Among the Jacobean and Elizabethan dramatists, Ben Jonson's reputation always came second to that of Shakespeare. He was Stuart dramatist from England, literary critic and lyric poet. Ben was born in 11th June 1572 in London after his father death two months earlier. He became a playwright and an actor after fighting alongside the England army in Netherlands. Among his greatest works and play are the Alchemist and Volpone. The paper compares and contrast the two these two great plays by Ben; the Alchemist and Volpone, giving an insight of the mind and ideas of Ben, some which cut across most of his works. Generally, plays by Ben were not received well by the audience and had many critics, but Volpone and Alchemist seems to have been popular than the rest, probably because of the topic.
Alchemist remains to be one of Jonson’s popular comedies. Swindling or coy-catching was common in the seventeenth century. Swindle or coy is an acquainted theme that Ben found to be comedy natural topic. The play is informed by Ben’s wide-ranging reading and learning. To a modern audience, the play se...
In most works of literature there is an “evil” character that has conflicting interests with the protagonist. This issue may arise in multiple forms including, but not limited to, abuse and manipulation. In this paper we will be discussing the similarities and differences between Shakespeare’s character Iago from Othello and J.K. Rowling’s character Voldemort from the Harry Potter series.
In William Shakespeare’s play ‘Much Ado about Nothing’, there are many instances of trickery and deception, which seem to surround the whole of the play.
Warren, Roger. Shakespeare Survey 30. N.p.: n.p., 1977. Pp. 177-78. Rpt. in Shakespeare in the Theatre: An Anthology of Criticism. Stanley Wells, ed. England: Oxford University Press, 2000.
William Shakespeare’s dramatic and poetic techniques and his use of hyperbole are used to describe the characters emotions and weaknesses. The use of dramatic irony is used to create personal conflict. This is done throughout the play to describe the characters concerns and their situations.
The two books by Markus Zusak and Paulo Coelho tells the stories of two characters, Liesel Meminger and Santiago, each in their own respective stories. In The Alchemist, Santiago’s story is a much lighter tale with an overall optimistic and adventurous air. He journeys from Spain all the way to Egypt and back before his adventure ends. Zusak’s The Book Thief, sharply contrasts Coelho’s story with the much darker and dangerous world of Nazi Germany.
Jonson's Volpone, or The Fox is almost exactly contemporary with Shakespeare's Othello and contains aspects that some might view as its comic counterpart. Venetian corruption and the insidious influence of a mincing, unscrupulous servant are themes common to both plays. What, though, has this play to communicate to us? Themes of corruption and materialism, resulting in a misanthropic view of the world, might have been telling in seventeenth-century England, but it is of course extremely difficult to construe them as relevant to the world of today..
Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900, Vol. 34, No. 2, Elizabethan and Jacobean Drama (Spring, 1994), pp. 341-356 Published by: Rice University http://www.jstor.org/stable/450905
In The Alchemist, Ben Johnson's treatment of the self works to maintain a conservative worldview where identity is intimately tied to one's social standing. The permanence of the self is shown to be dependant upon both continued performance and ongoing social reinforcement. Character traits are treated as stubbornly enduring coping strategies rather than as signs of a coherent, internally unified self. Johnson's treatment of his characters' fantasies as vices to be exploited rejects the idea of an internally created self where fantasy is the impetus for change and self-improvement. The allegorical effect of The Alchemist presents an anti-existentialist treatment of the self that privileges knowledge of one's social role and standing above introspection and self-contemplation.
The classic play Romeo and Juliet by the famous playwright William Shakespeare is one of the most beautiful love stories of all time and has captured and inspired readers everywhere. Regardless of the fact that it was written in the 1500’s, it is still being performed and extolled today. There is a multitude of reasons for such continuance of the play. First of all, its everlasting themes of love and hate enable people to deeply relate to the story. Secondly, its memorable characters deeply imprint on the minds of readers. And lastly, above all, is its magnificent language which many writers today regard in awe. These three elements make the acclaimed play, Romeo and Juliet, one of the most timeless stories of our lives.
Elizabethan and Jacobean Drama. N.p.: Rice University, 1982. 223-38. Vol.
Ed. Cambridge, GB: Cambridge University Press, 1987. 56-74 The Works of William Shakespeare, ed. Samuel Johnson, 8 vols. (London, 1765).
The Renaissance has been a diverse period and had people who held dear to the art and literature, which have developed over the period. Starting with literature, was well known and popular in forms of plays, which have been presented out to people in that era and even today. One of the writers that have been noticed and presented in different styles in our time is William Shakespeare. William was known for writing most of the popular plays in the 1600’s and for interpreting language which was known for being ‘Shakespearean Language’. These languages in his plays are used from the renaissance era and are more likely seen with in the other writer’s stories as well. Though William was not the only one, there are others before him that has studied
Shakespeare Studies 11 (1978): 53-76. MLA International Bibliography. Web. The Web. The Web.
In Volpone, Ben Jonson emphasizes the fun and the humor of deceit, but he does not overlook its nastiness, and in the end he punishes the deceivers. The play centers around the wealthy Volpone, who, having no wife or children, pretends to be dying and, with the help of his wily servant Mosca, eggs on several greedy characters, each of whom hopes to be made Volpone's sole heir. Jonson's ardent love of language reveals itself throughout the play, but especially in the words of Mosca and Volpone, who relish the deceptive powers of language. Volpone himself pursues his schemes partly out of greed, but partly out of his passionate love of getting the best of people. He cannot resist the temptation to outsmart those around him, particularly when fate delivers him such perfect gulls as the lawyer Voltore, the merchant Corvino, the doddering old Corbaccio, and the foolish English travelers Sir Politic and Lady Would-Be. Mosca too revels in his ability to beguile others, remarking "I fear I shall begin to grow in love / With my dear self," so thrilled is he with his own manipulations. His self-love, however, proves his undoing, as it does for Volpone. Both characters become so entranced by their own elaborate fictions that they cannot bring themselves to stop their scheming before they betray themselves.
Marcus, Leah S. Recent Studies in Elizabethan and Jacobean Drama. No. 2 ed. Vol. 32. N.p.: Rice University, 1992. Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900. JSTOR. Web. 8 Dec. 2013. .