Originally published in 1929 as part of the Cambridge Plain Texts series, this volume contains Ben Jonson's incomplete play The Sad Shepherd, or A Tale of Robin Hood. The play first appeared in the second volume of Jonson's works in 1641 and the text for this edition was largely based on that version, with some modernisation of spelling and punctuation. A short editorial introduction is also included. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in Jonson and early-modern drama.

His adoption of classical ideals was combined with a vigorous interest in contemporary life and a strong faith in native idiom. Within the urbane elegance of his verse forms he contrived a directness and energy of statement clearly related to colloquial speech, and this characteristic fusion of restraint and vitality gave to the seventeenth-century lyric its most distinctive quality. As well as the entire body of Jonson's non-dramatic verse, extensively annotated, this edition contains many of the songs from his plays and masques and his translation of 'Horace, of the Art of Poetry'. His...

The Alchemist has been described as 'the greatest farce in the English language'. In this edition, first published in 1995, Ben Jonson's rich play offers intriguing insights into London life of the early seventeenth century. He satirizes and celebrates the confusions and anarchy of a fast-moving city world populated by a fascinating array of diverse and devious characters. Cambridge Literature is a series of study texts which presents writing in the English-speaking world from the sixteenth century up to the present day. The student will find in each volume a helpful introduction and resource...

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 and notes are provided for students and theatre-goers clarifying the language and dialects Jonson uses to individualise the characters in his prose masterpiece and helpfully explicating layers of meaning and topical...

This edition contains in distilled form the insight and learning found in the fuller Revels critical editions, but with less of the learning apparatus that is appropriate to a critical edition. Compact and up to date introduction and commentary. The price and format are designed to be competitive with any paperback teaching edition of this play.