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Allegorical Critique in Jonson's Alchemist

Ben Jonson's play "The Alchemist" uses an allegory to critique Elizabethan society and human nature. Through the story of characters pursuing wealth and status through alchemy, Jonson comments on the corrupting influences of greed and desire for power that were prevalent in his time but are enduring flaws in humanity. While the surface story is comedic, the deeper message examines how vice can flourish where people congregate, such as cities, and how immorality stems from craving money and status.

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Rahul Mukherjee
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4K views1 page

Allegorical Critique in Jonson's Alchemist

Ben Jonson's play "The Alchemist" uses an allegory to critique Elizabethan society and human nature. Through the story of characters pursuing wealth and status through alchemy, Jonson comments on the corrupting influences of greed and desire for power that were prevalent in his time but are enduring flaws in humanity. While the surface story is comedic, the deeper message examines how vice can flourish where people congregate, such as cities, and how immorality stems from craving money and status.

Uploaded by

Rahul Mukherjee
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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An allegory is an extended metaphorical narrative in which a figure stands for a specific quality.

It is a story or narrative, usually of some length, which carries a second meaning or relevance, as well as that of its surface story; It is usually a method of telling one story whilst seeming to tell another. Ben Jonson's he Alchemist is a comedic expose in which the fa!ric of society is inextrica!ly lin"ed to the status#quo and its ravenous desire for wealth and power. hrough the characters in the play, Jonson presents an allusive manifestation of $li%a!ethan society, and a clairvoyant analysis of human vices. &n the surface, it is a story that ma"es use of the alchemical powers of fiction to put a !lea"ly humorous spin on foolish people and those who greedily exploit them. 'owever, through deeper inference it is o!vious that what Jonson is proposing is not merely a portrait of the status#quo in his own society, !ut of the maleficent faults apparent in human nature. hese conditions are deeply rooted and historically enduring. (ltimately, Ben Jonson's critique of the $li%a!ethan status#quo is relevant to our own society in which wealth, power, and the desire for status casts a shadow over a dismal human reality in desperate need of reform. he characters of the play are all spell!ound with greed and in pursuit of some form of wealth or power. In he Alchemist, Ben Jonson presents the interesting idea that not only the )lague thrives within the populated city, !ut vice also flourishes. *ince ur!an areas historically house more poor people than rural areas, a desire for money may understanda!ly !ecome associated with the inner city. his greed, as Jonson illustrates with his plot and characters, leads to people+s immoral activities.

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