The Social Logic of Ben Jonson's "Epicoene"

Theatre of Judgment: Space, Spectators, and the Epistemologies of Law in <em>Bartholomew Fair</em>

“…6 As Zucker explains in his study of Jonson's Epicoene, 'performances of wit … are constantly in tension with and made meaningful by a vast field of objects, spaces, and knowledge that produce social power or make status recognizable'. 7 In much the same way, as Bartholomew Fair invokes the idea of wit -roughly taken to include visual acuity, intelligence, and social aptitude -the play also challenges theatregoers to disclose their own revealing verdict on the spectacle before them: the Scrivener's jibe that those who 'will swear Jeronimo or Andronicus are the best plays yet shall pass unexcepted at' only affirms that the very act of evaluation necessarily leaves one open to contention and critique (ind.90-1). 8 Through these metatheatrical conceits, the play's induction charges the deeply visual field of the Jacobean public theatre with the force of interwoven judgments, establishing a volatile economy of knowledge and social advantage in which spectators may gain or lose in an instant.…”