The Alchemist

by Ben Jonson

Overview

Benjamin Jonson (1572-1637) was a Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor, known best for his satirical plays and lyric poems. He had a knack for absurdity and hypocrisy, a trait that made him immensely popular in the 17th century Renaissance period. However, his reputation diminished somewhat in the Romantic era, when he began to be unfairly compared to Shakespeare. The Theatre in London had had been denied to "The Admiral's Men" in 1597, but the troupe regained control of it sometime between 1608 and 1610 and "The Alchemist" was among the first plays chosen to be performed there. The comedy transported a classical drama into contemporary London, resulting in a fully modernized depiction of human folly, vice and foolishness. The Alchemist is generally considered one of Jonson's most vivid and characteristic works, and was recognized by Samuel Taylor Coleridge as one of the three most perfect plots in literature. It remains one of Jonson's most revived plays.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781596258228
Publisher:	Digireads.com Publishing
Publication date:	10/04/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	990 KB

About the Author

Ben Jonson (1572-1637) was an English dramatist and poet, whose reputation amongst playwrights of the period is only second only to Shakespeare's. Although Jonson found little success as an actor, his reputation as a dramatist was firmly established in 1598 with Every Man in his Humour. This sucess was followed by Every Man out of his Humour and the classically influenced satire Cynthia's Revels. Jonson wrote all of the major comedies upon which his reputation is now based during the period 1605 to 1614.

Elizabeth Cook has published short fiction and poetry as well as scholarly works on Renaissance literature, and has also written and presented for television and the theatre. Formerly a university lecturer, she has edited the works of John Keats. She lives in London.

Table of Contents

General editor's preface
Preface
Abbreviations
Introduction

1. Life and Character
2. Alchemy
3. The Play
4. Jonson's Verse
5. Stage History
6. The Text

The Alchemist
Index to Annotations

Editorial Reviews

Reprint of the Methuen edition published in 1967. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

Ben Johnson's timeless satire.” —Andrzej Lukowski, Time Out London, 02/09/10

From the Publisher