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Volpone

Ben Jonson
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( 10,444 ratings, 342 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Ben Jonson's Volpone (1605) is a celebrated early modern European comedy that satirises greed through a lively theatrical narrative. The play interweaves main and subplots, drawing on the popular Reynard beast epic and Italian commedia dell'arte. It challenges Renaissance myths of a Golden Age, featuring complex characters and ambiguous scenes, particularly in its opening and controversial ending.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for students studying Renaissance drama, actors preparing the play, and theatre practitioners interested in early modern comedy and performance choices.

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This Revels student edition of Jonson's "Volpone" has been modernised for the use of students, theatrical producers and actors of the play. The introduction presents new material about Volpone's debt to the popular Reynard beast epic and Italian commedia dell'arte.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Ben Jonson's Volpone (1605) is one of the most famous comedies of early modern Europe, translated into many languages and frequently revived on stage. This student edition has a carefully modernised text, aimed at undergraduates, theatrical producers and actors of the play.

The introduction presents new material about Volpone's debt to the popular Reynard beast epic and Italian commedia dell 'arte, and discusses its mockery of greed in relation to two Renaissance perversions of the myth of a Golden Age. Referring to famous productions, it pays particular attention to decisions that must be made whenever the play is performed, particularly its interweaving of main plot and subplot, and the ambiguities of both the opening scene and the controversial conclusion.

Stage directions are added whenever necessary, and commentary notes identify literary borrowings and elucidate contemporary references and difficulties of vocabulary. The emphasis throughout is on Volpone's theatrical liveliness.

Series: Revels Student Editions

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  • The Changeling
    The Changeling by N. Bawcutt offers a competitive price and format for readers looking to delve into this key Renaissance text. This edition is a compacted and up-to-date version of the earlier Revels Plays edition by the same editor. It takes into account more recent critical works, ensuring readers have access to the latest insights and discussions surrounding the text....
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  • Bartholomew Fair (Revels Student Edition)
    Of all of Jonson's plays, Bartholomew Fair with its focus on the conflict between a carnivalesque enjoyment of the flesh and society's desire for order and control, speaks most directly to the modern audience. This edition is the first to use the findings of feminist scholarship in examining the play's concern with forced marriage, pregnancy, sexual commerce and widowhood. Glosses...
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  • Tamburlaine the Great (Revels Student Edition)
    Expanded footnotes are designed to help readers at all levels of familiarity with Elizabethan drama. There is an emphasis on the play as a theatre text, including informative stage directions. The introduction is stimulating and makes a notable break from the orthodox style. Tamburlaine the Great (Revels Student Edition) is an essential read for those interested in Elizabethan theatre and...
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  • Volpone
    Ben Jonson's Volpone (1605) is one of the most famous comedies of early modern Europe, translated into many languages and frequently revived on stage. This student edition has a carefully modernised text, aimed at undergraduates, theatrical producers and actors of the play. The introduction presents new material about Volpone's debt to the popular Reynard beast epic and Italian commedia dell...
    Paperback
    Sold Out

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

A solid and useful edition praised for its detailed notes, modernised text, and insightful introduction, making it particularly helpful for undergraduates, actors, and theatrical producers.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780719051821

Publisher: Manchester University Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 11 March 1999

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Manchester University Press

Contributors:

  • Edited by Stephen Bevington
  • Edited by Brian Parker

Audience: Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 12.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 227g

Pages: 224

About the Author

Brian Parker is Professor of English at Trinity College and the University of Toronto. David Bevington is Phyllis Fay Horton Professor in the Humanities at the University of Chicago

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