Introduction: Comedy and the comic -- Jonson's comical satire: The alchemist -- A satire against mankind: Middleton's A mad world, my masters -- Comedy of good cheer: Dekker's Shoemakers' holiday and collaborations with Middleton -- Rejoicing in epidemicall times: Brome's S joviall crew -- Paradoxes and problems: Shakespeare's sceptical comedy in The taming of the shrew.
