Secrets accomplish their cultural work by distinguishing the knowable from the (at least temporarily) unknowable; those who know from those who dont. Within these distinctions resides an enormous power that Ben Jonson (1572-1637) both deplored and exploited in his art of making plays.Conspiracies and intrigues are the driving force of Jonsons dramatic universe. Focusing on Sejanus; His Fall; Volpone; or the Fox; Epicoene; or the Silent Woman; The Alchemist; Catiline; His Conspiracy; and Bartholomew Fair; William Slights places Jonson within the context of the secrecy- ridden culture of the court of King James I and provides illuminating readings of his best-known plays.Slights draws on the sociology of secrecy; the history of censorship; and the theory of hermeneutics to investigate secrecy; intrigue; and conspiracy as aspects of Jonsonian dramatic form; contemporary court/city/church politics; and textual interpretation. He argues that the tension between concealment and revelation in the plays affords a model for the poise that sustained Jonson in the intricately linked worlds of royal court and commercial theatre and that made him a pivotal figure in the cultural history of early modern England.Equally rejecting the position that Jonson was a renegade subverter of the arcana imperii and that he was a thorough-going court apologist; Slights finds that the playwright redraws the lines between private and public discourse for his own and subsequent ages.
2014-11-13 2014-11-13File Name: B00T8VO1N4
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Great book!By sarah b.I bought this for my dad as a gift; but I ended up reading it cover-to-cover before I gave it to him. He loves it; as did I! He has about 10 pages bookmarked; probably because he knows the people; picture; event; etc. Im sure it was a nice walk down memory lane for him. What a great book; and a great gift for anyone who has ever lived in the Joliet area.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. I really liked this book!By Dave HoltonFirst; let me say that I am not from Chicago. So why read this book you might ask? Because I heard of this book from the author whom I met at BookExpo America...the national trade show for the book publishing industry. So; I decided that I would order the book simply so I could tell her that I had read it.Now I am glad I did. I THOROUGHLY enjoyed the book.To some; Joliet may merely be a micocosm of Chicago; but I found it to be much more than that. It is also a story of people; of individuals and of micro-communities; that can probably be paralleled to other communities in other urban areas. What make Joliet unique is the depth of the research that the author put into the telling of its individual stories of struggle; of sorrow; and of accomplishment. The uniqueness of Joliet may be in its strong church ties and in its architecture of structures and of its peoples; but the stories of the history and of the people of this area are quite interesting...and make for a very interesting read.I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who understands that by knowing more about the history and lives of others gives greater insight into ourselves. This book will both make you think and entertain you as well...that; in and of itself; is quite unique. I enjoyed it and think that you will too.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. A book for all generations and an important work about the history of AmericaBy Jerry Marcus"Joliet" teaches us about a fascinating town in Middle America where immigrants settled and made a home for themselves while carrying the torch of liberty. Marianne Wolf has researched the past to provide a timely lesson for the present and for future generations. The images of the people in this pictorial history cry out for readers to understand the plight of the immigrants who come to America to build better futures for themselves and their families. This book is about freedom and opportunity; and individuals whose love and respect for their heritage - and for America -blended together to build a stronger Nation for all of us. ( Jerry Marcus is widely known for his ability to create compelling fiction about thought-provoking issues such as anti-Semitism; political intrigue; corruption; and religious hypocrisy. He is the author of three books: "The Last Pope;" "The Salvation Peddler;" and "Abraham; Isaac; Jacob Zev.")
