STUDY OF THE PLAUTINE SOURCES OF TWO CHARACTERS IN BEN JONSON'S "THE ALCHEMIST": FACE AS 'SERVUS CALLIDUS' AND SIR EPICURE MAMMON AS 'MILES GLORIOSUS.'

In preparation for developing the original thesis problem,
the relationship between Plautus's clever slave and Ben Jonson's
Face and Plautus's braggart soldier and Ben Jonson's Sir Epicure
Mammon, this study reviews previous criticism based on the relationship
of Jonson to classical sources.
Chapter I establishes that a firm belief in the necessity
and efficacy of right reason is basic to the satiric comedy and
hence the characterization of both Plautus and Ben Jonson, and it
defines the roles of the servus and the miles and indicates the
form the thesis will take by comparing and contrasting Pyrgopolynices
and Bobadil. Chapter II concentrates on the Latin sources,
examining the prototype servus and miles in the Mostellaria and
Miles Gloriosus of Plautus in order to establish types and definitions.
Chapter III studies Ben Jonson's The Alchemist, indicating that Sir Epicure Mammon is actually in the miles tradition, that
Face is a successful servus callidus and that Doll Common is a
development of the Roman meretrix. The thesis concludes that the
recognition of these prototypes and the apprehension of increased
character development in Jonson enhances an appreciation of The
Alchemist.