This book is a volume in the Penn Press Anniversary Collection. To mark its 125th anniversary in 2015, the University of Pennsylvania Press rereleased more than 1,100 titles from Penn Press's distinguished backlist from 1899-1999 that had fallen out of print. Spanning an entire century, the Anniversary Collection offers peer-reviewed scholarship in a wide range of subject areas.

Excerpt from Influence of Ben Jonson, on English Comedy 1598-1642 This study of Ben Jonson's influence on Elizabethan and Restoration comedy has been made at the suggestion of Professor Felix E. Schelling, and has been done in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania. Much suggestion and direction have been gained from Ward's History of English Dramatic Literature, Schelling's Elizabethan Drama, and Woodbridge's Studies in Jonson's Comedy. The method pursued has consisted for the most part of a first-hand examination and comparison of the plays written by Jonson, bis contemporaries and later followers. The question of how far and in what way one man's work has been influenced by that of another is always open to dispute, and it is impossible to fix absolute limits. The ever-present danger is that of finding what one is looking for rather than what actually exists. Many quotations have been included, especially from minor writers, so as to put before the reader as far as possible the materials upon which judgment has been based. I desire to express my gratitude to Professor Felix E.Schelling of the University of Pennsylvania for his wise counsel and gracious encouragement during the preparation of this monograph, and for the many valuable suggestions he has given out of his broad and minute knowledge of the history and content of Elizabethan drama. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

The eponymous alchemist of Ben Jonson's quick-fire comedy is a fraud: he cannot make gold, but he does make brilliant theatre. The Alchemist is a masterpiece of wit and form about the self-delusions of greed and the theatricality of deception. This guide is useful to a diverse assembly of students and scholars, offering fresh new ways into this challenging and fascinating play.