The extract is taken from Ben Jonson’s comedy ‘The Alchemist’, dating from 1610, written in free verse. The passage is placed at the end of the play, in the fifth act, when the tension is at its highest and the foul play the main characters Face, Subtle and Dol Common are undertaking is at its maximum. All of their victims have confided their desires to them and the three tricksters have been – up to now - trying their very best to make as much profit out of these desires as they could (Watson 114).
The scene consists of a dialogue between two of the main characters, Face and Lovewit. Face is one of the “three principal rogures […] [the] outside man” (Beaurline 201). Up to the point where his master Lovewit returns unexpectedly, Face deals …show more content…
According to Jonson, the human character is weak, only interested in maximising his own profit and willing to do anything, immoral or not, to have his way (Parfitt 78). For a kind of person like that, even negative means become acceptable like lying, making-believe and tricking other people into doing what one wants them to do (ibid). This egoism is reflected in the whole scene and a showcase for this way of acting is Face’s character (Watson 2).
First it is important to analyse the pre-conditions of the dialogue. Face, who up to now has acted as master of the house is suddenly surprised by his real master, for whom he is just an employee. One can clearly notice that he to goes back from being Face the trickster to his “original identity […] of Jeremy, the Butler” (Watson 132). He is quite unprepared to meet Lovewit, which forces him to improvise. Before, just like a juggler, Face was able to handle several stories throughout any crisis or challenge and always found a solution (Beaurline 203) only now to surrender to his master by being caught in the …show more content…
The tricksters gull their victims by using “fancy alchemical terms” (Beaurline 204) and thus succeed in their plot to make as much money out of their victims as possible. On the other hand it always needs a counterpart to the trickster, which is someone who believe these stories and is willing to do almost anything to have his wishes fulfilled. A selfish focus on only his own desires makes a character influenceable and vulnerable. And as every character in the play is motivated by his egoistic desires, even Face will be tricked by Lovewit into finally giving him the truth about what has been going on in his
The scene consists of a dialogue between two of the main characters, Face and Lovewit. Face is one of the “three principal rogures […] [the] outside man” (Beaurline 201). Up to the point where his master Lovewit returns unexpectedly, Face deals …show more content…
According to Jonson, the human character is weak, only interested in maximising his own profit and willing to do anything, immoral or not, to have his way (Parfitt 78). For a kind of person like that, even negative means become acceptable like lying, making-believe and tricking other people into doing what one wants them to do (ibid). This egoism is reflected in the whole scene and a showcase for this way of acting is Face’s character (Watson 2).
First it is important to analyse the pre-conditions of the dialogue. Face, who up to now has acted as master of the house is suddenly surprised by his real master, for whom he is just an employee. One can clearly notice that he to goes back from being Face the trickster to his “original identity […] of Jeremy, the Butler” (Watson 132). He is quite unprepared to meet Lovewit, which forces him to improvise. Before, just like a juggler, Face was able to handle several stories throughout any crisis or challenge and always found a solution (Beaurline 203) only now to surrender to his master by being caught in the …show more content…
The tricksters gull their victims by using “fancy alchemical terms” (Beaurline 204) and thus succeed in their plot to make as much money out of their victims as possible. On the other hand it always needs a counterpart to the trickster, which is someone who believe these stories and is willing to do almost anything to have his wishes fulfilled. A selfish focus on only his own desires makes a character influenceable and vulnerable. And as every character in the play is motivated by his egoistic desires, even Face will be tricked by Lovewit into finally giving him the truth about what has been going on in his