Ben Johnson's The Alchemist

The plot, like his other play Volpone, or the Foxe, deal with man’s folly in pursuit of wealth. In The Alchemist, a character named Face sets about London deceiving a steady stream of dupes as he goes about dispensing spurious potions and charms. While Face’s goal is ostensibly wealth, in Johnson’s able hands, the play really deals with those who want to change their station in life, to make themselves into gold. The servant longs to be a master and the ordinary man to be a magician. It’s Johnson’s genius that allows this dark unfulfilled desire to be an entertaining and humorous life lesson in the end.

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