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Dramatic Irony
Act 2, Scene 1
Explanation and Analysis—Antiquity :
Through the figure of Sir Epicure Mammon, Jonson satirizes what he considers to be the greed of those who live in London in the early 17th century. Jonson employs allusion and fallacy in his satirical portrait of the greedy Mammon in a scene in which Mammon attempts to convince his skeptical acquaintance, Surly, that alchemy is real:
Mam. Pertinax, [my] Surly,
Will you believe antiquity? records?
I'll shew you a book where Moses and his sister,
And Solomon have written of the art;
Ay, and a treatise penn'd by Adam—Sur. How!
Mam. Of the philosopher's stone, and in High Dutch.
Sur. Did Adam write, sir, in High Dutch?
Mam. He did;
Which proves it was the primitive tongue.Sur. What paper?
Mam. On cedar board.
Sur. O that, indeed, they say,
Will last 'gainst worms.
Here, Mammon draws from “antiquity,” or from the legacy of the ancient world, in order to prove the legitimacy of alchemy, claiming that he possesses “a book where Moses and his sister, / And Solomon have written of the art.” Here, he alludes to two important biblical Prophets, Moses and Solomon, in order to strengthen his argument. Further, he claims that he has a “treatise penn’d by Adam” on the subject of alchemy, alluding to the first man created by God in the Bible. When Surly responds skeptically, Mammon adds that the treatise is written in “High Dutch,” which, he believes, proves that Dutch was the “primitive tongue,” or the first language. When Mammon notes that the treatise is written on “cedar board,” Surly sarcastically notes that the material “will last 'gainst worms,” suggesting that it can last a very long time.
In this scene, then, Mammon alludes to various biblical figures in order to prove that there is a long, verifiable history of the practice of alchemy. However, his poor reasoning includes multiple fallacies. He believes, for example, that his ancient “records” prove that alchemy is real, though they are almost certainly fraudulent. Instead of questioning why Adam would speak Dutch, he fallaciously assumes that Dutch must have been the first language. Through his depiction of Mammon, Jonson satirizes the gullibility and greed of his contemporaries.
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Act 2, Scene 2
Explanation and Analysis—A Kind of Game:
Sir Epicure Mammon, who places great faith in alchemy, is accompanied by Surly, who is deeply skeptical of Subtle’s promises. When Subtle defends alchemy with a fallacious premise, Surly responds to his fallacy with a metaphor that characterizes alchemy as little more than a card trick:
Sub. Art can beget bees, hornets, beetles, wasps,
Out of the carcases and dung of creatures;
Yea, scorpions of an herb, being rightly placed?
And these are living creatures, far more perfect
And excellent than metals.Mam. Well said, father!
Nay, if he take you in hand, sir, with an argument,
He'll bray you in a mortar.SUR. Pray you, sir, stay.
Rather than I'll be brayed, sir, I'll believe
That Alchemy is a pretty kind of game,
Somewhat like tricks o' the cards, to cheat a man
With charming.
Subtle argues that “Art,” which here means “human craft,” can create “bees, hornets, beetles, wasps / Out of the carcases and dung of creatures.” If alchemy can create living things, Subtle reasons, then it should be simple to create “metals,” which are less complex. Though Mammon accepts Subtle’s fallacious logic, which is based on a number of false claims and assumptions, Surly remains unconvinced. In a metaphor, he describes alchemy as “a pretty kind of game, / Somewhat like tricks o’ the cards” that are used to “cheat” others. Surly, then, sees through Subtle’s act and recognizes, correctly, that he is no powerful magician or doctor but rather a street hustler experienced in sleight of hand.
Related Themes:
Act 3, Scene 1
Explanation and Analysis—Puritans:
Through the figures of Ananias and Tribulation Wholesome, Jonson satirizes the Puritans, a religious group that, in 17th-century England, believed that the Church of England had not gone far enough in “reforming” itself after splitting from the Catholic Church. Jonson, like other playwrights of his time, satirizes the Puritans as being religious hypocrites, whose religious zeal masks a desire for wealth and power. When Ananias, for example, suggests to Tribulation that it would be unholy to work with an alchemist, Tribulation’s response reflects his own willingness to bend his principles in order to achieve his goals:
Tri. The children of perdition are oft-times
Made instruments even of the greatest works:
Beside, we should give somewhat to man's nature,
The place he lives in, still about the fire,
And fume of metals, that intoxicate
The brain of man, and make him prone to passion.
Where have you greater atheists than your cooks?
Or more profane, or choleric, than your glass-men?
More antichristian than your bell-founders?
What makes the devil so devilish, I would ask you,
Sathan, our common enemy, but his being
Perpetually about the fire, and boiling
Brimstone and arsenic?
When Ananias objects to collaborating with Subtle and Face, whom the Puritans regard as irreligious, Tribulation argues that even sinful people might be “made instruments” of the “greatest works” of God. Next, he reasons that Subtle, whom he believes must work around “the fire, / And fume of metals” as an alchemist, has been affected by his environment, which resembles hell. There are no “greater atheists,” he notes, “than cooks,” because of the heat in which they work, and even “Sathan” (or Satan) is “devilish” because he is “Perpetually about the fire.” Tribulation’s argument here is marked by numerous obvious fallacies, as heat cannot account for spirituality. Despite the weakness of his own argument, however, Tribulation is determined to work with Subtle and Face in order to gain money and influence for himself and his fellow Puritans. Jonson, then, satirizes the Puritans as being deeply invested in earthly concerns despite their apparent piety.
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