Ben Jonson

Study question Ben Jonson

Facts about Ben Jonson

➾ He was born two months after his father died.

➾ He initially followed his stepfather’s trade, working as a bricklayer.

➾ He fought with the English forces in the Netherlands with some success.

➾ In 1598, he killed a fellow actor in a duel.

➾ He escaped capital punishment for the killing by pleading “benefit of clergy” but was branded.

➾ During his brief imprisonment for the duel, he became a Roman Catholic.

➾ Despite being “twelve years a papist,” he was Protestant England’s first poet laureate.

➾ He was summoned to the consistory court in 1606 with his wife for not participating in the Anglican church.

➾ Between 1618 and 1619, he embarked on an extensive walking tour to Scotland.

➾ In 1623, his personal library was destroyed by fire.

➾ A stroke in 1628 confined him to his room and chair for the rest of his life.

Ben Jonson MCQs

1. When was Ben Jonson born?

A. August 6, 1637
B. June 11, 1572
C. March 25, 1598
D. June 11, 1605

B. June 11, 1572.
Ben Jonson was born on June 11, 1572, in London, England.

2. Where was Ben Jonson born?

A. Dublin, Ireland
B. London, Scotland
C. London, England
D. Paris, France

C. London, England.
Ben Jonson was born in London, England, shortly after his father’s death.

3. What was the trade of Jonson’s stepfather?

A. Actor and poet
B. Soldier and writer
C. Bricklayer
D. Impresario

C. Bricklayer.
His mother married a master bricklayer about two years after his father’s death.

4. Which school did Jonson attend?

A. Oxford University
B. St. Paul’s School
C. Westminster School
D. Cambridge School

C. Westminster School.
Jonson attended Westminster School before his stepfather forced him to leave his education early.

5. Which country did Jonson fight in early on?

A. The Netherlands
B. Spain
C. France
D. Ireland

A. The Netherlands.
Disliking the bricklayer trade, Jonson went to the Low Countries (The Netherlands) and fought with English forces.

6. What career did Jonson pursue immediately after returning from fighting?

A. Bricklayer and poet
B. Actor and playwright
C. Soldier and critic
D. Teacher and scholar

B. Actor and playwright.
After returning from the Netherlands, he joined the theatrical world as both an actor and a playwright.

7. What leading role did Jonson reportedly play as an actor?

A. Macbeth in Macbeth
B. Hieronimo in The Spanish Tragedy
C. Dr. Faustus
D. King Lear

B. Hieronimo in The Spanish Tragedy.
He worked as an actor and is believed to have played the leading role of Hieronimo in The Spanish Tragedy.

8. Which impresario was Jonson writing plays for by 1597?

A. William Shakespeare
B. Lord Chamberlain
C. Philip Henslowe
D. Inigo Jones

C. Philip Henslowe.
By 1597, Jonson was writing original and collaborative plays for Philip Henslowe’s theatrical company.

9. Which early play is known to be extant, besides his major works?

A. The Spanish Tragedy
B. Sejanus
C. The Case Is Altered
D. Volpone

C. The Case Is Altered.
The Case Is Altered is one of his earliest comedies, and one of the few surviving plays from this period.

10. Which play established Jonson’s reputation in 1598?

A. The Alchemist
B. Volpone
C. Every Man in His Humour
D. Catiline

C. Every Man in His Humour.
This play, produced in 1598, established Jonson’s reputation and marked a significant change in his status.

11. Who supposedly recommended Every Man in His Humour?

A. Philip Henslowe
B. Inigo Jones
C. William Shakespeare
D. King James I

C. William Shakespeare.
A later legend suggests that William Shakespeare himself recommended the play to the company.

12. Who did Jonson kill in a duel in 1598?

A. An audience member
B. A fellow actor
C. A soldier
D. A rival writer

B. A fellow actor.
In 1598, Jonson killed a fellow actor, Gabriel Spenser, in a duel.

13. How did Jonson escape capital punishment for the killing?

A. Royal pardon
B. Fleeing the country
C. Pleading “benefit of clergy”
D. Jury acquittal

C. Pleading “benefit of clergy”.
After killing an actor in a duel, Jonson pleaded “benefit of clergy” to escape capital punishment.

