Discuss the alchemist is a satire on human follies and foibles
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HOMEWORK HELP > THE ALCHEMIST
The Alchemist is a satiric comment on the real social conditions of its time. Comment
First performed in 1610, Jonson's satire of human materialism was set in then contemporary London. There are therefore a great many characters and themes which the original audience would have recognised (probably with some discomfort, as very good satire is apt to produce.) Audiences would have been entirely familiar with:
1. The Plague. Attempts at control of this periodic epidemic meant that theatres in London were frequently closed during periods of high infection, and the play's first performance is recorded as taking place in Oxford in September 1610, when the London theatres had been closed since July. Everyone would have recognised the setting of The Alchemist: a city hit by plague restrictions regarding crowds and public gatherings, and from which everyone who could afford to move away did. That left the poor, and those whose businesses would have been robbed had they left them. Lovewit is a gentleman who has gone to the country, but his servants decide to remain in Town, risking infection in order to capitalise.
2. Social Mobility. This new Jacobean age had become very aware of the possibility of making money, and the social implication of successful trade and enterprise enabling the crossing of social divides which not long before had been regarded as insurmountable.The 'gulls' - the dupes who believe that they can get rich quick by magic - are also risking their lives, and are portrayed across the social spectrum: from the Knight to the failing tobacconist. Nobody is immune to greed and acquisition, but the Spaniard (impersonated by Surly) was a popular post-Reformation hate-figure, as were Puritans (represented here by the Anabaptists, an extreme Protestant sect who practised a sort of proto-communism) and who were notoriously anti-theatre. Within the context of the satire, the literal 'making' of money is the pivotal point, hence
3. Alchemy. With its ancient roots in Hellenistic Egypt, historically alchemy was the scientific/philosophical search for a Universal Panacea (to eradicate disease), Elixir of Life, (to discover the secret of immortality) and the fabled 'Philosopher's Stone', which was supposed to have the power to turn base metals into gold. It is this last that concerns the 'alchemists' of Jonson's play. Alchemy was perceived ambivalently by the early 17th Century - variously as devilry, as merely crackpot, and a belief among some that there might be something in it. All attitudes are represented in the play. (Think of the way we regard astrology now, still...) Certainly, the Elizabethan age had seen a significant rise in con-artists, and these would have been highly familiar to the sophisticated London audience in 1610. However, alchemy had begun to merge with actual early chemical research with the emergence of actual experimental scientists such as the philospher-chemist Paracelsus (c.1493-1541) who pioneered the use of minerals in medicine. A bit like a similar merging of 'astrology' and 'astronomy' in the same age, the boundaries between science and magic were inevitably blurred. It is therefore entirely plausible that the 'gulls' are taken in by a (formula?) of science and magic, and Subtle can play on his victims' particular prejudices, so that a delicate scientific process or an arcane magic spell could be wrecked by being observed. Thus for his gulls, the main business takes place in another room (giving scope for quackery) just as for the audience (placed in the same position) it takes place off-stage.
HOMEWORK HELP > THE ALCHEMIST
The Alchemist is a satiric comment on the real social conditions of its time. Comment
First performed in 1610, Jonson's satire of human materialism was set in then contemporary London. There are therefore a great many characters and themes which the original audience would have recognised (probably with some discomfort, as very good satire is apt to produce.) Audiences would have been entirely familiar with:
1. The Plague. Attempts at control of this periodic epidemic meant that theatres in London were frequently closed during periods of high infection, and the play's first performance is recorded as taking place in Oxford in September 1610, when the London theatres had been closed since July. Everyone would have recognised the setting of The Alchemist: a city hit by plague restrictions regarding crowds and public gatherings, and from which everyone who could afford to move away did. That left the poor, and those whose businesses would have been robbed had they left them. Lovewit is a gentleman who has gone to the country, but his servants decide to remain in Town, risking infection in order to capitalise.
2. Social Mobility. This new Jacobean age had become very aware of the possibility of making money, and the social implication of successful trade and enterprise enabling the crossing of social divides which not long before had been regarded as insurmountable.The 'gulls' - the dupes who believe that they can get rich quick by magic - are also risking their lives, and are portrayed across the social spectrum: from the Knight to the failing tobacconist. Nobody is immune to greed and acquisition, but the Spaniard (impersonated by Surly) was a popular post-Reformation hate-figure, as were Puritans (represented here by the Anabaptists, an extreme Protestant sect who practised a sort of proto-communism) and who were notoriously anti-theatre. Within the context of the satire, the literal 'making' of money is the pivotal point, hence
3. Alchemy. With its ancient roots in Hellenistic Egypt, historically alchemy was the scientific/philosophical search for a Universal Panacea (to eradicate disease), Elixir of Life, (to discover the secret of immortality) and the fabled 'Philosopher's Stone', which was supposed to have the power to turn base metals into gold. It is this last that concerns the 'alchemists' of Jonson's play. Alchemy was perceived ambivalently by the early 17th Century - variously as devilry, as merely crackpot, and a belief among some that there might be something in it. All attitudes are represented in the play. (Think of the way we regard astrology now, still...) Certainly, the Elizabethan age had seen a significant rise in con-artists, and these would have been highly familiar to the sophisticated London audience in 1610. However, alchemy had begun to merge with actual early chemical research with the emergence of actual experimental scientists such as the philospher-chemist Paracelsus (c.1493-1541) who pioneered the use of minerals in medicine. A bit like a similar merging of 'astrology' and 'astronomy' in the same age, the boundaries between science and magic were inevitably blurred. It is therefore entirely plausible that the 'gulls' are taken in by a (formula?) of science and magic, and Subtle can play on his victims' particular prejudices, so that a delicate scientific process or an arcane magic spell could be wrecked by being observed. Thus for his gulls, the main business takes place in another room (giving scope for quackery) just as for the audience (placed in the same position) it takes place off-stage.
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A very well-known social satire called The Alchemist was first performed by the king's men in 1610 and then published in 1612. Ben Jonson, one of the most well-known and significant playwrights, is the author of The Alchemist.
- One interpretation of The Alchemist is satire. Lovewit is a man of his words who has travelled to the country, but his servant choose to remain in the area and engage in gambling and deception with his companion Subtle, as well as Doll (a prostitute).
- These three made the decision to deceive others and use magic to make money (enchantment- the state of being under a spell). However, a few characters—including Dapper, Dragger, and Epicure Mammon—were duped by them, and Surly pretended to be a Spanish guy opposed to theatre in order to discover the truth behind their magical ruse. Jonson was making fun of people's frailty and credulity.
- The Alchemist is a neatly plotted parody with a straightforward dramatic premise. Every character in the play conveys a distinct impression. Through his subsequent work, Jonson has mocked the human race's obsessive need for wealth.
- Ben Jonson exposes the materialistic motivations hidden beneath the Jacobean puritans' outwardly pious appearance by entangling fairgoers in its many temptations.
- Jonson skillfully crafted the plot of Alchemist as a satire, outclassed other dramatists like Shakespeare in terms of structural organisation, and raised classical play to a new level. The complicated London crowd in 1610 would have readily recognised The Alchemist as a social satire.
Jonson mocks humanity's follies, vanities, and vices in The Alchemist. The caustic wit of Jonson can be used to mock members of all social classes. This drama reflects the Jacobean society's glamourized view of the Renaissance. Greed and deceit characterised the Jacobean Society. Moral standards have fallen to their lowest point.
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