SPECIFIC
OBJECTS OF SATIRE liv
1.
1.
Ben Jonson - The Devil's Association
THE DEVIL IS AN ASS xix
I. THE DEVIL PLOT xx
1. The Devil in the pre-Shakespearian Drama xxii
2. Jonson's Treatment of the Devil xxiii
3. The Influence of Robin Goodfellow
and of Popular Legend xxvi
4. Friar Rush and Dekker xxvii
5. The Novella of _Belfagor_ and the
Comedy of _Grim_ xxx
6. Summary xxxiv
7. The Figure of the Vice xxxiv
8. Jonson's Use of the Vice xxxvii
II. THE SATIRICAL DRAMA xli
1. General Treatment of the Plot xli
2. Chief Sources of the Plot xlv
3. Prototypes of the leading Characters lii
4. Minor Sources liii
III.
SPECIFIC OBJECTS OF SATIRE liv
1. The Duello liv
2. The Monopoly System lviii
3. Witchcraft lxii
IV. PERSONAL SATIRE lxv
Mrs. Fitzdottrel lxvi
Fitzdottrel lxx
Wittipol lxxi
Justice Eitherside lxxi
Merecraft lxxii
Plutarchus Guilthead lxxiii
The Noble House lxxiv
D. AFTER-INFLUENCE OF THE DEVIL IS AN ASS lxxiv
APPENDIX--EXTRACTS FROM THE CRITICS lxxvi
TEXT 1
NOTES 123
GLOSSARY 213
BIBILIOGRAPHY 237
INDEX 243
INTRODUCTION
A. EDITIONS OF THE TEXT
_The Devil is an Ass_ was first printed in 1631, and was probably put
into circulation at that time, either as a separate pamphlet or bound
with _Bartholomew Fair_ and _The Staple of News_. Copies of this
original edition were, in 1640-1, bound into the second volume of the
First Folio of Jonson's collected works. [1] In 1641 a variant reprint
edition of _The Devil is an Ass_, apparently small, was issued
in pamphlet form. The play reappears in all subsequent collected
editions. These are: (1) the 'Third Folio', 1692; (2) a bookseller's
edition, 1716 [1717]; (3) Whalley's edition, 1756; (4) John
Stockdale's reprint of Whalley's edition (together with the works
of Beaumont and Fletcher), 1811; (5) Gifford's edition, 1816; (6)
Barry Cornwall's one-volume edition, 1838; (7) Lieut. Col. Francis
Cunningham's three-volume reissue (with some minor variations) of
Gifford's edition, 1871; (8) another reissue by Cunningham, in
nine volumes (with additional notes), 1875. The _Catalogue_ of the
British Museum shows that Jonson's works were printed in two volumes
at Dublin in 1729. Of these editions only the first two call for
detailed description, and of the others only the first, second,
third, fifth, and eighth will be discussed.
I. THE DEVIL PLOT xx
1. The Devil in the pre-Shakespearian Drama xxii
2. Jonson's Treatment of the Devil xxiii
3. The Influence of Robin Goodfellow
and of Popular Legend xxvi
4. Friar Rush and Dekker xxvii
5. The Novella of _Belfagor_ and the
Comedy of _Grim_ xxx
6. Summary xxxiv
7. The Figure of the Vice xxxiv
8. Jonson's Use of the Vice xxxvii
II. THE SATIRICAL DRAMA xli
1. General Treatment of the Plot xli
2. Chief Sources of the Plot xlv
3. Prototypes of the leading Characters lii
4. Minor Sources liii
III.
SPECIFIC OBJECTS OF SATIRE liv
1. The Duello liv
2. The Monopoly System lviii
3. Witchcraft lxii
IV. PERSONAL SATIRE lxv
Mrs. Fitzdottrel lxvi
Fitzdottrel lxx
Wittipol lxxi
Justice Eitherside lxxi
Merecraft lxxii
Plutarchus Guilthead lxxiii
The Noble House lxxiv
D. AFTER-INFLUENCE OF THE DEVIL IS AN ASS lxxiv
APPENDIX--EXTRACTS FROM THE CRITICS lxxvi
TEXT 1
NOTES 123
GLOSSARY 213
BIBILIOGRAPHY 237
INDEX 243
INTRODUCTION
A. EDITIONS OF THE TEXT
_The Devil is an Ass_ was first printed in 1631, and was probably put
into circulation at that time, either as a separate pamphlet or bound
with _Bartholomew Fair_ and _The Staple of News_. Copies of this
original edition were, in 1640-1, bound into the second volume of the
First Folio of Jonson's collected works. [1] In 1641 a variant reprint
edition of _The Devil is an Ass_, apparently small, was issued
in pamphlet form. The play reappears in all subsequent collected
editions. These are: (1) the 'Third Folio', 1692; (2) a bookseller's
edition, 1716 [1717]; (3) Whalley's edition, 1756; (4) John
Stockdale's reprint of Whalley's edition (together with the works
of Beaumont and Fletcher), 1811; (5) Gifford's edition, 1816; (6)
Barry Cornwall's one-volume edition, 1838; (7) Lieut. Col. Francis
Cunningham's three-volume reissue (with some minor variations) of
Gifford's edition, 1871; (8) another reissue by Cunningham, in
nine volumes (with additional notes), 1875. The _Catalogue_ of the
British Museum shows that Jonson's works were printed in two volumes
at Dublin in 1729. Of these editions only the first two call for
detailed description, and of the others only the first, second,
third, fifth, and eighth will be discussed.