14. What consequence did Jonson face despite escaping execution?

A. Exile to France
B. Payment of fine
C. Forced imprisonment
D. Branding

D. Branding.
Although he escaped execution, Jonson was still imprisoned and subsequently branded on his thumb.

15. What religious conversion happened during his imprisonment?

A. Anglican to Puritan
B. Catholic to Anglican
C. Became Roman Catholic
D. Protestant to Puritan

C. Became Roman Catholic.
During his brief imprisonment in 1598, Jonson converted to Roman Catholicism.

16. Which specific classical writer influenced Every Man in His Humour’s plot?

A. Sophocles
B. Aristophanes
C. Plautus
D. Virgil

C. Plautus.
The play was an attempt to bring the methods and practices of classical Latin comedy, like Plautus, to England.

17. Every Man in His Humour embodied the theory of what concept?

A. The five elements
B. The four humours
C. The three estates
D. Courtly love

B. The four humours.
The play embodied the medieval theory of the four humours (blood, phlegm, choler, melancholy) in its main characters.

18. Which play was Jonson’s longest ever written for the public theatre?

A. Every Man in His Humour
B. Every Man Out of His Humour
C. Volpone
D. The Alchemist

B. Every Man Out of His Humour.
This 1599 play was extremely long and attempted to emulate the satirical style of Greek comedy.

19. Which Greek comedy writer did Every Man Out of His Humour try to emulate?

A. Euripides
B. Menander
C. Aristophanes
D. Aeschylus

C. Aristophanes.
Every Man Out of His Humour was an attempt to provide an equivalent of the Greek comedy writer Aristophanes.

20. After his 1599 failure, where did Jonson primarily write?

A. Provincial theatres
B. Court masques
C. Public theatres
D. Private theatres

D. Private theatres.
Following the play’s failure, Jonson turned to writing for private theatres, which featured children’s companies.

21. What characteristic defined the high-priced private theatre audience?

A. Preference for tragedy
B. Willingness for satire
C. Love for romance
D. Focus on history

B. Willingness for satire.
The private theatres allowed Jonson to focus on strong satire and formal experimentation.

22. Jonson’s extant tragedies include Sejanus, and which other play?

A. Poetaster
B. Catiline
C. The Spanish Tragedy
D. The Masque of Queens

B. Catiline.
Jonson’s only two surviving tragedies are Sejanus (1603) and Catiline (1611).

23. What genre of court entertainment did Jonson regularly contribute to?

A. Royal pageants
B. Masques
C. Ballads
D. Operas

B. Masques.
From 1605, Jonson became a regular contributor to masques for the royal courts.

24. Which architect did Jonson collaborate with on masques?

A. Christopher Wren
B. John Webb
C. Nicholas Stone
D. Inigo Jones

D. Inigo Jones.
Jonson collaborated for many years with the architect Inigo Jones on these court masques.

25. What work secured Jonson’s initial favour with James I’s court?

A. The Alchemist
B. The Masque of Blackness
C. Entertainment at Althorpe
D. Every Man in His Humour

C. Entertainment at Althorpe.
He won royal attention for the entertainment he performed for the Queen during her journey from Scotland.

26. What was the central role Jonson filled regarding the masque text?

A. Designing scenery
B. Providing allegorical meaning
C. Training the dancers
D. Managing finances

B. Providing allegorical meaning.
The author’s role was to provide the allegorical meaning that justified the spectacle of the masque.

27. What structural innovation did Jonson introduce to the masque form?

A. The chorus
B. The dramatic prologue
C. The antimasque
D. The set song

C. The antimasque.
Jonson introduced the antimasque, a preliminary spectacle featuring grotesque or comic figures.

28. Which two groups were typically featured in the antimasque?

A. Royals or nobles
B. Dancers or singers
C. Grotesques or comics
D. Poets or critics

C. Grotesques or comics.
The antimasque was a “disorderly spectacle” featuring grotesque or comic figures before the main masque.

