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Volpone

3.42 of 5 stars 3.42 · rating details · 2,406 ratings · 40 reviews

Bitter, satiric comedy in blank verse is one of the great Elizabethan dramatist’s finest plays. The plot concerns a wealthy, lecherous old man who feigns a mortal illness in order to solicit bribes from greedy acquaintances who hope to inherit his fortune. Many complexities of plot and connivance ensue, but in the end, the guilty parties are exposed and punished. Explanato...more

Paperback, 128 pages

Published May 20th 1994 by Dover Publications (first published 1607)

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Apr 17, 2013 علی rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: plays

یک کمدی سیاه، حکایت طنزی از طمع و هوا و هوس. این بهترین اثر جونسن و یکی از پر اجراترین کمدی های تاریخ است. ولپن یک جنتلمن ونیزی ست که تمارض می کند در شرف مرگ است تا سه وارثش، ولتور، کورباچیو و کوروینو را فریب دهد. ولپن یک خدمتکار به نام موسکا هم دارد که با وجود کمک به اربابش در پیش بردن واقعه، سعی دارد از هر شخص و موقعیت به نفع خودش سود ببرد. موسکا به هر کدام وعده می دهد که ثروت ولپن به آنها می رسد. یکی را وامی دارد تا فرزندش را از ارث محروم کند، از دیگری می خواهد تا همسرش را به رختخواب ولپن ببر...more یک کمدی سیاه، حکایت طنزی از طمع و هوا و هوس. این بهترین اثر جونسن و یکی از پر اجراترین کمدی های تاریخ است. ولپن یک جنتلمن ونیزی ست که تمارض می کند در شرف مرگ است تا سه وارثش، ولتور، کورباچیو و کوروینو را فریب دهد. ولپن یک خدمتکار به نام موسکا هم دارد که با وجود کمک به اربابش در پیش بردن واقعه، سعی دارد از هر شخص و موقعیت به نفع خودش سود ببرد. موسکا به هر کدام وعده می دهد که ثروت ولپن به آنها می رسد. یکی را وامی دارد تا فرزندش را از ارث محروم کند، از دیگری می خواهد تا همسرش را به رختخواب ولپن ببرد. در عین حالا به ولپن می گوید که کوروینو زن زیبا به نام سلیا دارد و او را وامی دارد تا با لباسی مبدل به دیدن سلیا برود. و بالاخر هنگامی که کوروینو همسرش سلیا را برای همخوابگی با ولپن می آورد، بناریو فرزند دومی که از ارث پدر محروم شده، با خشم از راه می رسد. موسکا هر کدام را در اتاقی پنهان کرده، ولپن و سلیا نیز با هم تنها مانده اند. ولپن که با وعده ی ثروت و مکنت و شکوه، به رضایت سلیا دست نیافته، تلاش می کند به او تجاوز کند و... اما زیبایی لحظات کمیک نمایش نامه بیشتر در صحنه ی دادگاه است که هر کدام از شخصیت ها در توجیه مطلب، داستانی جعل می کند و موفق می شوند دادگاه را بفریبند. ولپن نیز برای فرار از مجازات، موسکا را در داستان جعلی اش "عالیجناب" و صاحب ثروت کرده است. اما موسکا دیگر حاضر نیست از نقش تازه اش در هیات یک نجیب زاده ی ثروتمند، خارج شود! (less)

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Dec 12, 2012 Tony rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: drama

VOLPONE, or, The Fox. (1605). Ben Jonson. ****.
Ben Jonson (1573-1637) was one of the primary playwrights of the Jacobean period in England, and this play is probably his most famous. It’s about time that I finally got around to reading it, although it was certainly covered years ago in a variety of courses covering the literature of that time. The play is, ultimately, one about greed and dishonesty, but told in fable form. The play was mostly written in verse and featured a cast of characters n...more VOLPONE, or, The Fox. (1605). Ben Jonson. ****.
Ben Jonson (1573-1637) was one of the primary playwrights of the Jacobean period in England, and this play is probably his most famous. It’s about time that I finally got around to reading it, although it was certainly covered years ago in a variety of courses covering the literature of that time. The play is, ultimately, one about greed and dishonesty, but told in fable form. The play was mostly written in verse and featured a cast of characters named after a variety of animals who embodied their traits. The main character, Volpone, means “fox” in Italian. Other players are also given Italian names: Mosca, Volpone’s servant, means “the fly,” or “the parasite;” Voltore, a lawyer, means “the Vulture,” Corbaccio, an old miser, means, “the Raven;” Corvino, a merchant whose wife is desired by Volpone, means “the Carrion Crow.” One of the themes, then, is that we are presented by people acting like animals, who are acting like people. The plot is simple. Volpone is a gentleman from Venice who is acting as if he were close to death in order to fool his attorney. While playing his role as terminally ill, he manages to fool many of his associates into believing that they will be named as his sole heirs if they treat him well while he is still alive. Many of them provide him with costly gifts and favors to be eligible, while Volpone secretly – with the knowledge of Mosca – revels in his increasing wealth. When he has had enough of lying in bed, he disguises himself and goes walking about town, playing the role of a mountebank. Suddenly he sees a beautiful woman looking out of her balcony window and falls in love (or lust) with her. Turns out she is Corvino’s wife. Volpone makes a deal with Corvino, using his servants as go-betweens, that possessing his wife would put him on top of the heir list. Corvino finally orders his wife to go to Volpone and comply with his wishes and confusion reigns. This is a broad comedy with many subtle and sly sub-plots that reduces the actions of men to those of their animal namesakes, and shows the all-powerful role of wealth on the actions of ordinary people. It takes a little getting used to the writing, but once mastered becomes relatively easy. Recommended.
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Sep 13, 2012 James Nicolay rated it 4 of 5 stars

