Nullifidian’s Reviews > The Complete Plays of Ben Jonson Volume One > Status Update

Finished Epicœne; or, The Silent Woman, and now I'm onto the last play in the collection, the English version of Every Man in his Humour. I'm tempted to listen to Richard Strauss' Die schweigsame Frau, which is an operatic adaptation of Jonson's play, a play that was either directly adapted or inspired four other operas. Strange for a play that is now so little-performed and little-known.

Sejanus His Fall was better than its reputation of its disastrous premiere—not to mention the wretched Poetomachia plays preceding it—would suggest. With judicious cuts and in the hands of a skilled director, I think it would be very playable. House of Cards has taught us to enjoy talky political dramas with Machiavellian leads.

Now up to Volpone; or, The Fox, my favorite Jonson play.

Finished with Poetaster, thank God. If anyone wants to read an ill-tempered rant with an authorial self-insert that ends with the self-insert being proclaimed a vastly superior writer and his literary enemies being sworn not to contradict this decree on pain of permanent literary oblivion, then Jonson has you covered. And this is what was supposed to defend Jonson from the charge of arrogance!

Finished Cynthia's Revels, which is the most boring play of the early modern era. It took Ben Jonson to realize that what would really give a play dramatic interest is to show the characters playing parlor games. Unfortunately, we readers have to wait to Act IV for that white-knuckled, adrenaline-fueled thrill ride.

Next up is The Poetaster: or, His Arraignment. It's probably unbearably tedious too.

Read Every Man out of His Humour, which was a truly awful play. No plot, no interest, barely any laughs, and flat-footed explications from Jonson's stand-ins within the play so that we couldn't possibly miss the satirical points. I'm hoping that the other Poetomachia plays—Cynthia's Revels and Poetaster—aren't as bad, but I'm not holding out much hope.

Finished the Introduction by Felix Schelling and the Italian version of Every Man in His Humour, which wasn't as funny as the English version, though it had its moments. Next up is Every Man Out of His Humour.