Ben Jonson and the Roman frame of mind

by Katharine Eisaman Maus

This book examines the way Ben Jonson absorbs crucial assumptions and beliefs from his deep engagement with certain Latin authors. Drawn from Cicero, Seneca, and Quintilian, from Horace and Juvenal, and from Tacitus and Sallust, this body of assumptions constitutes less an elaborated philosophical system than a characteristic attitude, a Roman frame of mind. Katharine Maus explores such issues as the biographical reasons for Jonson's preference for particular Latin authors; the effects of Roman moral and psychological paradigms on his methods of characterization and generic choices; the connection between his critical theory and artistic practice; and the impact of Roman social theory on his portrayal of communities and on his peculiar relationship with his audiences. Focusing on his evolution as a dramatist, but discussing the masque, verse, and prose as well, she explains this often problematic author in terms of his complex inherited sensibility. -- from dust jacket.