Ben Jonson (Rereading literature)

Peter Womack's rereading of Ben Jonson applies Bahktin's conception of language as divided against itself - the condition for, and object of, the illusions and devices of theatre and carnival, characters and scripts, roles and gestures. In this book the author shows up the rifts and contradictions in Jonson's theatrical style, rooted squarely in the contemporary political circumstances of theatrical production. Peter Womack goes on to show how Bahktin's views of language, theatre, and culture shed light on Jonson's position as a writer at odds with his means of production.