Author Description

Bartholomew Fair has a twofold interest. It furnishes a picture, inimitable in its varied realism, of one of the most characteristic scenes of Elizabethan London. It also reflects not a little the personality of Jonson as he moved, a man among men, and enjoyed to the full the rough, hearty life of the middle and lower classes of the metropolis. Consequently, though the play is not artistic in the highest sense, and is avowedly light in character, it holds a place of importance in Jonson swotk and in the Elizabethan drama. Of the playwrights of his time, Jonson especially made London his province and of all his plays Bartholomew Fair is the most local matmosphere. This quality, though constituting the chief excellence of the comedy, is to-day the greatest hindrance to an intelligent appreciation of it. A ccordingly, in the Introduction and the Notes I have dwelt particularly on what concerned the life and thought of the people. In such a study contemporary literature, as well as later scholarship, is of course invaluable, and much of the Introduction and Notes will be found to be but a restatement, and a bringing together, of what is not new, nor altogether unfamiliar.(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.)About the Publisher Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, History, Folklore and Mythology.Forgotten Books' Classic Reprint Series utilizes the latest technology to regenerate facsimiles of historically important writings. Careful attention has been made to accurately preserve the original format of each page whilst digitally enhancing the aged text. Read books online for free at www.forgottenbooks.org