The Alchemist is a comedy by English playwright Ben Jonson
What kind of play is The Alchemist?
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 believed that it had one of the three most perfect plots in literature.
Is The Alchemist satirical?
The Alchemist is a social satire which transcends the Jacobean London period to our age.
Can the alchemist be considered as allegory?
An allegory can be defined as a narrative which is interpreted to reveal an implicit meaning. Jonson’s play The Alchemist is certainly open to such an interpretation. ... A great example comes in the form of the wonderfully-named Sir Epicure Mammon, whose very name is allegorical.
Is The Alchemist cruel to be a comedy?
Although there are certain elements of a morality tale in this play, overwhelmingly there are far more elements that make this play a comedy – the theme of “gulling” or deceiving was very popular in Johnson’s times and the audience is able to enjoy the “fleecing” of the central characters of a number of stock ...
What features make the alchemist an allegory?
The Alchemist is an allegory, or a story that reveals a deeper, hidden meaning . Often the purpose of an allegory is to teach a moral lesson or principle.
What is the opening line of the play the alchemist?
What is the opening line of the play? “ Believ’t, I will. ” 58. In the first scene, Subtle claims to have Taught Face the art of alchemy.
What happens in the alchemist?
Plot. The Alchemist follows the journey of an Andalusian shepherd boy . Believing a recurring dream to be prophetic, he asks a Gypsy fortune teller in the nearby town about its meaning. The woman interprets the dream as a prophecy telling the boy that he will discover a treasure at the Egyptian pyramids.
Where is the play the alchemist set?
setting (place) The main plot of the alchemist takes place in the Spanish pastures, the Spanish town of Tarifa, the city of Tangier in North Africa, and the Sahara desert . protagonistThe novel’s protagonist is Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd.
Who is the alchemist in the play the alchemist?
Supposedly 200 years old, the alchemist is a mysterious character and an extremely powerful practitioner of alchemy who resides at the Al-Fayoum oasis. Many in Al-Fayoum do not know of his existence, and even the tribal chieftains must request an audience if they wish to see him.
Is The Alchemist a metaphor?
Coelho eventually returned to his dream of becoming a writer. Through his books he writes his experience of how he came to be a writer. This makes his stories more relatable for his readers. After reading The Alchemist, you can tell that this is book is a metaphor for Coelho’s journey in becoming a writer .
What are some motifs in The Alchemist?
- Dreams. In The Alchemist, dreams represent not only an outlet into one’s inner desires, but also a form of communication with the Soul of the World. ...
- Maktub. ...
- Omens.
What does The Alchemist teach you?
The constant theme in The Alchemist is to pursue your dreams by following what your heart desires . During the young boy’s journey, he learns to listen to the heart and to follow the language of omens. ... Each lesson teaches the young boy that he must always follow his heart, as it is the language of God.
What role does DOL common play in The Alchemist?
Doll represents transformation within The Alchemist , as her character is constantly changing and evolving, and she also underscores Jonson’s religious argument.
Is The Alchemist a movie?
Earlier this month, it was announced at the Cannes Film Festival that Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Westbrook Studios was joining Netter Films to produce The Alchemist with a cast led by Sebastian de Souza, Tom Hollander and Shohreh Aghdashloo. ...
What are the aspects of Jacobean society in The Alchemist?
The Alchemist reflects the deglamourized vision of renaissance which characterized the Jacobean society. The Jacobean society was marked by avarice, greed and deception . Moral values were receded to the lowest ebb.
