pt. I. Life and contexts. Jonson's cities ; Humanism and education ; 1572-1597 ; Theatre, commerce and the law ; 1597-1601 ; Religion, government and rebellion ; Friends, patrons and rivals : 1601-1606 ; Towards laureateship : 1606-1616 ; A Jacobean summer : 1616-1625 ; Returning to the stage : 1625-1637

pt. II. Work. Works ; Loose ends and false starts : The case is altered and Every man in his humour ; Theatres of judgement : Every man out of his humour, Cynthia's revels, Poetaster ; Words as deeds : Sejanus and Catiline ; Objects of desire : Eastward ho!, Volpone and Epicene ; Unreal city : The alchemist and Bartholomew Fair ; The shock of the new : The devil is an ass and The staple of news ; Last plays : The new inn, The magnetic lady and A tale of a tub ; The next deed : non-dramatic verse and prose ; Present occasions : Jonson's masques

pt. III. Criticism. On not being Shakespeare ; Classicism ; Theatricality and anti-theatricality ; Loose and gathered selves ; Authorial selves ; Authority and authorship ; Dramatic works : ethics, politics and history ; Dramatic works : carnival ; Dramatic works : gender and sexuality ; Dramatic works : government and community ; Poetry : discrimination in history ; Mysteries and occasions : masques.