The Alchemist

The Alchemist is a comedy written by English dramatist Ben Jonson. It is usually regarded as Jonson's best and most recognizable comedy, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge thought it had one of the three most flawless storylines in literature when it was first played in 1610 by the King's Men. Aside from a brief period of neglect during the Victorian era, the play's deft fulfillment of the classical units and realistic portrayal of human foolishness have made it one of the few Renaissance dramas (aside from Shakespeare's plays) with an ongoing existence on stage. It is the first time he has applied his traditional understanding of theater to a setting in modern-day London. A gentleman named Lovewit is forced to leave London briefly due to the plague. He leaves his butler, Jeremy, in charge of his plague-damaged home. Jeremy transforms himself into 'Captain Face,' and enlists the aid of Subtle, a fellow conman. Dapper is blindfolded and subjected to 'fairy' humiliations by the Anabaptists. Returning Dapper is assured that he will soon meet the Fairy Queen. Mammon is introduced to Dol, who has been told that Dol is a nobleman's sister who has gone mad.