- The Prologue kicks things off by announcing that the play's setting is London, the greatest place ever for entertainment and laughs—what with all the prostitutes, pimps, and various assorted scumbags running around.
- In fact, this play is going to be all about depicting those kinds of people because, hey, they make the best characters in comedies like this one.
- Now the Prologue claims that Ben Jonson's not just out to bag on these types of folks—many of whom are sitting in the audience—he just wants to make them "better."
- So, that's Jonson's way of telling us the play's going to be a satire, which is all about using humor, irony, and sarcasm to make fun of people and their flaws. Supposedly, the whole point of satire is to improve society.
- Finally, the Prologue tells the audience to listen up and pay close attention to what they see on the stage because they just might learn something about themselves.