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Saudi Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences (SJHSS)
Volume-5 | Issue-04 | 220-223
Review Article
Unmasking the Masque of Metaphor in the Alchemist
Komal Yadav
Published : April 30, 2020
DOI : 10.36348/sjhss.2020.v05i04.006
Abstract
Jonson’s The Alchemist is his magnum opus that aims an alchemical magnum opus of characters to expose the gullibility & follies of humankind. T.S Eliot commends by saying “The plot does not hold together, what holds the play together is its unity” alluding to Ben’s classical standards. The magisterium of Ben Jonson is The Alchemist. Being a filius artis, Ben exhibited his exemplary dramatic skills. Ben Jonson is one of the genuine satirists of English literature who follows the Rabelais and Moliere forms. He is noted for his strident criticism of human nature. This is one such play which follows three classical unities. According to Coleridge, “Upon my world, I think, The Oedipus Tyranus, The Alchemist and Tom Jones are the three most perfect plots ever planned.” (Coleridge) Ben Jonson excelled as arcana of professions, carved The Alchemist as a work of imaginative extravagance and moral logic. With his repertoire, Benjamin Jonson emulates a conman with his vast diction filled with the jargons of conmen and the gulls. Jonson tries to satirize the fallibility of his contemporary England. The city of London was the breeding-house of all vices. As a satirist, he obliged to tend those vices and purgate his corrupted city. The present paper tries to unfurl the metaphor in Ben Jonson’s play The Alchemist i.e. ‘alchemy’. Alchemy is the branch of chemistry which deals with the art of transforming baser metals into gold. It is a medieval fantasy which was to gain the Philosopher’s stone which is a Panacea and a key to immortality. Jonson alludes this art to life. Through this play, he himself becomes an Alchemist at the end.
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