29. What caused the eventual break between Jonson and Inigo Jones?

A. Disagreement over money
B. Jones’s contributions caused a stir
C. Jonson’s Catholicism
D. Political differences

B. Jones’s contributions caused stir.
Friction grew because Inigo Jones’s spectacular scenic contributions were causing more popular excitement than Jonson’s text.

30. Jonson was, in effect though not in title, the first what?

A. Master of Revels
B. Royal Historian
C. Poet laureate
D. City chronologer

C. Poet laureate.
His standing was recognized with a royal pension and a reversion of the Master of Revels post, effectively making him poet laureate.

31. Jonson was brought before the consistory court in 1606 for what failure?

A. Seditious writing
B. Duelling again
C. Failing to pay debts
D. Anglican non-attendance

D. Anglican non-attendance.
He and his wife were brought before the court for recusancy (not participating in Anglican services).

32. Jonson was a Roman Catholic for how long?

A. Six years
B. Twelve years
C. Twenty years
D. Lifetime

B. Twelve years.
He converted to Roman Catholicism in 1598 and remained so for twelve years.

33. Which two famous comedies express distaste for the world and the pursuit of gold?

A. Sejanus and Catiline
B. Volpone and The Alchemist
C. Cynthia’s Revels and Poetaster
D. Epicoene and Bartholomew Fair

B. Volpone and The Alchemist.
Volpone (1606) and The Alchemist (1610) are his most famous comedies, both exploring the folly of pursuing gold.

34. Jonson’s comedies are set in Italy or in what other city?

A. Edinburgh
B. Paris
C. London
D. Dublin

C. London.
His major comedies, like The Alchemist and Bartholomew Fair, were set in contemporary London.

35. When did Jonson embark on his walking tour to Scotland?

A. 1603–1604
B. 1610–1611
C. 1618–1619
D. 1628–1629

C. 1618–1619.
Jonson undertook a famous walking tour to Scotland during the years 1618 and 1619.

36. What civic honor did Edinburgh bestow upon Jonson?

A. Royal Poet title
B. Honorary burgess
C. Lifetime pension
D. Freedom of the city

B. Honorary burgess.
During his tour of Scotland, the city of Edinburgh made him an honorary burgess and guild brother.

37. Which university granted Jonson an honorary Master of Arts degree?

A. Cambridge
B. Oxford
C. Edinburgh
D. London

B. Oxford.
After returning from Scotland, Oxford University honoured him with a Master of Arts degree.

38. Jonson’s witty conversations with Shakespeare were called what?

A. Literary disputes
B. Rhetorical battles
C. Wit-combats
D. Philosophical duels

C. Wit-combats.
His witty conversations, especially with Shakespeare, were famously referred to as “wit-combats”.

39. What personal catastrophe struck Jonson in 1623?

A. His wife’s death
B. Loss of court favour
C. Library destroyed by fire
D. Suffering a major stroke

C. Library destroyed by fire.
In 1623, Jonson suffered a significant personal loss when his extensive personal library was destroyed by fire.

40. What ailment confined Jonson starting in 1628?

A. Gout
B. Tuberculosis
C. A stroke
D. Severe fever

C. A stroke.
In 1628, Jonson suffered a stroke that left him partially paralyzed and confined to his room.

41. What civic position was Jonson appointed to in 1628?

A. Court Surveyor
B. Master of Revels
C. City chronologer
D. Public Orator

C. City chronologer.
Despite his illness, he was appointed city chronologer for London in 1628.

42. When did Ben Jonson die?

A. June 11, 1572
B. August 6, 1637
C. March 25, 1616
D. December 1, 1628

B. August 6, 1637.
Ben Jonson died on August 6, 1637, after his long illness.

43. Where was Jonson buried?

A. St. Paul’s Cathedral
B. London Bridge
C. Westminster Abbey
D. Poet’s Corner

C. Westminster Abbey.
He was buried in Westminster Abbey, a high honor for a poet and playwright.

44. What milestone occurred in 1616 regarding his works?

A. He stopped writing
B. The First Folio edition appeared
C. His plays were banned
D. He received his pension

B. The first folio edition appeared.
In 1616, Jonson published the first folio edition of his collected works, titled The Works of Benjamin Jonson.

