"David Garrick as Abel Drugger in Jonson's The Alchemist" by Johann Zoffany.

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 claimed that it had one of the three most perfect plots in literature. The play's clever fulfillment of the classical unities and vivid depiction of human folly have made it one of the few Renaissance plays (excepting of course the works of Shakespeare) with, apart from a period of neglect during the Victorian period, a continual life on stage. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Portrait of David Garrick David Garrick (February 19, 1717 – January 20, 1779) was an English actor, dramatist, theatrical producer and theatrical manager, and a friend and pupil of Samuel Johnson. ... Johann Zoffany (1733, Frankfurt - November 11, 1810, Strand-on-the-Green) was a German-born portrait painter who in late 18th-century England made his reputation with paintings depicting episodes from contemporary theatre and with portraits and conversation pieces (i. ... The word comedy has a classical meaning (comical theatre) and a popular one (the use of humor with an intent to provoke laughter in general). ... The term English literature refers to literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; Joseph Conrad was Polish, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, Salman Rushdie is Indian, V.S... For other persons of the same name, see Ben Johnson (disambiguation). ... (Redirected from 1610 in literature) See also: 16th century in literature, other events of the 17th century, 1700 in literature, list of years in literature. ... Different people known as the Kings Men: Kings Men was William Shakespeares playing company, together with Richard Burbage et al. ... Samuel Taylor Coleridge (October 21, 1772 – July 25, 1834) (pronounced ) was an English poet, critic, and philosopher who was, along with his friend William Wordsworth, one of the founders of the Romantic Movement in England and one of the Lake Poets. ... The three unities or classical unities are rules for drama derived from a mistaken interpretation of a particular passage in Aristotles Poetics. ... Shakespeare redirects here. ...

Background

The Alchemist premiered 34 years after the first permanent public theater (The Theatre) opened in London; it is, then a product of the first maturity of commercial drama in London. Only one of the University wits who had transformed drama in the Elizabethan period remained alive (this was Thomas Lodge); in the other direction, the last great playwright to flourish before the Interregnum, James Shirley, was already a teenager. The theaters had survived the challenge mounted by the city and religious authorities; plays were a regular feature of life at court and for a great number of Londoners. This article is about one specific theatre in London; for information on theatres in general, see Theater. ... A University wit is a member of a group of notable English playwrights of the late 16th century. ... Thomas Lodge (c. ... The English Interregnum was the period of parliamentary and military rule in the land occupied by modern-day England and Wales after the English Civil War. ... James Shirley (or Sherley) (September 1596 - October 29, 1666), was an English dramatist. ...

The venue for which Jonson apparently wrote his play reflects this newly solid acceptance of theater as a fact of city life. In 1597, the Lord Chamberlain's Men had been denied permission to use the theater in Blackfriars as a winter playhouse because of objections from the neighborhood's influential residents. Some time between 1608 and 1610, the company, now the King's Men, reassumed control of the playhouse, this time without objections. Their delayed premiere on this stage within the city walls, along with royal patronage, marks the ascendance of this company in the London play-world (Gurr, 171). The Alchemist was among the first plays chosen for performance at the theater. For other uses, see: 1597 (number). ... The Lord Chamberlains Men was the playing company that William Shakespeare worked for as actor and playwright for most of his career. ... Blackfriars Theatre was the name of two separate theatres in the City of London, built on grounds previously belonging to a Dominican monastery. ... Events March 18 - Sissinios formally crowned Emperor of Ethiopia May 14 - Protestant Union founded in Auhausen. ... // Events January 7 - Galileo Galilei discovers the Galilean moons of Jupiter. ... It has been suggested that Lord Chamberlains Men be merged into this article or section. ...

Jonson's play reflects this new confidence. In it, he applies his classical conception of drama to a setting in contemporary London for the first time, with invigorating results. The classical elements, most notably the relation between Lovewit and Face, are fully modernized; likewise, the depiction of Jacobean London is given order and direction by the classical understanding of comedy as a means to expose vice and foolishness to ridicule.

