The Alchemist: A Critical Reader

The eponymous alchemist of Ben Jonson''s quick-fire comedy is a fraud: he cannot make gold, but he does make brilliant theatre. The Alchemist is a masterpiece of wit and form about the self-delusions of greed and the theatricality of deception. This guide will be useful to a diverse assembly of students and scholars, offering fresh new ways into this challenging and fascinating play.>

List of contents

Series Introduction

Notes on Contributors

Timeline

Introduction

1 The Critical Backstory DAVID BEVINGTON

2 The Alchemist on the Stage: Performance,

Collaboration and Deviation ELIZABETH SCHAFER

and EMMA COX

3 The State of the Art MATTHEW STEGGLE

4 New Directions: Space, Plague and Satire in

Ben Jonson’s The Alchemist MATHEW MARTIN

5 New Directions: Staging Gender IAN MCADAM AND

JULIE SANDERS

6 New Directions: The Alchemist and the Lower Bodily

Stratum BRUCE BOEHRER

7 New Directions: Waiting for the End? Alchemy and

Apocalypse in The Alchemist MARK HOULAHAN

8 Pedagogical Strategies and Web Resources

ERIN JULIAN and HELEN OSTOVICH

Notes

Selected Bibliography

Index

About the author

Erin Julian is a Doctoral Student at McMaster University, Canada.

Helen Ostovich is Professor of English at McMaster University, Canada. She is the editor of a number of editions of Ben Jonson's plays and founding editor of the journal Early Theatre.

Summary

The eponymous alchemist of Ben Jonson’s quick-fire comedy is a fraud: he cannot make gold, but he does make brilliant theatre. The Alchemist is a masterpiece of wit and form about the self-delusions of greed and the theatricality of deception. This guide is useful to a diverse assembly of students and scholars, offering fresh new ways into this challenging and fascinating play.

Product details

• Authors: Erin Julian, Helen Ostovich
• Assisted by: Andrew Hiscock (Editor), Erin Julian (Editor), Helen Ostovich (Editor)
• Publisher: Arden shakespeare
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 28.03.2013
• EAN: 9781441154156
• ISBN: 978-1-4411-5415-6
• No. of pages: 272
• Series: Arden Early Modern Drama Guide; Arden Early Modern Drama Guides; Arden Early Modern Drama Guide
• Subjects: Fiction > Poetry, drama; Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > General and comparative literary studies; LITERARY CRITICISM / General, LITERARY CRITICISM / Drama, Literary studies: general, Literary studies: c 1500 to c 1800, Literary studies: plays & playwrights, Literary studies: plays and playwrights