Summary
Trouble-All, a local fool and presumed madman, speaks with the disguised Overdo as he is being put in the stocks. He asks to see the warrant for Overdo's arrest, and a guard reveals to Overdo that Trouble-All is a former court officer who was convicted of a crime by Overdo himself. Since then, Trouble-All has the reputation of a fool. Overdo doubts whether Trouble-All will be an ally for him.
Busy is also placed in the stocks, and refuses to be quiet, continuing to preach about the sinful behavior he sees at the fair.
Meanwhile, Edgworth and Nightingale attempt to steal the marriage license from Cokes. Cokes asks for help from Trouble-All, who demands to see a warrant.
Winwife and Quarlous prepare to duel with one another over Grace Welborn's hand in marriage, but Welborn devises a competition instead: each man must choose a word, and a stranger will pick which word is best. The winner will marry Grace Welborn. The stranger selected to decide is Trouble-All, who only asks to see a warrant.
Wasp and Mistress Overdo enter with a group of people who continue to drink.
Quarlous and Edgworth arrive, planning to take the marriage certificate from Wasp. A brawl begins, and everyone runs away but Ursla, Whit, and Mistress Overdo. Whit asks Ursla to dress Mistress Overdo up in fine clothing. Ursla has the same plans for Win Littlewit, who is left alone after her husband goes to check on the progress of his puppet show. A woman named Alice attacks Mistress Overdo because she thinks she is a fancy prostitute. Alice is asked to leave the bar and Mistress Overdo is welcomed in.
Trouble-All continues asking everyone for warrants. Wasp is led to the stocks, but is able to wiggle out and free himself. Quarlous takes the marriage license from Edgworth and asks Trouble-All whose word he selected to win the competition. Trouble-All tells him that he selected neither. Trouble-All attacks the guards at the stocks because they do not have a warrant, and Busy and Overdo escape.
Analysis
Act Four introduces audiences to the character of Trouble-All, a fool whom many write off as completely insane. His behavior during the fair does little to change this assumption, as his chief concern is a search for a warrant. At first, his request for a warrant seems relevant as he speaks to Overdo about his imprisonment in the stocks. However, as Trouble-All traverses the fair, his warrant search becomes increasingly bizarre and altogether nonsensical; Trouble-All asks anyone and everyone for a warrant, a testament to his state of insanity that other characters attach to him.
However, the revelation that Trouble-All was once a court officer helps explain, to some degree, his preoccupation: having fallen in rank from an authority figure to disregarded fool, Trouble-All's interest in receiving a warrant is a reflection of his loss. While most characters assume Trouble-All's obsession with warrants can be written off as insanity, it is actually indicative of his cleverness as a former court authority. Thus, Trouble-All is yet another example of an ironic character in the play, as his reputation as a fool clouds his past role as an authority figure. As a result, the play suggests that Overdo – dressed as a fool and currently in the stocks – could wind up with the same fate if he does not practice more compassion in his work.
As the fourth act concludes, the chaos of the preceding three acts starts to build even further: characters move in out of scenes more quickly, more disguises take shape, and the imprisoned hypocrites eventually escape. The fourth act therefore sets up the climax of the play, wherein every character is free once more to wreak havoc on their fellow fair-goers.
The topsy-turvy world that has dominated the play for the last two acts gives way, instead, to complete disorder. Lest audiences think that Jonson is simply interested in stripping hypocritical authority figures of their power (which he certainly is), the end of Act Four suggests that the real focus of the play is the notion of human folly more generally – regardless of social class, religious affiliation, political power, etc.
As the play enters its final act, it thrusts characters and audience members into a state of chaos so unhinged that it might become difficult to predict what will happen next. This, of course, is the point, as Jonson delights in the concept of a performance, seemingly uncontrolled, taking on a life of its own.
