Volpone and The Alchemist

By Ben Jonson

Much-studied and frequently performed, these comedies by the great Elizabethan playwright Ben Jonson satirize the greed, mendacity, gullibility, and pretension of seventeenth-century London society. Both plays abound in colorful characters, ingenious plotting, biting wit, and sharp insight into human nature. In Volpone (1605), a crafty rich man attempts to augment his wealth by feigning a mortal illness. His wealthy neighbors, spying the opportunity for an inheritance, vie with each other in courting the "dying" man's favor. The Alchemist (1610) comprises a likewise avaricious cast, headed by a butler and prostitute who join forces with a swindler claiming to possess the philosopher's stone. The trio hosts a parade of eager victims whose hypocrisy and greed place them on a moral footing similar to that of the tricksters. Both plays offer sparkling examples of their author's novel approach to satire and his distinctive blend of savagery, humor, moralism, and a powerful sense of the absurd.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0486436306
• ISBN13: 9780486436302
• Release Date: September 2004
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Length: 243 Pages
• Weight: 0.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.3" x 8.3"
• Age Range: 14 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 9 and higher