Despair in The Alchemist by Ben Jonson

Abstract

This research aims to challenge the assumption that The Alchemist by Ben Jonson is one of the greatest examples of the “explicit mirth and laughter” (Venerable 86). The paper argues that The Alchemist is a cynical and despairing play created in an atmosphere not suitable for a comedy. This is a qualitative study of the text and aims at an analysis of the theme, situations, characters, language, and the mood of the play to determine that Jonson is unable to retain the comic spirit in The Alchemist and in an attempt to “better men” (Prologue. 12) he becomes more satirical and less humorous or comic. This research is important for it contends that the play, termed as a comedy, may be read as a bitter satire on the cynical, stinky, and despairing world of the Elizabethan times.