It is ironic that while William Shakespeare is universally lauded as the greatest dramatist of his time, scholars and historians usually point out that Ben Jonson was somehow more popular and much of his life was well-documented as well---perhaps because he himself chose to publish his own works or maybe (arguably) he was seen as a better playwright in his time. What he achieves in his most popular comedy Volpone is a feat of tightly interwoven plot and subplot structure which is often thought t...more It is ironic that while William Shakespeare is universally lauded as the greatest dramatist of his time, scholars and historians usually point out that Ben Jonson was somehow more popular and much of his life was well-documented as well---perhaps because he himself chose to publish his own works or maybe (arguably) he was seen as a better playwright in his time. What he achieves in his most popular comedy Volpone is a feat of tightly interwoven plot and subplot structure which is often thought to be also one of the strengths of Shakespearean plays. Unlike Shakespearean comedies which often ends with happy endings like marriages, Volpone ends in a more somber tone as poetic justice is achieved when the deceivers are justly punished. Ben Jonson, in a very self-conscious way, dictates to the viewers of the play in his dedication and prologue that his play is a morality play and that the viewers will laugh so hard at the silliness of the story. He achieves this through many of the scenes, but what could confuse the audience is the end where after the poetic justice is portrayed, he invites the audience to applaud his play if they enjoyed watching. To my knowledge, while Shakespeare wrote introduction/prologue to his plays, he never inserted in the ending of his plays a direct request for applause. Perhaps this is why Ben Jonson is not as celebrated as much as Shakespeare today as even though his construction of the play is perfect and complex, he does not employ an aura of sprezzatura as the Bard did in his masterpieces.

The main plot of Volpone revolves around the trickery of the titular heirless character Volpone against the three men who wish to be his heir as Volpone tricks them into believing that he is dying. He uses his ‘parasite’ Mosca in his scheme of accepting these get-well gifts but little does he know that Mosca has his own motivations as well. The comedy that we see in the first act easily foreshadows the lesson of the morality play that Volpone sets out to be: while it criticizes the greed of mankind, it utilizes gullibility as the main flaw which allow greed to reign and deceive other people. This deceiving nature of greed is not just apparent in the character of Volpone, but even the three heir-wannabes, Voltore, Corbaccio and Corvino, are all aware that they think they are deceiving Volpone as well with their offerings. This might be the reason why Volpone can be seen as a morality play that extends the idea how greed (and even materialism) drive(s) people to take advantage of each other’s faith and trust.

The subplot, while it is woven perfectly with the scheme of the five men, treats the minor characters with, initially, misfortune, but then at the end of the play, with more patronage. Celia, who becomes objectified as an addition to Volpone’s ill-amassed possessions, initially, seems to be so unfortunate for having a husband who see her as nothing more than means to the realization of Corvino’s deception of becoming the heir of Volpone. Similarly, we see the victim of Corbaccio’s deception, his disowned son, Bonario become an unlucky person who would suffer because of his father’s greed. Jonson’s clever subplot of making both Celia and Bonario defend each other seems to show Jonson’s sense of justice and consideration for the people maligned by tricksters. Even the minor details of Voltore’s fooling of the court of justice with his manipulation of the real events in the story reverse its effect when the consequence of Mosca’s treachery against Volpone backfires as Volpone reveals the truth in an attempt to get back at Mosca. The complex lacing of these events really just goes to show the masterful ability of Jonson in weaving a comic story that not only successfully entertain and make the audience laugh out loud but also will be able to preach a moral lesson to the audience as well.

