Elizabeth I who were born around 1560 and climate of “intellectual bombardment” by human- stepped into the courtly sphere in the 1580s and ist ideas as well as by Calvinist beliefs (Waller 1590s.
    [Show full text]
  • Praise, Patronage, and the Penshurst Poems: from Jonson (1616) to Southey (1799)
    University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies The Vault: Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2015-09-24 Praise, Patronage, and the Penshurst Poems: From Jonson (1616) to Southey (1799) Gray, Moorea Gray, M. (2015). Praise, Patronage, and the Penshurst Poems: From Jonson (1616) to Southey (1799) (Unpublished master's thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/27395 http://hdl.handle.net/11023/2486 master thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY Praise, Patronage, and the Penshurst Poems: From Jonson (1616) to Southey (1799) by Mooréa Gray A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS GRADUATE PROGRAM IN ENGLISH CALGARY, ALBERTA SePtember, 2015 © Mooréa Gray 2015 Abstract The Penshurst grouP of Poems (1616-1799) is a collection of twelve Poems— beginning with Ben Jonson’s country-house Poem “To Penshurst”—which praises the ancient estate of Penshurst and the eminent Sidney family. Although praise is a constant theme, only the first five Poems Praise the resPective Patron and lord of Penshurst, while the remaining Poems Praise the exemplary Sidneys of bygone days, including Sir Philip and Dorothy (Sacharissa) Sidney. This shift in praise coincides with and is largely due to the gradual shift in literary economy: from the Patronage system to the literary marketPlace.
    [Show full text]
  • Ben Jonson and the Mirror: Folly Knows No Gender
    Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Dissertations Graduate College 6-2001 Ben Jonson and The Mirror: Folly Knows No Gender Sherry Broadwell Niewoonder Western Michigan University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations Part of the Classical Literature and Philology Commons, English Language and Literature Commons, and the Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons Recommended Citation Niewoonder, Sherry Broadwell, "Ben Jonson and The Mirror: Folly Knows No Gender" (2001). Dissertations. 1382. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations/1382 This Dissertation-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. BEN JONSON AND THE MIRROR: FOLLY KNOWS NO GENDER by Sherry Broadwell Niewoonder A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of English Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan June 2001 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. BEN JONSON AND THE M IR R O R : FO LLY KNOWS NO GENDER Sherry Broadwell Niewoonder, Ph.D. Western Michigan University, 2001 Ben Jonson, Renaissance poet and playwright, has been the subject of renewed evaluation in recent scholarship, particularly new historicism and cultural materialism. The consensus among some current scholars is that Jonson overtly practices and advocates misogyny in his dramas. Such theorists suggest that Jonson both embodies and promulgates the anti­ woman rhetoric of his time, basing their position on contemporary cultural material, religious tracts, and the writings of King James I.
    [Show full text]
  • Blame As Consolation: Rehabilitating the Iambic in Horace's Post-Actian Symposia" (2014)
    University of Mary Washington Eagle Scholar Student Research Submissions Spring 4-23-2014 Blame as Consolation: Rehabilitating the Iambic in Horace's Post- Actian Symposia Emma C. Oestreicher Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.umw.edu/student_research Part of the Classics Commons Recommended Citation Oestreicher, Emma C., "Blame as Consolation: Rehabilitating the Iambic in Horace's Post-Actian Symposia" (2014). Student Research Submissions. 109. https://scholar.umw.edu/student_research/109 This Honors Project is brought to you for free and open access by Eagle Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Student Research Submissions by an authorized administrator of Eagle Scholar. For more information, please contact [email protected]. BLAME AS CONSOLATION: REHABILITATING THE IAMBIC IN HORACE'S POST-ACTIAN SYMPOSIA An honors paper submitted to the Department of Classics, Philosophy, and Religion of the University of Mary Washington in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Departmental Honors Emma C. Oestreicher April 2014 By signing your name below, you affirm that this work is the complete and final version of your paper submitted in partial fulfillment of a degree from the University of Mary Washington. You affirm the University of Mary Washington honor pledge: "I hereby declare upon my word of honor that I have neither given nor received unauthorized help on this work." Emma Oestreicher 05/01/15 (digital signature) BLAME AS CONSOLATION: REHABILITATING THE IAMBIC IN HORACE’S POST-ACTIAN SYMPOSIA A THESIS BY EMMA
    [Show full text]
  • Shakespeare, Jonson, and the Invention of the Author
    11 Donaldson 1573 11/10/07 15:05 Page 319 SHAKESPEARE LECTURE Shakespeare, Jonson, and the Invention of the Author IAN DONALDSON Fellow of the Academy THE LIVES AND CAREERS OF SHAKESPEARE and Ben Jonson, the two supreme writers of early modern England, were intricately and curiously interwoven. Eight years Shakespeare’s junior, Jonson emerged in the late 1590s as a writer of remarkable gifts, and Shakespeare’s greatest theatri- cal rival since the death of Christopher Marlowe. Shakespeare played a leading role in the comedy that first brought Jonson to public promi- nence, Every Man In His Humour, having earlier decisively intervened— so his eighteenth-century editor, Nicholas Rowe, relates—to ensure that the play was performed by the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, who had ini- tially rejected the manuscript.1 Shakespeare’s name appears alongside that of Richard Burbage in the list of ‘principal tragedians’ from the same company who performed in Jonson’s Sejanus in 1603, and it has been con- jectured that he and Jonson may even have written this play together.2 During the years of their maturity, the two men continued to observe Read at the Academy 25 April 2006. 1 The Works of Mr William Shakespeare, ed. Nicholas Rowe, 6 vols. (London, printed for Jacob Tonson, 1709), I, pp. xii–xiii. On the reliability of Rowe’s testimony, see Samuel Schoenbaum, Shakespeare’s Lives (Oxford, 1970), pp. 19–35. 2 The list is appended to the folio text of the play, published in 1616. For the suggestion that Shakespeare worked with Jonson on the composition of Sejanus, see Anne Barton, Ben Jonson: Dramatist (Cambridge, 1984), pp.
    [Show full text]
  • Horace's Epode 9 and Its Generals' Confusion
    Original citation: Giusti, Elena (2016) Dithyrambic iambics : Epode 9 and its general(s’) confusion. In: Bather, Philippa and Stocks, Claire, (eds.) Horace’s Epodes: Contexts, Intertexts, and Reception. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198746058 Permanent WRAP URL: http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/95093 Copyright and reuse: The Warwick Research Archive Portal (WRAP) makes this work by researchers of the University of Warwick available open access under the following conditions. Copyright © and all moral rights to the version of the paper presented here belong to the individual author(s) and/or other copyright owners. To the extent reasonable and practicable the material made available in WRAP has been checked for eligibility before being made available. Copies of full items can be used for personal research or study, educational, or not-for profit purposes without prior permission or charge. Provided that the authors, title and full bibliographic details are credited, a hyperlink and/or URL is given for the original metadata page and the content is not changed in any way. Publisher’s statement: Specific material reused: Giusti, Elena (2016) Dithyrambic iambics : Epode 9 and its general(s’) confusion. In: Bather, Philippa and Stocks, Claire, (eds.) Horace’s Epodes: Contexts, Intertexts, and Reception. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198746058 by permission of Oxford University Press Published version available from Oxford University Press: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198746058.003.0006 For more information, please contact the WRAP Team at: [email protected] A note on versions: The version presented here may differ from the published version or, version of record, if you wish to cite this item you are advised to consult the publisher’s version.
    [Show full text]