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Style
Definition of Tone
The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical or mournful, praising or critical, and so on. For instance... read full definition
The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical or mournful, praising or critical... read full definition
The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical... read full definition
Prologue
Explanation and Analysis:
Though the play focuses on vice, deception, and crime, its tone is nevertheless lighthearted and comedic. In the Prologue, Jonson reflects upon his own attempt to use comedy to serve a moral lesson.
Howe'er the age he lives in doth endure
The vices that she breeds, above their cure.
But when the wholesome remedies are sweet,
And in their working gain and profit meet,
He hopes to find no spirit so much diseased,
But will with such fair correctives be pleased:
For here he doth not fear who can apply.
If there be any that will sit so nigh
Unto the stream, to look what it doth run,
They shall find things, they'd think or wish were done;
They are so natural follies [...]
Here, Jonson argues that harsh moral criticism is unlikely to prove effective in moving an audience, as most people prefer “vice” to the “cure” when that cure is unpleasant. In contrast, Jonson suggests, people are more likely to be moved “when the wholesome remedies are sweet.” In this play, Jonson attempts to bring together “gain and profit,” providing a moral lesson that is also entertaining for an audience. Further, he suggests that a person would have to be spiritually “diseased” to object to the “fair” or light-hearted “correctives” he offers in the play. In The Alchemist, Jonson condemns the greed and vanity of his contemporaries, but he maintains a comedic and frivolous tone.
