No More Learning

His dupery, as in the case of his bargain with Wittipol, excites
indignation rather than mirth, and his final discomfiture affords us
almost a sense of poetic justice. This character stands in the position
of chief victim.

In an intermediate position are Merecraft and Everill. They succeed in
swindling Fitzdottrel and Lady Tailbush, but are in turn played upon by
the chief intriguer, Wittipol, with his friend Manly. Jonson's moral
purpose is here plainly visible, especially in contrast to Plautus,
with whom the youthful intriguer is also the stock figure. The motive
of the young man's trickery in the Latin comedy is usually unworthy and
selfish. That of Wittipol, on the other hand, is wholly disinterested,
since he is represented as having already philosophically accepted the
rejection of his advances at the hands of Mrs. Fitzdottrel.

In construction the play suffers from overabundance of material.
Instead of a single main line of action, which is given clear
precedence, there is rather a succession of elaborated episodes,
carefully connected and motivated, but not properly subordinated. The
plot is coherent and intricate rather than unified. This is further
aggravated by the fact that the chief objects of satire are imperfectly
understood by readers of the present day.

Jonson observes unity of time, Pug coming to earth in
the morning and returning at midnight. With the exception
of the first scene, which is indeterminate, and seems at
one moment to be hell, and the next London, the action is
confined to the City, but hovers between Lincoln's Inn,
Newgate, and the house of Lady Tailbush. Unity of action
is of course broken by the interference of the devil-plot and
the episodic nature of the satirical plot.
The main lines
of action may be discussed separately.

In the first act chief prominence is given to the intrigue
between Wittipol and Mrs. Fitzdottrel. This interest is
continued through the second act, but practically dropped
after this point. In Act 4 we find that both lovers have
recovered from their infatuation, and the intrigue ends by
mutual consent.

The second act opens with the episode of Merecraft's plot to gull
Fitzdottrel. The project of the dukedom of Drownedland is given chief
place, and attention is centred upon it both here and in the following
scenes. Little use, however, is made of it in the motivation of
action. This is left for another project, the office of the Master of
Dependencies (quarrels) in the next act. This device is introduced in
an incidental way, and we are not prepared for the important place
which it takes in the development of the plot. Merecraft, goaded by
Everill, hits upon it merely as a temporary makeshift to extort money
from Fitzdottrel. The latter determines to make use of the office in
prosecuting his quarrel with Wittipol. In preparation for the duel,
and in accordance with the course of procedure laid down by Everill,
he resolves to settle his estate. Merecraft and Everill endeavor to
have the deed drawn in their own favor, but through the interference
of Wittipol the whole estate is made over to Manly, who restores it to
Mrs. Fitzdottrel. This project becomes then the real turning-point of
the play.