ABSTRACT
Ben Jonson in forty years, made no more than two hundred pounds out of his plays. His livelihood was elsewhere. This was the age of the noble patron, and Jonson was to spend most of his life sitting at the tables of men on whom he depended largely for employment and support. Among them, fortunately, was King James himself—for this was also the age of the Court mask—a form of entertainment in which Jonson, for nearly twenty years, had no rival in the land. His progress may be followed in his dedications. Every Man in His Humour was dedicated to the gentlemen of the Inns of Court, great names in learning and no less examples of living. Jonson's assaults upon the fount of honour were impressively resolute. Queen Elizabeth, drawn by its fame, attended a performance of Every Man out of His Humour, and Jonson in respectful compliment wrote an epilogue.
