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Title: The Alchemist and other Plays by Ben Jonson, Gordon Campbell ISBN: 0-19-283446-0 Publisher: Oxford Press Pub. Date: June, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (5 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Great Introduction to Ben Jonson's Comedies
Comment: 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.
Rating: 3
Summary: there are two books called the ALCHEMIST
Comment: most of the reviews here are for the book by Coehlo-- a modern fairy tale about "following your heart". THE BOOK ON THIS PAGE IS BY BEN JOHNSON the famous renaissance poet. Someone out there in amazon.com land should fix this!!!
Rating: 4
Summary: Worth the effort
Comment: 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.
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Title: Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Comedy: Authoritative Texts of the Country Wife, the Man of Mode, the Rover, the Way of the World, the Conscious Lovers, the School for Scandal: Contexts, cr (Norton Critical Edition) by Scott McMillin ISBN: 0393963349 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: January, 1997 List Price(USD): $18.50 |
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Title: The Duchess of Malfi and Other Plays (Oxford World's Classics) by John Webster, Rene Weis ISBN: 0192834533 Publisher: Oxford Press Pub. Date: August, 1998 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
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Title: The Shoemaker's Holiday (New Mermaids) by Thomas Dekker, Anthony Parr ISBN: 0393900622 Publisher: A&C Black Pub. Date: December, 1990 List Price(USD): $16.75 |
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Title: The Complete Plays by Christopher Marlowe, J. B. Steane ISBN: 0140430377 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: December, 1969 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe ISBN: 0486282082 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 20 October, 1994 List Price(USD): $1.50 |
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