Plot

With his master Lovewit resting in the country to avoid an outbreak of plague in London, a clever servant named Face develops a scheme to make money and amuse himself. He gives Subtle, a charlatan, and a prostitute named Doll Common access to the house. Subtle disguises himself as an alchemist, with Face as his servant; Doll disguises herself as a zealous Puritan. Together, the three of them gull and cheat an assortment of foolish clients. These include Sir Epicure Mammon, a wealthy sensualist looking for the philosopher's stone; two greedy Puritans, Tribulation Wholesome and Ananais, who hope to counterfeit Dutch money; Drugger, a "tobacco man" hoping to marry the wealthy widow Dame Pliant; Dapper, an incredibly suave, fashionable, good-looking 17th century gentleman, and other minor figures looking for a short-cut to success in gambling or in business. The bubonic plague or bubonic fever is the best-known variant of the deadly infectious disease caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Look up Charlatan in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... The philosophers stone, in Latin lapis philosophi, is a legendary substance that supposedly could turn inexpensive metals such as lead into gold (chrysopoeia in the Greek language) and/or create an elixir that would make humans younger, thus delaying death. ...

The play takes place over the course of one day in the house of Face's master. The three rogues are forced to increasingly frenetic manoeuvres first to manage all of their simultaneous scams, and then to fend off the suspicious Kastril, Dame Pliant's brother. At last, Lovewit returns; quickly perceiving what Face has done in his absence, he devises a scheme of his own to allow all to end well. Doll and Subtle escape unpunished but empty-handed; Mammon's goods are restored to him, but the Puritans' are not. The smaller victims either flee or are driven from the stage. Lovewit himself pledges troth to Dame Pliant, with Kastril's approval. Face is restored without punishment to his original place as Jeremy, Lovewit's butler.

Stage History

A scene from a Los Angeles theatre production

Internal references indicate that the play was written for performance at Blackfriars; ironically, given its initial scenario, plague forced the company to tour, and The Alchemist premiered at Oxford in 1610, with performance in London later that year. Its success may be indicated by its performance at court in 1613 and again in 1623. Evidence of a more ambiguous kind is presented by the case of Thomas Tomkis's Albumazar, performed for King James at Cambridge in 1615. A tradition apparently originating with Dryden held that Jonson had been influenced by Tomkis's academic comedy. Dryden may have mentioned Jonson to increase interest in a somewhat obscure play he was then reviving; he may also have been confused about the dates. At any rate, the question of influence now runs the other way. Albumazar is, primarily, an adaptation of Giambattista della Porta's "L'Astrologo"; however, both the similarity in subject matter and Tomkis's apparent familiarity with commercial dramaturgy make it possible that he was aware of The Alchemist, and may have been responsding to the play's success. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Events January - Galileo observes Neptune, but mistakes it for a star and so is not credited with its discovery. ... Year 1623 (MDCXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... James Stuart (19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scots as James VI, and King of England and King of Ireland as James I. He ruled in Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567, when he was only one year old. ... Geography Status City (1951) Region East of England Admin. ... Events June 2 - First Récollet missionaries arrive at Quebec City, from Rouen, France. ... John Dryden John Dryden (August 19 {August 9 O.S.}, 1631 - May 12 {May 1 O.S.}, 1700) was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator and playwright, who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles... Image:Giovanni della Porta. ...

The play continued onstage as a droll during the Commonwealth period; after the Restoration, it belonged to the repertory of the King's Men of Thomas Killigrew, who appear to have performed it with some frequency during their first years in operation. The play is not known to have been performed between 1675 and 1709, but the frequency of performance after 1709 suggests that it probably was. Indeed, the play was frequently performed during the eighteenth century; both Colley Cibber and David Garrick were notable successes in the role of Drugger, for whom a small number of new material, including farces and monologues, in the latter half of the century. Droll is classically defined as whimsical or comical, but American slang has adapted this word to mean boring, lifeless, and uninteresting. ... King Charles II, the first monarch to rule after the English Restoration. ... Thomas Killigrew (1612 - March 19, 1683), was an English dramatist. ... Year 1675 (MDCLXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... // Events January 12 - Two-month freezing period begins in France - The coast of the Atlantic and Seine River freeze, crops fail and at least 24. ... Colley Cibber, actor, playwright, Poet Laureate, first British actor-manager, and head Dunce of Alexander Popes Dunciad. ... Portrait of David Garrick David Garrick (February 19, 1717 – January 20, 1779) was an English actor, dramatist, theatrical producer and theatrical manager, and a friend and pupil of Samuel Johnson. ...

