Ben Jonson, John Marston and Early Modern Drama - Satire and the Audience - Rebecca Yearling

Oct 11, 2026

Examines how John Marston, often treated as a minor early modern dramatist, shapes and challenges theatrical culture alongside Ben Jonson. Argues Marston’s work functions as an experiment in satiric drama rooted in humanist serio ludere, using deliberately unstable, inconsistent, and metatheatrical writing. Through multiple perspectives, these plays unsettle conventions, compel active spectator engagement, and foreground moral dilemmas. The study further suggests Marston’s approach anticipates and may influence Jonson’s midperiod work.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages233

Reading Time5 h 59 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction: Why Does Marston Matter?

Prologue: The Problem of the Audience

The Playwrights and the Audience

Dramatic Satire and the Crisis of Authority

John Marston: Provoking the Audience

Jonson and Marston: ‘I write just in thy vein, I’

Conclusion

Appendix: The Boy Actors: The Question of Intent

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Ben Jonson, John Marston and Early Modern Drama Satire and the Audience Rebecca Yearling Ben Jonson, John Marston and Early Modern Drama This page intentionally left blank Ben Jonson, John Marston and Early Modern Drama Satire and the Audience Rebecca Yearling Lecturer in English, Keele University, UK © Rebecca Yearling 2016 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2016 978-1-137-56398-9 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2016 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978–1–349–55425–6 ISBN 978-1-137-56399-6 (eBook) DOI 10. 1007/978-1-137-56399-6 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Yearling, Rebecca Kate, 1979– Ben Jonson, John Marston and early modern drama : satire and the audience / Rebecca Yearling, Lecturer in English, Keele University, UK. pages cm Summary: “This book examines the influence of John Marston, typically seen as a minor figure among early modern dramatists, on his colleague Ben Jonson. While Marston is usually famed more for his very public rivalry with Jonson than for the quality of his plays, this book argues that such a view of Marston seriously underestimates his importance to the theatre of his time. In it, the author contends that Marston’s plays represent an experiment in a new kind of satiric drama, with origins in the humanist tradition of serio ludere. His works—deliberately unpredictable, inconsistent and metatheatrical—subvert theatrical conventions and provide confusingly multiple perspectives on the action, forcing their spectators to engage actively with the drama and the moral dilemmas that it presents. The book argues that Marston’s work thus anticipates and perhaps influenced the midperiod work of Ben Jonson, in plays such as Sejanus, Volpone and The Alchemist”—Provided by publisher. 1. Marston, John, 1575?–1634—Criticism and interpretation. 2. Jonson, Ben, 1573?–1637—Criticism and interpretation. 3. Theater—Great Britain—History— 16th century. 4. Theater—Great Britain—History—17th century. 5. English drama—Early modern and Elizabethan, 1500–1600—History and criticism. 6. English drama—17th century—History and criticism. 7. Satire, English—History and criticism. 8. Theater audiences—Great Britain—History—16th century. 9. Theater audiences—Great Britain—History—17th century. I. Title. PR2697.Y43 2015 822'.3—dc23 2015025940 Typeset by MPS Limited, Chennai, India. This book is for my parents,

FAQs

What central argument does the book make about John Marston’s importance?

It argues that viewing Marston as merely a rival of Jonson underestimates his significance to the theatre of his time.

How does the book describe Marston’s satiric drama and its method?

Marston’s plays are presented as an experiment in a new kind of satiric drama, drawing on the humanist tradition of serio ludere.

What is the relationship between Marston’s drama and the theatrical audience?

The study explains how Marston’s metatheatrical and confusingly multiple perspectives force spectators to engage actively with the drama’s action and moral dilemmas.

Oct 11, 2026

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