Books with title The Alchemist's Portrait

The Alchemist is set during a plague epidemic in the Liberty of Blackfriars in 1610 – and was first performed on tour in 1610 by the company whose London home at Blackfriars was temporarily closed due to a plague epidemic. The play is a sublimely accomplished satirical farce about people’s diverse dreams of self-refinement: they all want to transform themselves into something nobler, richer, more powerful, more virile, just as base metal was supposed to be transformed into gold in the alchemical process. During their master’s absence from the house, the con-artists Face, Subtle and Doll Common dupe a series of ‘customers’ whose greed leads them to believe in the existence of the fabled Philosopher’s Stone. As their equipment boils over and blows up in the offstage kitchen, so their plot heats up and is exploded by the skeptical Surly and the arrival of their master – who quietly pockets their proceeds and marries the rich widow to boot. The lively introduction focuses on the play as a comedy about swindlers and characters on the margins of society. It highlights Jonson's craft as a dramatist and his masterful use of language, building into the play all actors and directors need to know about its characters and action. With helpful on-page commentary notes, this student edition also discusses the play in its theatrical and historical context and traces its connections to modern theatre, bringing its farcical comedy vividly to life.

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.

'Ben Johnson's timeless satire.' Andrzej Lukowski, Time Out London, 02/09/10 A dramatist edition of Ben Jonson's famous comedy of London life, dating from 1610. The Alchemist has been described as 'the greatest farce in the English language. Ben Jonson's rich play offers intriguing insights into London life of the early seventeenth century. He satirizes and celebrates the confusions and anarchy of a fast-moving city world populated by a fascinating array of diverse and devious characters. The difference between the plot of The Alchemist and the plot of tragedy is not a difference of logical structure. It is simply a difference of attitude toward life. Tragedy treats of characters and events seriously, under the inexorable domination of the law of fate, while comedy treats of characters and events humorously, under the inexorable adjustment of social conventions.

"The Alchemist" by Ben Jonson. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.

The Alchemist ACT 1. SCENE 1.1. A ROOM IN LOVEWIT'S HOUSE. ENTER FACE, IN A CAPTAIN'S UNIFORM, WITH HIS SWORD DRAWN, AND SUBTLE WITH A VIAL, QUARRELLING, AND FOLLOWED BY DOL COMMON. FACE. Believe 't, I will. SUB. Thy worst. I fart at thee. DOL. Have you your wits? why, gentlemen! for love— FACE. Sirrah, I'll strip you— SUB. What to do? lick figs Out at my— FACE. Rogue, rogue!—out of all your sleights. DOL. Nay, look ye, sovereign, general, are you madmen? SUB. O, let the wild sheep loose. I'll gum your silks With good strong water, an you come. DOL. Will you have The neighbours hear you? will you betray all? Hark! I hear somebody. FACE. Sirrah— SUB. I shall mar All that the tailor has made, if you approach. FACE. You most notorious whelp, you insolent slave, Dare you do this? SUB. Yes, faith; yes, faith. FACE. Why, who Am I, my mungrel? who am I? SUB. I'll tell you., Since you know not yourself. FACE. Speak lower, rogue. SUB. Yes, you were once (time's not long past) the good, Honest, plain, livery-three-pound-thrum, that kept Your master's worship's house here in the Friars, For the vacations— FACE. Will you be so loud? SUB. Since, by my means, translated suburb-captain.

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). In The Alchemist, Jonson unashamedly satirises the follies, vanities and vices of mankind, most notably greed-induced credulity. People of all social classes are subject to Jonson's ruthless, satirical wit. He mocks human weakness and gullibility to advertising and to "miracle cures" with the character of Sir Epicure Mammon, who dreams of drinking the elixir of youth and enjoying fantastic sexual conquests.

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).