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An Image of the Times
AN IRREVERENT COMPANION TO BEN JONSON’S FOUR HUMOURS AND THE ART OF DIPLOMACY
Here is a witty and learned literary excursion into the world of humour and comic literature as revealed inter alia by the works of Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Oliver Goldsmith and Henry Fielding – leading in the second half of the book to many entertaining insights and observations provided by author’s extensive experience in the world of diplomacy. An Image of the Times is a rich and fascinating mix of literary idiom, the theatre of the absurd and the comic element of the human condition.
Importantly, it does speak to the difficulties and dilemmas facing today’s diplomatic missions as much as it has ever done - the necessary dance between reality and pragmatism, how the art of diplomacy often hinges on the quality of humour brought to bear in any particular context. As such, this thought-provoking text by retired Norwegian ambassador Nils-Johan Jørgensen could be said to offer a clever bridge between history, literature and diplomacy, creating a fascinating link between his prime sources and the world of the diplomat.
COVER ILLUSTRATION:
Hans Holbein the Younger, The Ambassadors. Reproduced courtesy the National Gallery, London
RENAISSANCE BOOKS
978-1-898823-17-9
AN IMAGE OF THE TIMES
The title is taken from the Prologue to Every Man in his Humour by Ben Jonson (line 24). The jacket design is The Ambassadors, oil and tempura on oak, 1533, by Hans Holbein the Younger. With kind permission from the Image and Picture Library of the National Gallery, London.
An Image of the Times
An Irreverent Companion to
Ben Jonson’s Four Humours and
the Art of Diplomacy
By
NILS-JOHAN JØRGENSEN
AN IMAGE OF THE TIMES:
AN IRREVERENT COMPANION TO BEN JONSON’S FOUR HUMOURS AND THE ART OF DIPLOMACY
First published 2015 by
RENNAISANCE BOOKS
PO Box 219
Folkestone
Kent CT20 2WP
Renaissance Books is an imprint of Global Books Ltd
© Nils-Johan Jørgensen 2015
ISBN 978-1-898823-17-9
eISBN 978-1-898823-31-5
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue entry for this book is available from the British Library
Set in Bembo 12 on 13.5 by Dataworks
Printed in England by CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham, Wilts
In memory of John B. Bamborough (Bam)who possessed the gift of humour
OTHER WORKS IN ENGLISH BY THE SAME AUTHOR
Culture and Power in Germany and Japan:The Spirit of Renewal (2006)
Four Days in January: A Letter to Jillsan (2009)
North of the North Wind (2011)
East of the East Wind (2012)
West of the West Wind (2014)
CONTENTS
| Chapter 1: | BEN JONSON AND HIS SOURCES |
| Classical literary sources (Decorum, the comedies of Plautus and Terence, the Ridiculous) | |
| Medieval Sources: Mystery, Morality and Interlude | |
| The Great Chain and Man as Microcosm | |
| Ancient medical theory and Renaissance psychology | |
| The character sketch | |
| Early Humour plays (George Chapman, Henry Porter) | |
| Chapter 2: | HUMOROUS CHARACTERIZATION IN THE COMEDIES OF BEN JONSON |
| In humour | |
| Out of humour | |
| Volpone, Epicoene, The Alchemist, Bartholomew Fair | |
| Chapter 3: | THE INFLUENCE OF JONSON ON SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY COMEDY |
| Richard Brome | |
| James Shirley | |
| Thomas Shadwell | |
| Colley Cibber | |
| The Sons of Ben | |
| Margareth Cavendish | |
| Aphra Behn | |
| James Miller | |
| Oliver Goldsmith | |
| Richard Brinsley Sheridan | |
| Chapter 4: | THE INTRUSION OF HUMOROUS CHARACTERIZATION INTO THE ENGLISH NOVEL |
| Henry Fielding | |
| Tobias Smollett | |
| Chapter 5: | THE MEANING OF THE COMIC |
| Chapter 6: | NOMADIC
|
