Every Man in His Humour

Every Man in His Humour

by

Ben Jonson

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Every Man in His Humour: Act 5, Scene 1 Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Justice Clement, Knowell, Kitely, Dame Kitely, Cash, Tib, and Cob assemble at Justice Clement’s house. Clement is trying to get to the bottom of the “false” messages allegedly given by Roger Formal.
Justice Clement is portrayed as a shrewd judge of character—the task thus falls to him restore some sense of order and, by extension, stability of self to those involved.
Themes
Authenticity Theme Icon
Clement questions Dame Kitely and Kitely, getting them both to realize that each of them was convinced to search for the other at Cob’s house by Wellbred. He points out that it has all been a “mere trick.”
Clement establishes that Kitely and Dame Kitely have been deceived—they have both been under a kind of spell. If the two of them had stopped to rationalize their suspicions, they too might have come to the same conclusion; the fact that they didn’t highlights the overall impression of foolishness throughout the play.
Themes
Human Folly Theme Icon
Authenticity Theme Icon
Quotes