After this period of flourishing, the play fell into desuetude, along with nearly all non-Shakespearean Renaissance drama, until the beginning of the twentieth century. William Poel's Elizabethan Stage Society produced the play in 1899. This opening was followed a generation later by productions at Malvern in 1932, with Ralph Richardson as Face, and at the Old Vic in 1947. In the latter production, Alec Guinness played Drugger, alongside Richardson as Face. William Poel (1852-1934) was an English actor and theatrical manager, known for his presentation of old plays. ... See also: 1898 in literature, other events of 1899, 1900 in literature, list of years in literature. ... Malvern is a town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England . ... See also: 1931 in literature, other events of 1932, 1933 in literature, list of years in literature. ... Ralph Richardson Sir Ralph David Richardson (19 December 1902 – 10 October 1983) was an English actor, one of a group of theatrical knights of the mid-20th century who, though more closely associated with the stage, did their best to make the transition to film. ... The exterior of the Old Vic from the corner of Baylis Road and Waterloo Road. ... Sir Alec Guinness CH CBE (April 2, 1914 – August 5, 2000) was an Academy Award and Tony Award-winning English actor who became one of the most versatile and best-loved performers of his generation. ...

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival staged a fast-paced, nearly farcical production in 1961; Gerard Larson played Face, and Nagle Jackson Face, under Edward Brubaker's direction. The performance received generally favorable reviews; however, a 1973 production set in the Wild West setting did not; the setting was generally considered inconsistent with the tone and treatment of the play. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) is an annual theatre festival held from February to October in Ashland, Oregon, near Oregons border with California. ... The cowboy, the quintessential symbol of the American Old West, circa 1888. ...

In 1962, Tyrone Guthrie produced a modernized version at the Old Vic, with Leo McKern as Subtle and Charles Gray as Mammon. Trevor Nunn's 1977 production with the Royal Shakespeare Company featured Sir Ian McKellen as a"greasy, misanthropic" Face, in a version adapted by Peter Barnes. The original was played at the Royal National Theatre, with Alex Jennings and Simon Russell Beale in the central roles, from September to November 2006. Sir William Tyrone Guthrie (2 July 1900 - 15 May 1971) was a British theatrical director instrumental in the founding of the Stratford Festival of Canada and the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota. ... Image:Number Two. ... Charles Gray (August 29, 1928 - March 7, 2000) was an English actor, born Donald Marshall Gray in Bournemouth, Hampshire, (now Bournemouth, Dorset) Charles Gray as Ernst Blofeld in Diamonds Are Forever Donald Gray attended Bournemouth School along side Benny Hill, whose school had been evacuated to the same buildings, during... Sir Trevor King (born 14 January 1940) is a loser and film director. ... Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a British theatre company. ... Sir Ian McKellen takes a day out at Universal Studios, Hollywood, April 2000. ... Peter Barnes, (January 10, 1931–July 1, 2004), was an English playwright and screenwriter. ... The Royal National Theatre from Waterloo Bridge The Royal National Theatre is a building complex and theatre company located on the South Bank in London, England immediately east of the southern end of Waterloo Bridge. ... Alex Jennings (born 10 May 1957) is an award-winning English actor. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

References

• Craig, D. H. Ben Jonson: The Critical Heritage. London: Routledge, 1999.
• Donaldson, Ian. Jonson's Magic Houses: Essays in Interpretation. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1997.
• Gurr, Andrew. Play-going in Shakespeare's London. 2nd edition; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
• Ouellette, Anthony. "The Alchemist and the Emerging Adult Private Playhouse." Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900 45 (2005).