45. What historical distinction does Jonson hold regarding the publication of dramatic works?

A. First published under a pseudonym
B. First published in quarto
C. First published in folio
D. Only plays published alive

C. First published in folio.
His 1616 folio was the first time an English playwright’s dramatic works were published in the prestigious folio format.

46. What work appeared posthumously in 1640?

A. The New Inn
B. The Staple of News
C. Timber: or, Discoveries
D. The Silent Woman

C. Timber: or, Discoveries.
Timber: or, Discoveries, a collection of his observations, was published posthumously in the 1640 folio.

47. In Timber, Jonson said he honored Shakespeare’s memory how?

A. With great love
B. On this side idolatry
C. As a great friend
D. Beyond measure

B. On this side idolatry.
Jonson famously stated that he loved Shakespeare “on this side idolatry” as much as any man.

48. What Latin phrase did Jonson use to criticize Shakespeare’s verbosity?

A. Veni, vidi, vici
B. Carpe diem
C. Sufflaminandus erat
D. Et tu, Brute

C. Sufflaminandus erat.
Jonson famously noted that Shakespeare “flowed with that facility, that sometime it was necessary he should be stopped,” or Sufflaminandus erat.

49. Jonson is generally regarded as the second most important English dramatist during the reign of whom?

A. Elizabeth I
B. Henry VIII
C. James I
D. Charles II

C. James I.
After Shakespeare, Jonson is regarded as the second most important English dramatist of the Jacobean era (reign of James I).

50. What philosophical practice reinforced his dramatic style?

A. Medieval concepts
B. Classical theory
C. Romantic sentiment
D. Political realism

B. Classical theory.
Jonson’s dramatic practice was reinforced by his insistence on putting classical theory into practice.

Every Man Out of His Humour MCQs

Every Man Out Of His Humour MCQs

1. Who begins the play by reading a philosophy book?

A. Carlo Buffone
B. Signior Deliro
C. Macilente
D. Sogliardo

C. Macilente.
Macilente, the central character driven by envy, opens the first scene reflecting on his wounded soul.

2. Which emotion does Macilente primarily struggle to cure?

A. Extreme sorrow
B. Profound envy
C. Simple anger
D. Deep melancholy

B. Profound envy.
His internal struggle is focused on others’ happiness, matching the definition of true envy.

3. Carlo Buffone first describes Sogliardo as a what?

A. Tame rook
B. Great wit
C. Wild Irish
D. Dusty turf

A. Tame rook.
Carlo notes that Sogliardo is easily observed and fooled; he is a novice gullible to tricks.

4. What does Sogliardo strongly desire to become?

A. A city merchant
B. A rich farmer
C. A gentleman
D. A peace justice

C. A gentleman.
Sogliardo is determined to achieve gentility, regardless of the ultimate personal expense.

5. What is Sogliardo’s self-professed full name?

A. Signior Carlo
B. Signior Insulso Sogliardo
C. Master Sordido
D. Master Fungoso

B. Signior Insulso Sogliardo.
He asks Carlo Buffone if his proposed, highly unusual name sounds fitting for a gentleman.

6. Carlo advises Sogliardo to convert land into what?

A. More money
B. Trunks of apparel
C. A large house
D. Hunting dogs

B. Trunks of apparel.
Gentility requires turning hundreds of acres of land into several expensive trunks of clothing.

7. What does Carlo recommend Sogliardo do when losing at cards?

A. Swear peculiar oaths
B. Quit playing
C. Insult companions
D. Throw the cards

A. Swear peculiar oaths.
He must swear specific oaths that “no man else swears” to affirm his gentleman status.

8. Where should Sogliardo sit when he goes to see plays?

A. On the stage
B. In the gallery
C. At the curtain
D. In the dark

A. On the stage.
Carlo instructs Sogliardo to sit on the stage and ‘flout,’ provided his suit is good.

9. According to Carlo, what is an excellent policy for a gentleman?

A. Study hard
B. Owe much
C. Pay early
D. Live frugally

B. Owe much.
Owing a significant amount of debt makes creditors more obliging, ensuring they treat the individual with great respect.

