Great Comedy Volpone Summary and Analysis

Discover the wicked world of Ben Jonson’s Volpone, a wealthy Venetian feigning illness to exploit the greed of those around him. “Volpone Summary and Analysis” delves into Ben Jonson’s satirical masterpiece, revealing the absurd lengths people will go to for riches. Experience the dark comedy as Volpone manipulates his victims in a thrilling game of deception and retribution.

Volpone Summary and Analysis

Ben Jonson has started writing drama in the Elizabethan Age. But he continued to write in this period too. In the Jacobean Period, he has written Volpone, The Alchemist, The Silent Woman, Bartholomew, The Devil is an Ass, and Every Man Out of His Humour. Volpone is a comedy of humor. It has some qualities of a beast-fable. The theme of avarice or greed is treated in this play. Its subtitle is The Fox.

Characters

Male Characters

Volpone: He is definitely the most important character in the play. He is a Venetian nobleman. He is called a magnifico of the Renaissance of Venice. He is the aristocratic voluptuary. He is a rare villain and not altogether an imposter. He is inhuman and cruel. (Volpone summary and analysis)

He is an actor and a poet. He is a shrewd person. He displays the Renaissance spirit. He is defined as an old fool. He is childless. Mosca: “Mosca” in Italian means “fly”. His name suggests that he is the most degenerate character in the play. He is also a rare villain. He is a true parasite. A parasite is a humble friend. He is shrewd and resourceful. Like Volpone, his master, he is a good actor too. He always tries to please Volpone.

Voltore: Voltore is defined as a ravenous bird called a “vulture”. He is an advocate. He is well-learned and of considerable means. He is avaricious like the other legacy-hunters.

Corbaccio: Corbaccio means “a filthy great raven”. He is an old gentleman. He is the oldest of the three avaricious inheritance-seekers. He is senile, almost deaf, and has weak eyesight. He is the father to Bonario. (volpone summary and analysis)

Corvino: “Corvo” means crooked, bent, hooked. It also means “a crow”. Volpone superficially refers to him when he mentions Aesop’s fable concerning the form and the crow. Corvino is a merchant, portrayed as the crow in the play. He is a rich merchant of Venice.

He wants to get Volpone’s estate by presenting him with his pearl, diamond, etc. He is very greedy. He is most deceived by Volpone. He is ready to sacrifice his wife Celia to Volpone. Bonario: He is the son to Corbaccio. Like Celia, he represents innocence and goodness. He manages to rescue her from Volpone’s attempted rape. But he has only a role that is too minor.

Sir Politic Would-be: He is a knight. He is the most absurd character in the play. His nickname is “Sir Pol”. It suggests his habit of repeating the opinions of others. He is like a foolish parrot. His wife is a Lady political would-be. (volpone summary and analysis)

Peregrine: His name means “falcon” or “traveler”. The falcon is a noble bird and Peregrine is both a gentleman and a wit. In the play, he represents good judgment and normality. He shows the pretentious absurdity of Sir Politic Would-be. It is Peregrine’s relationship with Sir Politic that forms the comic sub-plot of the play.

Nano: He is a dwarf.

Castrone: He is a Eunuch.

Androgyno: He is a hermaphrodite.

Notario: He is a resister.

Advocatory: They are four magistrates.

Commendatory: They are officers.

Mercatory: They are three merchants.

Servitore: He is a servant. Grege: He is a crowd.

Women Characters

Celia: Celia is the main female character in the play. She is the wife of Corvino. She represents naive and ineffectual goodness. She is not a character to appeal to feminists. Because she is dependent on the actions of others, she is inevitably linked in our minds with Bonario. (Volpone summary and analysis)

Lady Politic Would-be: She is one of Jonson’s great comic creations. She is the wife to Sir Politic Would-be. She is garrulous and obsessed with her appearance. She is pretentious and superficial. She is the only one of the legacy-hunters who moves the audience to laughter rather than horror at her activities. She is an English woman. She is beautiful, vain-conceited, a little greedy, and very jealous.

Volpone summary

Volpone is a childless aged man. But he is voluptuous and greedy. He does not run any usual tread. He tries to exploit the legacy- -hunters. Voltore, Corvino, and Corbaccio present various precious metals to be the heirs of Volpone’s estate. Corvino does not hesitate to surrender his wife, Celia to him. Mosca who is a parasite provides his master all he needs. At last, he manages Volpone’s “Will” into his own name. He tries to cheat his master in this way. All the greedy people are sent to the jail by the court.

Volpone concludes with a satisfyingly bitter twist as the tables turn on the deceitful protagonist. Jonson’s sharp wit and satirical brilliance are on full display as the greedy characters are exposed and punished for their avarice. The play serves as a timeless cautionary tale about the corrupting influence of wealth and the importance of morality.

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