Ben Johnson (1573-1637) the greatest
playwright and dramatist of the Post Shakespearean period was the one who had
all good literary gifts. He had learning- perhaps too much of it, industry and
constancy- well beyond the ordinary, versatility, humour, grace, nimbleness,
wit, style quiet adequate to his needs, an insight into contemporary life and
manner greater than that of any writer of his day. Among his famous works are- Every
Man in his Humour, Volpone, The Alchemist, Bartholomew Fair, The Poetaster and
many more.
The Alchemist is one of his best comedies.
According to J.B.Stern,
The
Alchemist is a very highly organised, sharply pointed, moral comedy, but its
sting is directed not so much at the exploiters as at the society, which by its
greed and folly is so open to exploitation…
The Alchemist is an anatomy of the
humor of greed and it demonstrates with beautiful simplicity an obvious truth
that is often forgotten,
If
everybody cheats, everybody will be cheated.
The comedy of humor pertains to a
genre of dramatic comedy that focuses on one or many eccentric characters, each
of whom has one overriding trait or humor that dominates their personality and
obsesses their mind. In The Alchemist, Johnson concentrates
mainly on greed which is the humor that dominates almost every character. The
prologue to The Alchemist clarifies this intent:
No
clime breeds better matter, for your whore.
Our
scene is London, cause we would make known.
No
country’s mirth is better than our own.
Bawd, square, imposter, many persons
more, whose manners,
Now
called humours feed the stage.
In The Alchemist the
humor of greed is presented as endemic in society, almost all the characters
display it. Subtle uses his excellent knowledge of alchemy in learned
scientific speech to fool people and earn money. The play also presents lust as
humor through the character of Mammon. His humor can be seen in the
following lines that he says to Surly,
Come on Sir,
Now
you set your foot on shore.
In
novo orbe: here’s the rich pern:
And
there within, Sir, are the golden mine,
Great
Solomon’s Ophir!
Face goes about in order to ‘shark’
foolish people like Drugger and Dapper; and Dol joins the
two to rob people of as much money as possible. Those three conspirators
Subtle, Face and Dol Common are in fact the greediest. They operate in
different ways and perhaps out of different motives. When they wear the
costumes of their roles, they assume the characteristics of the disguises they
put on, not just playing the part, but by identifying themselves with the
roles. It is this very avarice that brings them into conspiring with each other
to gull other greedy people.
Every other character shows their
greed through their gullibility. I feel that this avarice comes as a disease
from which the characters suffer. They are so covetous that they become
ridiculous in our eyes. It is because of this very humour of capacity that they
end up in becoming so gullible. In believing Subtle, they dream of acquiring
riches. Finally they all pay a heavy price due to their avarice. This can be
seen in the following lines,
O Sir, we are defeated!
All the works, are flown in fumo,
Every glass is burst.
Furnace, and all rent down
As if a bolt of thunder had been
through the house.
Retorts, receivers, pelicans,
bolt-heads,
All struck in shivers!
Hence, The Alchemist has
a fair claim to be called Johnson’s most brilliant play as a comedy. He
intended it to be a brilliant portrait of his own times set within the limits
of classical requirements.
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