The Alchemist - Jonson, Ben
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The Alchemist is a comedy by English playwright Ben Jonson. First performed in 1610 by the King's Men, it is generally considered Jonson's best and most characteristic comedy; Samuel Taylor Coleridge considered it had one of the three most perfect plots in literature. The play's clever fulfilment of the classical unities and vivid depiction of human folly have made it one of the few Renaissance plays (except the works of Shakespeare) with a continuing life on stage (except for a period of neglect during the Victorian era) An outbreak of plague in London forces a gentleman, Lovewit, to flee…mehr

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Produktbeschreibung
The Alchemist is a comedy by English playwright Ben Jonson. First performed in 1610 by the King's Men, it is generally considered Jonson's best and most characteristic comedy; Samuel Taylor Coleridge considered it had one of the three most perfect plots in literature. The play's clever fulfilment of the classical unities and vivid depiction of human folly have made it one of the few Renaissance plays (except the works of Shakespeare) with a continuing life on stage (except for a period of neglect during the Victorian era) An outbreak of plague in London forces a gentleman, Lovewit, to flee temporarily to the country, leaving his house under the sole charge of his butler, Jeremy. Jeremy uses the opportunity given to him to use the house as the headquarters for fraudulent acts. He transforms himself into "Captain Face," and enlists the aid of Subtle, a fellow conman, and Dol Common, a prostitute. The play opens with a violent argument between Subtle and Face concerning the division of the riches which they have, and will continue to gather. Face threatens to have an engraving made of Subtle with a face worse than that of the notorious highwayman Gamaliel Ratsey. Dol breaks the pair apart and reasons with them that they must work as a team if they are to succeed. Their first customer is Dapper, a lawyer's clerk who wishes Subtle to use his supposed necromantic skills to summon a "familiar" or spirit to help in his gambling ambitions. The tripartite suggest that Dapper may win favour with the "Queen of Fairy," but he must subject himself to humiliating rituals in order for her to help him. Their second gull is Drugger, a tobacconist, who is keen to establish a profitable business. After this, a wealthy nobleman, Sir Epicure Mammon, arrives, expressing the desire to gain himself the philosopher's stone, which he believes will bring him huge material and spiritual wealth. He is accompanied by Surly, a sceptic and debunker of the whole idea of alchemy.
Autorenporträt
Benjamin "Ben" Jonson, an English playwright and poet, was born on June 11, 1572, and died on August 16, 1637. The aesthetic prowess of Jonson has had a lingering influence on English theatrical comedy and poetry. He is well renowned for his lyric and epigrammatic poetry, as well as the satirical plays Every Man in His Humor (1598), Volpone, or The Fox (about 1606), The Alchemist (1610), and Bartholomew Fair. He also popularized the comedy of humor (1614). He is frequently regarded as William Shakespeare's rival for the title of most influential English dramatist under James I. Jonson was a man of the English Renaissance, classically educated, well-read, and polished, with a penchant for debate (personal, political, artistic, and intellectual). He had an unparalleled cultural impact on poets and playwrights during the Jacobean and Caroline centuries (1603-1625). (1625-1642). His ancestors spelled out the family name with the letter "t" (Johnstone or Johnston). The spelling was altered to "Jonson" even though the author preferred it to the more common "Johnson." By the summer of 1597, Jonson had a commitment with the Admiral's Men, who were presently appearing at The Rose under the direction of Philip Henslowe.