10. What item does Sogliardo say he lacks for his status?

A. A new hat
B. A Cullisen
C. Fine horses
D. Gold lace

B. A cullisen.
A cullisen is a coat of arms, which Sogliardo wants to buy to affirm his new status.

11. Macilente says seeing Sogliardo’s wealth makes him wish his sight organs were what?

A. Better focused
B. Completely shattered
C. Filled with wine
D. Made of crystal

B. Completely shattered.
Macilente wishes his eyesight were broken upon viewing the prosperity of such a fool.

12. What profession does Carlo use as a cover for Shift’s thieving?

A. Law officer
B. Soldier
C. Politician
D. Tobacco professor

D. Tobacco professor.
Cavalier Shift becomes Sogliardo’s teacher, lecturing on the exquisite forms of tobacco use.

13. Carlo describes Macilente to Sogliardo as looking like what?

A. A fine courtier
B. A black fellow
C. A tame rook
D. An honest man

B. A black fellow.
Carlo warns Sogliardo to avoid Macilente, calling him a black, lean mongrel scholar and soldier.

14. Who is introduced holding an almanack in his hand?

A. Sordido
B. Deliro
C. Puntarvolo
D. Carlo

A. Sordido.
Sordido, the farmer, is overjoyed by the predictions of rotten and unseasoned weather.

15. What prediction makes Sordido ecstatic initially?

A. Fine growing seasons
B. Much rain and wind
C. Early harvest
D. Successful trade

B. Much rain and wind.
He is happy because bad weather will damage crops, ensuring high prices for his stored grain.

16. How does Sordido plan to deceive the searchers?

A. Burn all grain
B. Hide grain in the earth
C. Leave his barns open
D. Move to the city

B. Hide grain in the earth.
Sordido plans to bury his corn and stuff the ricks with straw to simulate scarcity.

17. What does Sordido call the pòor who complain of starvation?

A. Honest labourers
B. Lazy beggars
C. Industrious workers
D. Drones and moths

B. Lazy beggars.
He sees the pòor as licentious rogues bred by plenty, like snakes out of dung.

18. What Latin phrase defines the ‘true condition of envy’?

A. Humanum est errare
B. Viri est fortunae
C. Dolor alienae felicitatis
D. Summi Jovis causa

C. Dolor alienae felicitatis.
Cordatus states that envy is grief at another man’s prosperity, which is Macilente’s issue.

