The Alchemist Ben Jonson 9781162622644 Books
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The Alchemist Ben Jonson 9781162622644 Books
This is a review of the edition, not the play, which is wonderfully funny. The recent (summer 2016) RSC production was terrific! This edition is a school text which does not fully gloss the play but only some of the difficult words. Presumably a teacher in the classroom could discuss words and passages and so forth. But it served my purpose, which was to review the play before seeing the RSC performance I mentioned--it was thin enough to fit into my suitcase. I don't believe a fuller Arden edition is available, and who could carry around a full scholarly edition of Jonson's plays?Product details
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The Alchemist Ben Jonson 9781162622644 Books Reviews
The Alchemist By Paulo Coelh
Ben Jonson, although modern audiences find him difficult to read, played an important role in the development of the English comedic play. Volpone is a dark comedy that explores the twisted world of a con artist and his toady. The play demonstrates Jonson's awareness of the hypocrisy of social situations. Similarly, Bartholomew Fair takes the reader on a tour of the seamier side of seventeenth century London life. Zeal of the Land Busy, a religious hypocrite, still speaks to our generation when questions of religious expression still plague us. Epicene is a gender-bender in which the ideal silent woman turns out to be a man. The Alchemist, although the most difficult of the plays to read, is worth the effort, as it explores the questions of knowledge, ownership of knowledge, and abuse common in today's world.
Ben Jonson is a great writer who's only mistake must be to have been born at the same time as the great Shakespeare. Full of satire and sexual innuendos, The Alchemist narrates the tale of two rogues, one the alchemist who promises people to turn all their items to gold and the other his helper. Matched with a prostitute who fools around with them it makes a comic tale of lust and greed.
I recently read the early 17th century comedy "Volpone", my first introduction to Ben Jonson. I was surprised by how well Jonson's humor had traveled through 400 years of cultural change. I did have difficulty with Jonson's dedication (several pages), the introductory argument, and the prologue as well as a "Pythagorean literary satire" in Act One, Scene One. But thereafter I found the humor to be natural and enjoyable. I even found myself somewhat sympathetic for the unscrupulous Volpone, Mosca, Voltore, Corbaccio, and Corvino. I immediately hunted around on my dustier bookshelves for other works of Ben Jonson.
"Epicene" was less easy to digest, but was worth the effort. There is a surprising twist in the final scene and I suggest that the reader avoid any literary criticism or introductions to "Epicene" until after your first reading. I had less empathy for the characters in "Epicene" and it was difficult to identify any "good guys". The characters were not terribly disagreeable, but simply dilettantes that had little concern for morality or ethics. The dialogue is more obscure (and more bawdy) than in "Volpone". I found it helpful to first read the footnotes for a scene before actually reading the scene itself.
"The Alchemist" is more like "Volpone". The main characters are unscrupulous con-men; their targets are gullible, greedy individuals. I learned quite a bit about alchemy, at least alchemy as practiced by 17th century con-men. As with "Volpone" and "Epicene", I was unable to predict how Ben Jonson would bring the play to a satisfactory conclusion. I enjoyed "The Alchemist" and I expect that I will read it again. I don't know if it is performed very often, but it would probably be quite entertaining.
"Bartholomew Fair" introduces a large, motley collection of characters that largely converse in lower class colloquialisms that require some effort to master. The comedy was intended in part to be a satire on Puritans and thereby please King James, but it was equally an introduction to the varied individuals that might be encountered at an annual fair. It was not easy to keep track of the many characters and I continually referred to the cast listing to reorient myself.
There are a number of collections of Ben Jonson's plays. I recommend an inexpensive collection, "The Alchemist and Other Plays", publish by Oxford University Press as a World's Classic. The introduction, glossary, and explanatory footnotes by Gordon Campbell are quite good. Begin with either "Volpone" or "The Alchemist" if you are new to Jonson. I hope you are as surprised and pleased as I was.
This is NOT the famous scifi novel. My new roommate recommended this book so I read it to get to know her better. I kept reading because I was trying to be nice. But after 40 pages I quit and asked her how she could possibly be so boring. Turns out it's the wrong book. Worst 40 pages I've ever read. I know I was expecting a different book but I can't imagine how anyone would enjoy reading this. The book felt like one huge run-on sentence and never seemed to make a point.
It's the old version and it was too complicated.
there is no good annotations
This is a review of the edition, not the play, which is wonderfully funny. The recent (summer 2016) RSC production was terrific! This edition is a school text which does not fully gloss the play but only some of the difficult words. Presumably a teacher in the classroom could discuss words and passages and so forth. But it served my purpose, which was to review the play before seeing the RSC performance I mentioned--it was thin enough to fit into my suitcase. I don't believe a fuller Arden edition is available, and who could carry around a full scholarly edition of Jonson's plays?
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