Full Description
A fast-paced whirlwind of fantasy and mockery confined to a single room, The Alchemist offers a witty culmination of Jonson's experiments with city comedy. The play has been widely recognized as one of the most impressive achievements of the period's theatre; Coleridge famously described it as one of the three most perfect plots in literature. Yet it is a notoriously difficult play: its alchemical language has aged into obscurity, and its insiderly humour can seem impenetrable to students approaching it for the first time. This comprehensively annotated edition translates and illuminates the play's many pleasures and shows how Jonson's cynical, street-wise wit resonates with our contemporary sensibilities. Pollard highlights the play's witty ingenuity, while offering the information and guidance to enable students to understand and enjoy The Alchemist fully.
Contents
List of illustrations
General editors' preface
Preface
Introduction
Jonson in 1610 London
Alchemy
Sex, Generation and Family
Literary Alchemy: Collaborating with Authors
Alchemy of Place: London, Blackfriars, Playhouse
Staging Revivals: Collaborating Across Periods
Staging the Page: Textual History
Later Editions
Folio Paratext
THE ALCHEMIST
Appendix: Casting The Alchemist
Abbreviations and References
Abbreviations used in notes
Works by and partly by Shakespeare
Works by and partly by Jonson
Editions of The Alchemist collated
Other works cited
Index
