Epicœne, or The Silent Woman

E399539

Jacobean play comedy play satirical play stage play

Epicœne, or The Silent Woman is a satirical comedy play by Ben Jonson that skewers marriage, gender roles, and social pretension in early 17th-century London.

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All labels observed (3)

Label	Occurrences
Epicœne, or The Silent Woman canonical	3
Epicœne	1
The play centers on Morose, a rich gentleman obsessed with silence, who is tricked into marrying a seemingly quiet woman, Epicœne, as part of a scheme to secure his estate.	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T3940559 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Epicœne, or The Silent Woman
Context triple: [Ben Jonson, notableWork, Epicœne, or The Silent Woman]

A. The Rehearsal; or, Bays in Petticoats
The Rehearsal; or, Bays in Petticoats is an 18th-century satirical stage piece associated with comic actress Kitty Clive, known for lampooning theatrical and literary pretensions of its time.
B. The Procuress
The Procuress is a 1622 genre painting by Dutch Caravaggist Dirck van Baburen depicting a brothel scene with a leering procuress overseeing a transaction between a man and a young woman.
C. The Country Wife (stage)
The Country Wife (stage) is a classic Restoration comedy by William Wycherley, renowned for its witty, sexually charged satire of marriage and hypocrisy in 17th-century London.
D. The Beaux' Stratagem (stage)
The Beaux' Stratagem (stage) is a classic Restoration-era comedy play by George Farquhar, frequently revived in modern theatre for its witty dialogue and satirical take on marriage and social pretensions.
E. Measure for Measure
Measure for Measure is a dark comedic play by William Shakespeare that explores themes of justice, morality, and hypocrisy in a corrupt Vienna.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Epicœne, or The Silent Woman
Target entity description: Epicœne, or The Silent Woman is a satirical comedy play by Ben Jonson that skewers marriage, gender roles, and social pretension in early 17th-century London.

A. The Rehearsal; or, Bays in Petticoats
The Rehearsal; or, Bays in Petticoats is an 18th-century satirical stage piece associated with comic actress Kitty Clive, known for lampooning theatrical and literary pretensions of its time.
B. The Procuress
The Procuress is a 1622 genre painting by Dutch Caravaggist Dirck van Baburen depicting a brothel scene with a leering procuress overseeing a transaction between a man and a young woman.
C. The Country Wife (stage)
The Country Wife (stage) is a classic Restoration comedy by William Wycherley, renowned for its witty, sexually charged satire of marriage and hypocrisy in 17th-century London.
D. The Beaux' Stratagem (stage)
The Beaux' Stratagem (stage) is a classic Restoration-era comedy play by George Farquhar, frequently revived in modern theatre for its witty dialogue and satirical take on marriage and social pretensions.
E. Measure for Measure
Measure for Measure is a dark comedic play by William Shakespeare that explores themes of justice, morality, and hypocrisy in a corrupt Vienna.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (49)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Jacobean play ⓘ comedy play ⓘ satirical play ⓘ stage play ⓘ
alsoKnownAs	Epicene ⓘ The Silent Woman ⓘ
author	Ben Jonson ⓘ
centralTheme	deception and disguise ⓘ gender roles ⓘ marriage ⓘ misogyny and anti-matrimonial attitudes ⓘ noise and silence ⓘ social pretension ⓘ
countryOfOrigin	England ⓘ
dramaticStructure	five-act play ⓘ
dramaticStyle	humours comedy ⓘ
firstPerformanceDate	1609 ⓘ
firstPublicationDate	1616 ⓘ
genre	city comedy ⓘ comedy ⓘ satire ⓘ
hasCharacterType	fop ⓘ gallant ⓘ learned lady ⓘ noisy courtiers ⓘ
includedIn	Ben Jonson’s 1616 folio of Works ⓘ
influencedBy	classical Roman comedy ⓘ
literaryPeriod	Jacobean era ⓘ linked to: Stuart period
mainCharacter	Clerimont ⓘ Dauphine Eugenie ⓘ Epicœne ⓘ linked to: Epicœne, or The Silent Woman Morose ⓘ Sir Amorous La-Foole ⓘ Sir John Daw ⓘ Truewit ⓘ
notableFeature	complex plotting and use of deception ⓘ extensive use of witty dialogue and repartee ⓘ satire of London’s urban society ⓘ
originalLanguage	English ⓘ
plotDevice	revelation that Epicœne is actually a boy in disguise ⓘ
plotSummary	The play centers on Morose, a rich gentleman obsessed with silence, who is tricked into marrying a seemingly quiet woman, Epicœne, as part of a scheme to secure his estate. ⓘ linked to: Epicœne, or The Silent Woman
settingLocation	London ⓘ linked to: London, England
settingTime	early 17th century ⓘ
subjectOf	literary criticism on gender and performance ⓘ scholarly analysis of early modern marriage ideology ⓘ
theatreOfFirstPerformance	Whitefriars Theatre ⓘ linked to: Blackfriars Theatre
theatricalCompanyAtFirstPerformance	Children of the Queen’s Revels ⓘ linked to: Children of the Queen's Revels
tone	farce-like ⓘ satirical ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (5)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Ben Jonson → notableWork → Epicœne, or The Silent Woman ⓘ

Ben Jonson → wrote → Epicœne, or The Silent Woman ⓘ

Benjamin Jonson → notableWork → Epicœne, or The Silent Woman ⓘ

subject linked to: Benjamin

Epicœne, or The Silent Woman → mainCharacter → Epicœne ⓘ

linked to: Epicœne, or The Silent Woman

Epicœne, or The Silent Woman → plotSummary → The play centers on Morose, a rich gentleman obsessed with silence, who is tricked into marrying a seemingly quiet woman, Epicœne, as part of a scheme to secure his estate. ⓘ