Winecker Ágnes

Ben Jonson – Volpone

Ben Jonson (1572 – 1637)

- Jonson was a dramatist, a poet and an actor.
- He was a son of a clergyman and his stepfather was a bricklayer.
- He attended Westminster School and one of his teachers was William Camden, who
influenced his own style.
- After quitting his stepfathers trade bricklaying, he joined the army. A little after he
became a member of the Philip Henslowe theatrical company in London as an actor
and playwright.
- In 1594 Ben Jonson married a girl named Anne Lewis.
- He was imprisoned in 1597 because of the satire play he wrote with Thomas Nashe,
called The Isle of The Dogs.
- His first success was Every Man in His Humour in 1598.
- In 1601 Jonson satirized other English dramatists in his play The Poetaster, namely
Thomas Dekker and John Marston. They attacked him in their Satiromastix in 1604.
This is called "The War of the Theatres".
- He also started to write masques for James I, which were popular dramatic
entertainments in the 16th and 17th century in England, and collaborated with Inigo
Jones set designer. Their cooperation resulted masques such as the Masque of Beauty
(1608) or Masque of Queens (1609).
- Shakespeare was Jonsons contemporary and there are legends about rivalry between
them.

- Jonsons first folio was published in 1616, which contained nine plays, two works of
non-dramatic poetry, thirteen masques and six "entertainments ". The name of the folio
is Works.
- The second folio was published in 1640-41. The one which was published in 1640 was
the "the second edition of the first folio " with little changes. The second volume
contained six plays, fifteen masques and also miscellaneous pieces.
- The third folio was published in 1692 and contained two more books from Jonson:
The New Inn and Leges Convivales.
- In 1637 Jonson died and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
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Volpone
- The play is a comedy, however, its topic is rather serious.
- It was first published in 1607 as a quarto and then in 1616 in Jonson’s first folio.
- The play was probably first performed either in 1605 or in 1606.
- In 1928 Stefan Zweig and Jules Romains changed the ending of the play: Mosca ends
up with the money of Volpone.
- There are many speculations about the background of the play. Some say that the idea
comes from Petronius, a Roman satirist. J. D. Rea claims that Erasmus’ Praise of Folly
inspired Jonson.
- There is a dedication, argument and prolouge part at the beginning of the play. Jonson
dedicates his work to the universities of Oxford and Cambrige and introduces his
moral intentions. In the argument part he gives a short summary of the plot. In the
prologue he expresses his hope that the play will be liked and entertaining.
- The play consists of 5 acts
- Besides the plot there is also a subplot in the play.
- It is set in Venice in Italy, which at that time was extremely rich and associated with
corruption.

The characters
- Jonson gives memorable and very descriptive names to his characters.
1. Volpone means fox in Italian language, which represents the slyness of the
character.
2. Mosca means fly, who is the parasite.
3. Voltore stands for vulture, which can be assosciated with the lawyer.
4. Corbaccio means raven. He is the character that is getting really old, however,
he is craving for wealth.
5. Corvino is for crow, whose desire is also money.
- There are also Volpone’s servants: Nano which means dwarf, Castrone which means
eunuch, and Androgyno which means hermaphrodite.
- Beside the fact that Volpone and Mosca are actors they could be regarded as directors
within the play, because they shape the actions around them.
- There are English characters in Venice as well. Sir Politic Would-be, who is an
English knight, his wife Lady Politic Would-be, and Peregrine who is a traveler from
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England. They also have a subplot, where a prank is played on Sir Politic Would-be,
which is actually Peregrines revenge. Int he subplot vanity is the central topic.
- Another interesting fact is that the audience knows more information than any of the
characters.

Greed and deception

- Greed is the main theme of the play, almost all the characters are spoiled by it. Celia
and Bonario seem to be the two characters whose virtues are right.
- Everything is about wealth and Volpone’s fortune.
- Volpone is already extremely rich and desires more money. He doesn’t find
satisfactory enough that he is rich, but enjoyes the process of gaining money by
deceiving others.
- Mosca is the man of action. He plays the key role in manipulation. At first it seems
that he serves only Volpone, however, later we discover that he wants a share from the
fortune.
- All of the characters who deceive are punished at the end of the play:
Volpone’s punishment is prison, Mosca has to live as a galley-slave, Corbaccio’s
property is confiscated and Corvino is humiliated in public.
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References

SparkNotes Editors. SparkNote on Volpone. Retrieved May 6, 2013, from

http://www.spartknotes.com/drama/volpone

Jonkinen, Anniina. (2003). "The Life of Ben Jonson" Luminarium. Retrieved May 6, 2013,
from http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/jonson/benbio.htm

Benjamin Jonson. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved May 6, 2013,
from http://www.biography.com/people/ben-jonson-40950