In Jean Howard's "The Stage and Social Struggle in Early Modern England," he discusses the tension between Puritans and the theater. He states that, "Written in 1577 by a nonconformist preacher with Puritan learnings, this tract constructs the theater as one of an ensemble of institutions and practices destroying the religious and social fabric of England. Northbrooke [the preacher], stages the tract as a dialogue between an old man coming from church and a young man who has missed services because of his dedication to the life of idle pastimes, the worst of which are playing, dicing, and facing... For a time, at least, the church and the theater were posited as symbolically opposed places."
This passage made me think of our discussion on Tuesday about "The Alchemist" representing England itself, and how the tension between theater, and Jonson himself, and the puritans, is clearly portrayed, just as it existed in England at the time.
In addition to the Puritans, Jonson seems to be using some particularly Catholic language, particularly in Act II, scene iii. The stone is said to yield so "catholic a bliss;" Subtle claims to have "med'cine of the triple soul," which summons an image of the holy trinity; finally, speaking on the conversion of metals, we learn that "Nature doth first beget the imperfect, then proceeds she to the perfect," which is reminiscent of the progress of the soul in life and in death (purgatory) to a Catholic. I am curious if any one else noticed this, and what Jonson's religious views were. Is he saying that religion--Catholicism in particular--is just as much of a sham as alchemy?
ReplyDeleteWill