Hypocrisy
The most central theme of the play – and indeed, of many of Jonson's other comedies – is the hypocrisy inherent to humanity and to the early modern Jacobean society about which Jonson writes. Numerous characters act hypocritically throughout the play, pretending to embody a particular virtue or way of life while simultaneously acting counter to those purported ethics. The clearest example of hypocrisy is Zeal-of-the-Land Busy, whose puritanical criticisms are so frequent and fervent that other characters change their behavior in order to avoid catching his eye. Busy, however, indulges in the pleasures of the fair just as much as any of the other characters (and maybe even more). While Busy is an example of religious hypocrisy, Jonson presents other forms of hypocritical behavior throughout the play, including political hypocrisy (through Overdo) and hypocrisy as it relates to mental illness (as characters frequently write off Trouble-All as a madman despite the fact that he is the only character who follows the law).
Theft
The entire script of the play revolves around the concept of theft. Littewit is the first to suggest they steal the marriage license from Wasp in order to marry Purecraft. What ensues is a play about one party stealing the license from the next until finally Overdo puts an end to the affair. Along the way, Overdo and several others are robbed in the city. Theft is an important theme in a play about characters from across London's social classes, as it showcases how – regardless of one's place in society – they can become a victim of clever conmen and pickpockets. The ongoing thievery throughout the play helps create an equalizer of sorts, in which everyone is subject to deception and embarassment while at the chaotic Bartholomew Fair.
Courtship
Quarlous, Winwife, Wasp, Trouble-All, and Zeal-of-the-Land Busy all engage in a battle for the affections of two women: Grace and Purecraft. As they go about this battle, the men attempt various forms of courtship. The game is not to make the women love you so much as to catch their eye and hold it for the longest. To the men, winning over a woman is a game of superiority as they attempt to outdo one another while focusing little on the actual woman they pursue. Their perception of courtship can in many ways be considered an ironic take on early modern English practices of courtship among the nobility and upper classes. In fact, one could even argue that the antics of the competing suitors is playful criticism of early modern English courtly love poetry, in which male poets wrote lofty praises of women while focusing, fundamentally, on themselves.
Deception
While deception is a common theme on the early modern English stage, it appears in Bartholomew Fair at nearly every corner of the play. As characters compete for women, for reputation, or for their own sense of moral rectitude, they simultaneously take to deceiving each other in order to prove themselves superior. For Edgeworth, this looks like falsely accusing the disguised Overdo of a crime. The other men consistently lie to Grace and Purecraft when it comes to their true intentions regarding the marriage license. The prevalence of these small-scale, low-stakes deceptions throughout the play helps emphasize Jonson's interest in stripping humanity of its moral pretenses and showing people for who they truly are.
Disguise
Another common theme for early modern English comedies, disguise plays a major role in the numerous plots of Bartholomew Fair. Of course, the most memorable disguise plot is that of Justice Overdo, who decides to disguise himself as a fool at the fair in order to witness and then root out sin and criminality. His disguise is successful, but also too successful: nobody recognizes Overdo, which means that nobody respects the authority he wields as a justice. Indeed, the play suggests that Overdo's true nature is one of corruption and self-interest, just like the other characters in the play. Thus, Overdo is another example of a hypocrite, who uses the "disguise" of his judge's robes to exact judgement on others while remaining fundamentally immoral himself. When Overdo is sentenced to the stocks, the arbitrary nature of his power (which disappears as soon as he changes clothes) is revealed.
Debauchery
The chaotic structure of Bartholomew Fair mirrors the play's interest in indulgence, debauchery, and generally profane behavior. Nearly every character in the play spends time at Ursla's bar, where alcohol is freely flowing throughout the play. As characters become more and more inebriated, their inhibitions diminish and their interest in debauchery peaks: Quarlous and Whit, for example, loudly proclaim their interest in sex to fair-goers, a stark contrast to the pursuits of a religious marriage desired by Dame Purecraft. With a narrative timeline of just a few hours, Jonson portrays Bartholomew Fair as a welcome break from the puritanical values of Jacobean society, in which attendees understand that indulgence in pleasures like sex, alcohol, and performance is expected and encouraged.
Social Class
Jonson is famous for writing plays that feature members of England's working class rather than simply members of the nobility or the royal family. In fact, he is credited with the invention of "city comedy," a genre of comedy defined by its London setting and reliance on lower-class characters to generate complicated plots. In Bartholomew Fair, Jonson includes characters across London's social, political, and religious spectrum. By the end of the play, nearly every character has been "corrupted," to some degree, by the debauchery of the event. The play therefore presents the fair (which was a real annual celebration at the time) as a place where otherwise stratified social classes converge and where, crucially, everyone abides by the same set (or lack thereof) of social rules.