The Devil is an Ass

In Short

This sharp, satirical comedy follows Pug, a minor devil sent to Earth for a trial period of wickedness. Expecting to corrupt mankind, Pug is instead quickly outmaneuvered by the petty greed and social climbing of the humans he meets. By lampooning the vanity of the Jacobean era—from status-obsessed fops to predatory swindlers—the play explores the notion that the Devil is redundant in a society that has mastered the art of self-destruction. It remains a classic study of human folly, characterized by its biting wit and cynical observation of metropolitan life.

The Story

The narrative begins in the infernal regions, where Pug, a foolish and ambitious devil, begs the higher powers for a temporary assignment on Earth to practice his craft of temptation. Granted permission, he arrives in London and immediately assumes the guise of a servant. He is hired by Fitzdottrel, a vain, foolish gentleman obsessed with social prestige and desperate to gain a title. Fitzdottrel is a man who treats his wife as property, keeping her under lock and key to satisfy his own jealous and insecure nature.

Pug, however, is quickly overshadowed by the true villains of the piece: a gang of professional con artists led by the calculating Merecraft. Merecraft and his associates, Everill and Pitfall, specialize in "projects"—elaborate, fraudulent schemes designed to bilk the wealthy and gullible. Upon discovering that Fitzdottrel is a perfect mark, they weave a complex web of deceit around him. They convince him that they can secure him a noble title and various social advantages if he only agrees to fund their ridiculous and illegal ventures.

While Merecraft works to empty Fitzdottrel's pockets, a courtier named Wittipol enters the fray. Wittipol is smitten with Fitzdottrel's neglected wife and hatches a plan to get closer to her by winning a wager against her husband. Using a combination of charm and social engineering, Wittipol manages to infiltrate the household, eventually using the disguise of a Spanish lady to bypass the strict social codes and surveillance that the suspicious Fitzdottrel has imposed.

The plot spirals into a farce of interconnected deceptions. Pug, attempting to assert himself, only succeeds in becoming an errand boy for the human swindlers, who are far more adept at moral depravity than he is. Fitzdottrel, increasingly paranoid and manipulated, is convinced by his cronies to feign demonic possession as part of one of their schemes to gain notoriety and status. He begins to perform grotesque, theatrical "fits," vomiting and contorting himself to make the public believe he is under a supernatural spell.

The climax arrives when the authorities intervene to investigate the charade. As the various schemes unravel, the lines between the "real" devil and the human deceivers blur entirely. Fitzdottrel is exposed as a fool, the con men face the consequences of their fraud, and Pug—having failed his mission and grown weary of the superior wickedness of mortals—is ultimately reclaimed by his infernal masters. The play concludes with the revelation that humanity needs no outside influence to reach the depths of absurdity and vice; the "Devil" is simply an ass when compared to the ingenuity of a dishonest man.

How It Unfolds

The infernal commission Pug successfully petitions his master for a brief excursion to the mortal realm, eager to prove his skill in leading men toward ruin. He arrives in England and immediately secures a position as a footman to a man whose vanity makes him an easy target.

The arrival of the sharks Merecraft and his associates identify Fitzdottrel as a man with more money than sense and begin to pitch him a series of fraudulent business "projects." The protagonist is quickly relegated to the background, watching as human greed easily outstrips his own amateur attempts at malice.

The courtship of the wife Wittipol initiates his elaborate ruse to woo the isolated Mistress Fitzdottrel, utilizing the husband’s own obsession with social appearances against him. The domestic tension within the household mirrors the larger, chaotic swindles occurring in the London streets.

The theater of the possessed The con artists convince the target to fake a demonic possession, leading to a series of hilarious, public displays of "witchcraft." This performative madness brings the law to the door and sets the stage for the final collapse of all parties' ambitions.

The final reckoning The authorities expose the web of lies, and the various characters are confronted with the wreckage of their greed. Pug finds that his worldly mission is an utter failure, as he is mocked and discarded by the very humans he meant to destroy.

The People

Pug is a novice devil who craves respect and adventure but lacks the cold, calculated malice required for his role. He is the play’s primary observer, often bewildered by the sheer scale of human dishonesty. Fitzdottrel is a classic "gull"—a man defined by his desperate, pathetic hunger for social status and his possessive, controlling behavior toward his wife. He is the engine of his own downfall. Merecraft is the quintessential con man, a master of rhetoric and manipulation who views the world as a collection of marks. He is the most competent character in the play, possessing a cynical, sharp intelligence that dwarfs Pug’s efforts. Wittipol serves as the sophisticated, roguish agent of chaos who uses wit and disguise to navigate the social order, while Mistress Fitzdottrel remains a figure of quiet, suppressed spirit, struggling against the stifling constraints imposed by her husband.

In Its Own Voice

"I'll entertaine him for the name sake. Ha? And turne away my tother man? and saue Foure pound a yeere by that? there’s lucke, and thrift too!"

When the devil introduces himself by name, the foolish Fitzdottrel ignores the supernatural warning, focusing only on the potential savings of hiring a cheaper servant.

"If it were not clearely, His worſhipfull ambition; and the top of it; The very forked top too: why ſhould hee Keepe you, thus mur’d vp in a back-roome, Miſtreſſe"

Pug notes the ridiculous irony of his master’s desire for status, observing that his jealousy is merely a byproduct of his own insecurity and social posturing.

What It's Really About

The play is a biting critique of the vanity of the Jacobean merchant class and the rising culture of "projects"—the era's version of speculative, get-rich-quick schemes. Jonson argues that human nature, when driven by avarice and an obsession with public perception, is inherently self-corrupting. He posits that the traditional "Devil" is a mythical construct, rendered obsolete by the far more effective, earthly evils of swindlers, social climbers, and insecure tyrants. Through these characters, the work questions the authenticity of human morality in a society that rewards the appearance of success over the reality of integrity.

Why Read It Today

Readers interested in the evolution of satire will find this play deeply rewarding. It serves as a precursor to the modern con-artist narrative, where the "villain" is not a supernatural force, but an intelligent, fast-talking manipulator who thrives in a cynical environment. If you enjoy character-driven comedies that focus on the absurdity of status and the hilarity of human greed, you will appreciate how Jonson turns a demonic premise into a grounded, social farce.

However, the reader should be prepared for the dense, 17th-century language and the intricate, often-allusive slang of the period. The play’s reliance on specific, contemporary cultural references—such as the "projects" and social fashions of the early 1600s—can be a hurdle, and the text requires a patient approach to navigate the archaic spelling and syntax. Nevertheless, the central frustration of the Devil—that he is unable to compete with the sheer, mundane wickedness of the people he encounters—is a premise that remains as resonant and biting today as it was in the seventeenth century. It is a cynical, clever, and often laugh-out-loud look at why people do the foolish things they do in pursuit of an identity they can never truly earn.