19. Fastidious Brisk is described as being “as humorous as” what?

A. Deep water
B. Quick-silver
C. Soft clay
D. Stiff wainscot

B. Quick-silver.
Cordatus uses this comparison to introduce Fastidious Brisk’s highly changeable and flighty nature.

20. Fastidious claims he uses affected speech because he avoids what?

A. Vulgar phrase
B. Being silent
C. Old garments
D. Simple compliments

A. Vulgar phrase.
He says his court acquaintances make him incapable of speaking the “harsh vulgar phrase”.

21. What possession of Sogliardo’s is kept for a monument?

A. A fancy whip
B. A hobby-horse
C. A broken rapier
D. A set of dice

B. A hobby-horse.
Sogliardo intends to keep his deceased father’s hobby-horse in his parlour forever.

22. What kind of language did Puntarvolo say to use?

A. French and Italian
B. Elegant proverbs
C. Dialogues and discourses
D. Harsh, vulgar phrase

C. Dialogues and discourses.
He is known for having complex, formal conversations with his horse and dog.

23. Puntarvolo refers to the “perfection of compliment” as a what?

A. A sun’s shadow
B. A new boot
C. The dial of the thought
D. An empty trunk

C. The dial of the thought.
Compliment is likened to a timepiece guided by the sun of the lady’s beauties.

24. What kind of man does Carlo compare Puntarvolo to while mounted?

A. A flying squirrel
B. The sign of the George
C. A pilled Cynick
D. A brazen monument

B. The sign of the George.
Puntarvolo is described as looking stately on his horse, like the image of St. George.

25. Which character is obsessed with imitating the latest fashion?

A. Fungoso
B. Macilente
C. Sordido
D. Carlo Buffone

A. Fungoso.
Fungoso’s sole preoccupation is obtaining the same clothes as Fastidious Brisk.

26. What are the subjects of Fungoso’s anxious cost calculations?

A. Boots, hat, doublet
B. Books, land, credit
C. Wine, tobacco, spurs
D. Gold, silver, copper

A. Boots, hat, doublet.
He meticulously calculates the price of Fastidious Brisk’s apparel so he can buy his own.

27. Carlo suggests that City wives’ wits are refined by what?

A. Good education
B. Fine and delicate diet
C. Listening to music
D. Reading poetry

B. Fine and delicate diet.
Carlo asserts that rich foods like fat capons and fine wines refine City wives’ intellects.

28. What is Deliro’s main source of pride and subsequent pain?

A. His wealth
B. His scholar friend
C. His virtuous wife
D. His large house

C. His virtuous wife.
Deliro is consumed by his “dotage” and over-admiration of his wife, Fallace.

29. What item does Deliro offer Fallace to try and tempt her?

A. Flowers
B. Perfumed gloves
C. New furniture
D. Her freedom

B. Perfumed gloves.
Deliro attempts to please his wife by offering her scented gloves and amber chains.

30. Macilente advises Deliro to use his wife like what animal?

A. His faithful dog
B. His horse
C. A tame rook
D. A poisonous viper

B. His horse.
Husbands should “use them like their horses,” feeding them sparingly to maintain appetite.

31. Why is Fungoso immediately frustrated after buying his new suit?

A. It is too small
B. Brisk has a new suit
C. His father found out
D. It costs too much

B. Brisk has a new suit.
Fastidious appears in a newer suit, making Fungoso’s purchase instantly outdated.

32. Fastidious claims his appearance helped three gentlemen get what?

A. Fine horses
B. Rich widows
C. Court appointments
D. High titles

B. Rich widows.
He states that his fashion inspired others, helping three gentlemen marry wealthy widows.

33. Macilente points out that rich apparel also fosters what?

A. Thieves and bankrupts
B. Wisdom and virtue
C. Happy marriages
D. Religious devotion

A. Thieves and bankrupts.
Macilente argues that fine clothes lead to many thieves, strumpets, and debtors.

34. Where does Deliro promise to take Macilente to get him clothed?

A. The Exchange
B. St. Paul’s
C. The city
D. The court

D. The court.
Fastidious offers to bring Macilente to court if Deliro furnishes him with proper attire.

35. What does Fastidious want Deliro to “play the alchemist” with?

A. Lead into gold
B. Land into metal
C. Water into wine
D. His mind into wit

B. Land into metal.
Fastidious wants Deliro to change his land’s species into gold (liquidate property for cash).

36. What public place is established as the setting for Act III?

A. The Tilt-yard
B. The Exchange
C. The Court
D. St. Paul’s middle aisle

D. St. Paul’s middle aisle.
The stage is set to represent the frequently visited central section of St. Paul’s Cathedral.

37. What physical condition did Shift claim brought him to Paul’s?

A. His pòor wit
B. Sogliardo’s call
C. Your rheum
D. His new fashion

C. Your rheum.
Shift, acting like Signior Whiffe, claims he came to spit privately in Paul’s after smoking tobacco.

38. What new companion does Puntarvolo take on his travel venture?

A. A loyal squire
B. A large horse
C. His cat
D. His lawyer

C. His cat.
Since his wife refused to go, Puntarvolo switches to using himself, his dog, and his cat.

39. Sogliardo pays thirty pounds to the heralds for what?

A. His dog’s journey
B. His coat of arms
C. Carlo’s silence
D. Land in the city

B. His coat of arms.
He boasts that his patent of arms, which cost him thirty pounds, allows him to write “gentleman”.

40. How does Carlo ridicule Sogliardo’s new crest?

A. A goose rampant
B. A hog’s cheek
C. A boar without a brain
D. A turtle dove

C. A boar without a brain.
Carlo interprets the boar without a head as a representation of Sogliardo’s inherent foolishness.

