Every Man in His Humour
by Ben Jonson

Name: Every Man in His Humour
Brand: Ben Jonson
SKU: 9780713643978
Rating: 3.17 (280 reviews)

Every Man in His Humour Book Cover — Every Man in His Humour Cover

Highlights

British

Why we like it

"Ben Jonson's 'Every Man in His Humour' is a brilliant satire that explores the diverse follies of humanity through a comedic lens."

From: Satirical Plays

What readers are saying

Readers have mixed feelings about the play, noting its satirical exploration of human nature and the concept of 'humours.' While some appreciate the humor and characters, many find the plot lacking and tedious at times. Overall, the play's comedic elements draw some readers in, but others find it challenging to fully engage with the narrative.

Witty and humorous dialogueInteresting character explorationDelightful languagePlot can feel tediousLacks a strong narrative arc

Synopsis

Like all of Jonson's city comedies, this play here given in the 1616 Folio version, in which Jonson rewrote and set it in England, not Italy is a kind of dramatised DoItYourself kit on how to bluff one's way in Elizabethan London.

Although Roman New Comedy, in which a crafty slave helps a wild youngster to marry the girl of his choice against his father's wishes, supplies Jonson with his basic plot, the world that he presents here is thoroughly contemporary and mundane.

The characters' 'humours' their driving obsessions may vary, but all of them strive to represent something greater, nobler, cleverer than their real selves.

The joke of the play, this editor suggests, is 'finally on all of us who unconsciously equate the universe with a story in which we play the hero'.