Bartholomew Fair: A Comedy by Ben Jonson
"Bartholomew Fair: A Comedy" by Ben Jonson is a comedic play written in the early 17th century. The play is set during the annual Bartholomew Fair in London and features a diverse array of characters such as the eager esquire Bartholomew Cokes, the proctor John Littlewit, and the "zealous" Rabbi Busy, each of whom contributes to the chaotic and lively atmosphere of the fair. The work explores themes of social interaction, morality,
and the follies of human nature within a festive setting. At the start of "Bartholomew Fair," we are introduced to the bustling environment of the fair through the eyes of various characters waiting for the spectacle to unfold. The stage is set with descriptions of the characters, hinting at their motives and relationships, such as Bartholomew Cokes' plans to marry Grace Wellborn and Littlewit’s humorous observations on the chaos around him. The prologue also presents a playful tone, engaging the audience directly and setting expectations for the ensuing comedic antics. Through witty dialogue and lively interactions, particularly between characters like Littlewit, Winwife, and their suitors, the opening establishes a humorous critique of society's pretenses and the absurdities of the fair itself. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
Read or download for free
| How to read | Url | Size | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Read now! | https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/49461.html.images | 333 kB | |||
| EPUB3 (E-readers incl. Send-to-Kindle) | https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/49461.epub3.images | 196 kB | |||
| EPUB (older E-readers) | https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/49461.epub.images | 195 kB | |||
| EPUB (no images, older E-readers) | https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/49461.epub.noimages | 178 kB | |||
| Kindle | https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/49461.kf8.images | 317 kB | |||
| older Kindles | https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/49461.kindle.images | 286 kB | |||
| Plain Text UTF-8 | https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/49461.txt.utf-8 | 239 kB | |||
| Download HTML (zip) | https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/49461/pg49461-h.zip | 184 kB | |||
| There may be more files related to this item. | |||||
Similar Books
About this eBook
| Author | Jonson, Ben, 1573?-1637 |
|---|---|
| Title | Bartholomew Fair: A Comedy |
| Note | Reading ease score: 91.1 (5th grade). Very easy to read. |
| Note | Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartholomew_Fair_(play) |
| Credits |
Produced by Paul Haxo with special thanks to the Internet Archive, the University of California, and Christopher Webber. |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PR: Language and Literatures: English literature |
| Subject | Comedy plays |
| Subject | English drama -- 17th century |
| Category | Text |
| EBook-No. | 49461 |
| Release Date | Jul 16, 2015 |
| Copyright Status | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 668 downloads in the last 30 days. |
| Project Gutenberg eBooks are always free! | |
