ABSTRACT
SUCH biography, as can be gleaned from the later plays of Jonson, beginning in 1616 with The Devil is an Ass and ending in 1633 with A Tale of a Tub, has already been presented. Indulgence might be extended to a critic who shrank from the task of assessing these productions and retrieving from them such pages as are necessary to a complete appreciation of the author’s work. The task cannot, however, be honestly avoided. The fact that none of these plays is ever likely to be performed again upon the stage and that few are likely to be read with attention, even by those who are familiar with the best of Jonson’s work, makes it all the more necessary to examine them. They contribute to an understanding of his mind and method. They contain, moreover, a great deal that is worth recovery and add to our appreciation of the author’s versatility and range.
