Jonson's Two Prologues to Epicœne: Libel, Print, and Play

Article


Johnson, Laurie. 2024. "Jonson's Two Prologues to Epicœne: Libel, Print, and Play." The Explicator. https://doi.org/10.1080/00144940.2024.2428981
Article Title

Jonson's Two Prologues to Epicœne: Libel, Print, and Play

ERA Journal ID11562
Article CategoryArticle
AuthorsJohnson, Laurie
Journal TitleThe Explicator
Number of Pages6
Year2024
PublisherTaylor & Francis
Place of PublicationUnited States
ISSN0014-4940
1939-926X
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/00144940.2024.2428981
Web Address (URL)https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00144940.2024.2428981
Abstract

When Ben Jonson’s Epicœne first appeared in print in Workes (1616), it bore two prologues, the first listed under the definitive name of “Prologue” and the second bearing the name “Another,” with a marginal note offered to advise readers that this other prologue was “Occasioned by some person’s impertinent exception.” This article revisits the question of whether Jonson also revised the play in response to claims that he slandered Lady Arabella Stuart. I propose a topical joke that would have been a more likely line to cause offence, giving the playwright good reason to make at least two revisions leaving us with the extant version.

KeywordsBen Jonson; Lady Arabella Stuart; Libel; Jacobean Drama
Contains Sensitive ContentDoes not contain sensitive content
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020470504. British and Irish literature
430304. British history
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Byline AffiliationsUniversity of Southern Queensland
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