Jonsonian
- noun
- /dʒɒnˈzoʊniən/
- Literature
- Many critics consider him a true Jonsonian due to his intricate use of language and love for satire.
Examples
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Among these less "foregrounded" words, but at the northern end of the plot this time, is the conjunction or, out on its own as the strongest discriminator across the texts in favor of Jonsonian authorship.
Academic text (1992) -
For this purpose, Shakespearean plays in the southernmost part of the plays' plot in Figure I are appropriate test cases since they should show up most markedly effects that the procedures have isolated as more Shakespearean than Jonsonian.
Academic text (1992) -
The iterability of this conjunction makes it the ideal syntactic agent for the Jonsonian copia, giving a sense in the plays of an overwhelming, comically threatening excess of objects and language.
Academic text (1992) -
But in the Jonson plays, pairings joined by "or" are often not so much contrasts as extensions or qualifications, giving a sense of the Jonsonian or as a restless multiplying agent, an ever-ready means of elaboration and illustration.
Academic text (1992) -
As an aspiring playwright, she studied the Jonsonian style to incorporate clever dialogue and wit into her own works.
-
The book highlights several Jonsonian techniques that can be adopted by modern writers looking to enhance their theatrical productions.
Surface Forms
Morphology
Jonsonian = Jonson (transparent) = Jonson + ian
Derived by adding the agent/noun-forming suffix '-ian' to the surname 'Jonson' to denote a follower or admirer.
Etymology
Jonsonian as a noun comes from the playwright Ben Jonson with the ending -ian, a common ending that means 'a follower' or 'someone from a group', like Shakespearean. So a Jonsonian is a person who admires or copies Jonson's style.
