Five Plays (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

by Ben Jonson (Author), G. A. Wilkes (Editor) "THERE are, no doubt, a supercilious race in the world, who will esteem all office done you in this kind an injury; so solemn a..." (more)
Key Phrases: most honoured fathers, tou art, grave fathers, Enter Face, Master Stephen, Master Littlewit (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This a handy edition for teacher and student."--Robert C. Steensma, University of Utah
"This is the right selection, balanced intelligently. The accompanying information is useful and appropriate."--Dorothy H. Jacobs, University of Rhode Island


Product Description
This fully annotated and modernized collection of plays--including Every Man in his Humour, Sejanus, Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair--represents the full range and complexity of Jonson's art as a playwright.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 624 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; Annotated edition (August 26, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192839446
• ISBN-13: 978-0192839442
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 4.8 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #789,072 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Appropriate for Undergraduate Classrooms, November 11, 2007

By	Daniel Gates (New Orleans, LA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The advantages of this collection are the number of plays it includes and its low price. Its grave disadvantage is the notes, which are insufficient for undergraduate classrooms, at least in the U.S. They're hit-or-miss. Sometimes they give you information you really do need, but they leave gaps. For instance, readers apparently should not need to be told that one of the meanings of "motion" in the seventeenth century is "puppet show." (See Volpone V.iv.77, on p. 332.) I used this edition to teach Volpone and Bartholomew Fair in a class of undergraduate English majors at a highly selective university in the fall of 2007. The unexplained vocabulary created a barrier for the students (and for me, frankly), and I ended up relying on the Norton edition edited by Richard Harp to fill in the gaps in our comprehension. I wish I had ordered that edition for the course instead; although it doesn't offer as many plays, it does also include three masques.