Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
The Staple Of News

The Staple Of News

Jonson, Ben

Paperback

General World HistoryPlays

ISBN10: 935421052X
ISBN13: 9789354210525
Publisher: Alpha Edition
Published: Nov 2 2020
Pages: 340
Weight: 1.10
Height: 0.76 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
A razor-sharp city comedy. It skewers the news machine. The Staple of News is a seventeenth-century play by Ben Jonson that sits squarely within English renaissance drama and the wider corpus of Ben Jonson's works. As a satirical stage comedy it takes the newly commercialised world of information as its subject, engaging early modern journalism and media satire themes with a stern theatrical appetite. Jonson's humour combines formal discipline with savage observation; the play registers fashionable fads, profiteering, and the strange alchemy by which gossip became currency, delivering pointed London society commentary without losing theatrical verve. His mixture of learned allusion and streetwise language keeps the satire both intellectual and immediate, and its scenes are well suited to lively performance. Presented with brisk dialogue and set-piece encounters, it remains a lively choice for a literature students collection or a focused drama curriculum resource, and an instructive example of 1600s England theatre that rewards performance as much as reading. As a work of Jacobean period literature The Staple of News documents the transition to a print-centred public sphere and helps explain why Ben Jonson's works continue to matter for historians, critics and stage practitioners. Its handling of reputation, publication and the business of information offers clear parallels with contemporary media debates, making the play unexpectedly resonant for readers interested in media satire themes and the history of communication. The play's wit rewards close study and repeat staging. Casual readers enjoy sharp comedy and cultural bite; teachers and directors find its scenes eminently stageable, while collectors and admirers of the classic British playwright welcome a faithful modern presentation that honours historic texture. Republished by Alpha Editions in a careful modern edition, this volume preserves the spirit of the original while making it effortless to enjoy today - a heritage title prepared for readers and collectors alike.

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