The Alchemist

"The Alchemist" is a comedy by English playwright Ben Jonson. It is generally considered Jonson's best and most characteristic comedy; famous literature critic Samuel Taylor Coleridge believed that it had one of the three most perfect plots in literature. The plot revolves around the household of Lovewit, a wealthy landowner. His housekeeper Face and her colleague Subs trade accusations on Subs' alleged involvement in alchemy, to the detriment of the household. The play's clever fulfilment of the classical unities and vivid depiction of human folly have made it one of the few Renaissance plays (except the works of Shakespeare) with a continuing life on stage.