English

Jonson animates The Alchemist with an intersection of languages. In this moral satire, he captures the layered dialects, specialized vocabularies, and social desires of London and holds them up for view. This essay examines the play's negotiation of “vertical” and “horizontal” translation, with some reference to Shakespeare's treatment of overlapping languages, and that of a contemporary Catholic treatise on translation. Jonson's conclusion is that the friction between languages offers opportunities for cheats to thrive onstage and off, and that the predominant language of this world is sin, from which only lucid repentance can “translate” us. His satire thus stands on godly ground, but his insight is useful for the current study of translated and adapted literature, particularly Shakespeare.