41. What name does Shift suggest Puntarvolo use for his new associate?

A. Pylades
B. Resolution
C. Countenance
D. Judas

B. Resolution.
Sogliardo is “Countenance,” and Shift, the swaggerer, is designated as “Resolution”.

42. Why does Sordido ultimately try to hang himself?

A. He lost his home
B. The weather was too good
C. He was robbed
D. His son disgraced him

B. The weather was too good.
The lack of foul weather means the pòor will thrive, frustrating his miserly plans for high grain prices.

43. What saves Sordido from death by hanging?

A. His son
B. The justice’s men
C. Five or six rustics
D. Macilente

C. Five or six rustics.
A group of countrymen find him hanging and cut him down, leading to his immediate conversion.

44. How does Sordido change his character after his near-death?

A. He leaves the country
B. He sells his books
C. He opens his barns to the pòor
D. He follows the fashion

C. He opens his barns to the pòor.
Changed by the pòor men’s curses, he vows to use his store to feed the famished.

45. What does Macilente confess he was admiring when Fastidious spoke?

A. His new suit
B. Fastidious’s wit
C. The lady’s fan
D. The Queen’s portrait

A. His new suit.
He admits his thoughts were elsewhere, preoccupied with the power of his newly purchased clothing.

46. Macilente notes Fastidious takes tobacco as a what?

A. Full stop
B. Parenthesis
C. Main clause
D. Simple jest

B. Parenthesis.
Fastidious interrupts his sentences to take a puff, making the smoking incidental to the dialogue.

47. Fastidious claims Saviolina’s wit is what?

A. Acute and facetious
B. Dull and simple
C. Thin and cobweb-lawn
D. Light and airy

A. Acute and facetious.
He praises her wit as piercing, like a quiver of jests, darting abroad with sweet aim.

48. Why is Macilente eager to see Sogliardo perform his clown act?

A. To improve his own wit
B. To expose the lady’s pòor judgment
C. To praise Sogliardo’s art
D. To help Fastidious

B. To expose the lady’s pòor judgment.
He hopes Saviolina fails to identify Sogliardo, thus taking her “out of her humour”.

49. How does Macilente ensure Puntarvolo is also “Out of his Humour”?

A. Steals his wife
B. Sinks his ship
C. Poisons his dog
D. Arrests his servant

C. Poisons his dog.
Macilente gives the dog poison, ensuring Puntarvolo’s travel venture is destroyed.

50. Macilente states his envy disappears when others’ folly is what?

A. Repeated often
B. Raked up in repentance
C. Ignored by gentlemen
D. Made fashionable

B. Raked up in repentance.
His envy, like a flame, dies once it lacks material (their folly) to feed upon.

Brief Overview

Every Man out of His Humour is a satirical comedy by Ben Jonson, first performed in 1599. It is a significant example of the “comedy of humours” genre. The play’s central dramatic device is the presentation and subsequent correction of characters driven by a single, dominating passion, or “humour.”

The play’s structure focuses on exposing the folly and artifice of contemporary London society. Each main character is designed to embody an extreme, unbalanced trait, such as the destructive envy of Macilente or the obsessive vanity of Fastidious Brisk.

Jonson employs a metatheatrical frame, using the characters Asper, Cordatus, and Mitis to introduce and comment on the action. This structure allows the playwright to critique bad art and bad behaviour directly. The plot is less concerned with traditional action and more with detailed, satirical character studies.

The narrative functions as a series of linked episodes where the characters’ rigid obsessions lead to their public humiliation or financial ruin. The central action is Macilente’s plot to orchestrate the downfall of the others.

The resolution is an artificial, corrective one. The suffering of the foolish characters successfully purges the dominant humour from Macilente, making him renounce his envy. The play concludes with a statement that the characters have been restored to social balance and “driven out of their humour.”