The Alchemical Imagination in Ben Jonson’s The Alchemist

This paper explores the alchemical imagination in Ben Jonson’s The Alchemist. In the Renaissance, alchemy was a kind of natural philosophy that contributed to the development of modern science. As The Alchemist was a product of widespread alchemical knowledge in Renaissance England, there are multiple symbolic representations of alchemy in the play. Subtle and Face define each other as a homunculus that is created by Paracelsus and looks like a human being but much smaller. Paracelsus, an alchemist and physician in the Renaissance, mentions that a homunculus is created by art (i.e. alchemy), putting the semen of a man in a cucurbit to putrefy along with horse dung for forty days. Thus, the play implies that Face and Subtle can be homunculi created in the great cucurbit, London, corrupted both morally and physically. The behaviour of characters filled with desire accelerates corruption in London, which is important for regeneration in the play as Paracelsus describes corruption as the first step and an essential process for regeneration. In the meantime, the dramatis personae experience the process of transmutation in Lovewit’s mansion, which is not only an imaginary space but also a space of transmutation. Therefore, Lovewit’s mansion becomes both a theatre and laboratory in which the characters attempt to transform their identities. With regard to this, John Shanahan argues that The Alchemist represents two cultures between arts and sciences. Therefore, the play seems to represent the influence that alchemy has on society and, as Justin Kolb explains, is a product of alchemical practices and thought in Renaissance England.