Jonson’s University Show

Abstract

In terms of its dramatic effectiveness, its technique of classical citation, and its use of non-normative male roles as performers, the show presented by Nano, Androgyno and Castrone in Volpone 1.2 falls outside the traditions of performance at the Globe theatre where the play was first performed. Though its affinities are closer to the drama of the boy companies, it is here argued that Jonson most likely introduced the episode when preparing the play for publication in print. The article further develops this argument for a cultural divide within the text as a means to describe the play published in 1607 as an exercise in textual anamorphosis.