Every Man out of His Humour

"Every Man Out of His Humour" by Ben Jonson is a funny play that uses interesting characters to make fun of people's behavior in the late 1500s. The story follows characters like Macilente, who is always jealous, Puntarvolo, who is overly proud, and Sogliardo, who is a simple fool, to show how different personality quirks, or 'humours', can cause problems and funny situations. At the beginning, a character named Asper talks directly to the audience and says that the play will point out the silly things people do in society. The play then introduces characters like Macilente, who is unhappy because others are doing better than him, and Sogliardo, who wants to become a fancy gentleman even though he comes from a poor background. The play uses these characters to make jokes about people wanting to be rich or famous and to show how ridiculous society can be.