The Alchemist: By Ben Jonson (The Revels Plays)

by N/A

• Used

  Paperback
  1980

  $9.46

  Widely performed and studied, The Alchemist is one of the world's great comedies. It was first performed in 1610, and its success kept it in the repertory until the closing of the theatres. After the Restoration, it was one of the first plays to be revived and it has been produced with increasing frequency ever since. This edition is based on a reconsideration of the early texts, but the spelling and punctuation are modernized. The comprehensive introduction details Jonson's life and the play's stage history, discusses the text in detail, and has a section on alchemy.

• Used

  Paperback
  1995

  $3.40

  This edition brings together Jonson's four great comedies in one volume. Volpone , which was first performed in 1606, dramatizes the corrupting nature of greed in an exuberant satire set in contemporary Venice. The first production of Epicene marked the end of a year long closure of the theatres because of an epidemic of the plague in 1609; its comedy affirms the consolatory power of laughter at such a time. The Alchemist (1610) deploys the metaphors of alchemical transformation to emphasize the mutability of the characters and their relationships. In Bartholomew Fair (1614) Jonson embroils the visitors to the fair in its myriad tempations, exposing the materialistic impulses beneath the apparent godliness of Jacobean Puritans. Under the General Editorship of Michael Cordner of the University of York the texts of the plays have been newly edited and are presented with modernized spelling and punctuation. Stage directions hvae been added to facilitate the reconstruction of the plays' performance, and there is a scholarly introduction, detailed annotation, and a glossary. This book is intended for students of 17th-century drama.

• New

  Paperback
  1996

  $7.28

  'The Alchemist' has been described as the greatest farce in the English language. It offers insights into London life in the early 17th century, and satirises and celebrates the confusions and anarchy of a fast-moving city world.