The Devil is an Ass

Ben JonsonProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.0

Word count: 682K words
Chapters: 69

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Devil is an Ass by Ben JonsonAuthor: Jonson, Ben, 1573?-1637,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Oct 7, 2015

Editor's review

The Devil is an Ass is Ben Jonson's city comedy set in London, weaving ambition, greed, and deception into a chain of ingenious cons. Its strengths lie in sharply drawn character types and densely witty dialogue, with the cat-and-mouse game between tricksters and their dupes escalating layer by layer—funny yet morally satirical. Jonson does not rely on romantic plotting but creates his effects through verbal rhythm and stagecraft, letting readers sense the social climate and citizen psychology of seventeenth-century London through conversation. This Gutenberg edition is easy to search and cite, suitable for drama students doing close reading and for readers interested in English Renaissance comedy. While reading, note how the con structure repeats and escalates, and how the supernatural "devil" premise is dissolved by worldly desire. Pairing it with a performance video or stage adaptation makes its comic timing easier to feel.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Students of English literature and researchers of Renaissance drama
Theater enthusiasts interested in city comedy and satire
Course learners who need to read seventeenth-century English plays

Not a good fit for

General readers looking only for light modern fiction
Readers impatient with early modern English spelling and syntax
Those expecting strong plot suspense rather than dialogue-driven comedy

Reading tips

Read the plot summary and character list first to clarify the con threads before entering the dialogue, reducing confusion
Read act by act, reviewing after each who deceived whom and how interests shifted, to maintain structural awareness
Read key dialogue aloud or compare with staged excerpts to grasp Jonson's pace and satirical tone
Pair with a brief introduction to seventeenth-century London society to understand the satirical target of greed and status anxiety

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What is the play mainly about?

It is a city comedy set in London, centered on tricksters setting traps and dupes falling for them, satirizing greed, vanity, and social opportunism through a chain of cons. The supernatural "devil" premise is placed in a worldly setting to create irony and laughter, with the focus not on horror but on exposing human folly.

Do I need to know about Ben Jonson first?

Systematic study is not necessary, but knowing he was a seventeenth-century English playwright who valued classical rules and verbal wit helps in understanding the play's style. A brief introduction to the author and work before reading suffices; there is no need to read all the scholarship first.

Is the Gutenberg edition suitable for citation?

The Gutenberg edition is easy to search, copy, and compare passages, suitable for course reading and preliminary citation. But in academic writing you should check authoritative scholarly or publisher editions to confirm differences in pagination, spelling, and notes, rather than relying solely on a free electronic text.

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About the author

Ben Jonson Author · English · 1573–1637

Ben Jonson (1573?–1637) was an English playwright, poet, and actor of the Renaissance, born in London. In 1616 he published a collected edition of his plays on his own initiative, and in 1619 he was named Poet Laureate. He is best known for his satirical comedies, including Volpone Or, The Fox, The Alchemist, Epicoene Or, The Silent Woman, Bartholomew Fair: A Comedy, The Devil is an Ass, and Every Man in His Humour, as well as Discoveries Made Upon Men and Matter and Some Poems. Drawing largely on urban life, these works are marked by a cool, witty tone and sharp commentary on human weakness and social manners, and they exerted a lasting influence on seventeenth-century English drama. Twelve of his works are held in this collection; further biographical details are limited in publicly available sources.