And this ‘achievement‘ of Jonson, being able to entertain and preach, is probably why we, the modern audience, might not feel as impressed with Jonson as we are with Shakespeare’s plays. While Shakespeare in his comedies also make the audience laugh out loud with the trickeries and deceptions of false identities and love misadventures, the audience is not smacked with an in-your-face lesson and a plea for applause. Maybe that’s the irony of Jonson’s popularity: with the Elizabethans and the Jacobeans, they feel the need to be spoonfed with spectacles and laughter and a lesson in their plays, while the audience yearn more for pure entertainment and maybe scholastic discussion that need not come from direct cues from the playwright. (less)

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Oct 15, 2011 Michael rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: classics, drama

If you've read some of my reviews, you may have picked up on the fact that I love stories that have a large cast of people that don't really seem to be connected as the rising action moves along, but they all end up coming together towards the story's end. A Tale of Two Cities and The Marrow of Tradition are two examples of those kinds of stories. Volpone can also be considered that kind of story. Too bad it was atrocious.

The basic plot of this play is a really rich guy who acts like he's dying...more

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Aug 23, 2012 Jesse Lopes rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jonson was perhaps the first (since Shakespeare was somehow not in touch enough) representative of what we generally understand to be that thing we call "English humor"; the quintessence of which may be found in miniature here (from whence it takes off tremendously after Smollett and Fielding a little later translated it into the much more appropriate form and setting of the novel). In Volpone, specifically, we have an example of that really awful guy (since the symbol is a fox, I really couldn'...more

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Sep 02, 2012 Andreea added it

Shelves: renaissance, drama

Ah, this play is simply unrateable. I usually have a hard time rating any text that is too engulfed in culture to allow for me to have a personal connection / relationship (?) with it - so Shakespeare or Petrarch are beyond rating - but Jonson is not quite as omnipresent in English language culture so, in theory, he should be easy to rate, but he's not because this play is so horrible. It's filled to the brim with every kind of poisonous prejudice you can think of (although making fun of people...more

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Apr 17, 2012 Charles rated it 3 of 5 stars

Talk about a to be read book! This has been on my list for decades and I can't say it was really worth the wait. It was wonderfully funny but there was none of the poignant melancholy that adds so much to Twelfth Night or just the great good fellowship and outright faery goofiness of A Midsummer Night's Dream. It might be that I've spent more time with the two Shakespeare comedies because I've taught them, but Jonson's humor is so obvious and forced, and at the end left me flat. For all of its v...more

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May 16, 2008 Eric marked it as to-read · review of another edition

"Call forth my dwarf, my eunuch, and my fool"

Loving this. The Elizabethans are really the best company.

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Dec 13, 2007 Sachin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: classics-drama

Very funny and intelligent read.

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Sep 23, 2008 Melissa Rudder rated it 3 of 5 stars

The review of Ben Jonson’s Volpone, or the Fox, is the review of death. I’ve started it three times and deleted it three times and, frankly, I just want to get it over with. The result: super short incoherent review. Here goes:

Funny scenes. Manipulation of minor characters by title character and his servant Mosca featured in the first act were hilarious. Dramatic irony throughout. Deception and manipulation played both humorous and thematic roles.

Characters were entertaining, yet seemed a littl...more

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Nov 25, 2012 Cassie rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: theatre readers

Recommended to Cassie by: Dr. Andrew Vorder Bruegge

Another tale from Theater History and Lit class. Jonson is no easy task; the language is heavy, the symbolism is thick and you have to slog through it to really understand the wit that's hidden underneath. That being said, once an impending exam forced me to understand the concepts behind Jonson's work, I enjoyed it. Not enough to read again, but enough to appreciate the bitterness in the play and embrace it as a theatrical classic.

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Oct 20, 2009 Mark Bratkowski rated it 2 of 5 stars

Volpone had some funny parts, but as a whole it wasn't that interesting to me. I was disappointed because I thought Ben Jonson would be more like Shakespeare. Only after talking to people in my class did I realize that Shakespeare's plays are more about deep characters and Jonson's plays are more about action. There was certainly enough action, but I've spoiled about Shakespeare and I wanted more depth.

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May 03, 2010 Moira Russell rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is SO. HILARIOUS. Seriously. It is just about a perfect comedy (my other perfect comedy is Wilde's Earnest). (And maybe Le bourgeois gentilhomme, because even when I was grinding away doing my daily 30 lines or so at SJC usually at three in the morning, with little French and less hope, Moliere would still make me crack up.)

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Oct 19, 2010 Kevin Brock rated it 4 of 5 stars

A game of clever ruse and wit of Mosca manipulating greedy suitors seeking Volpone's inheritance, in which himself is gaming for the con. (Sorta like Ocean's 11 of outsmarting another.)

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Mar 16, 2013 Melis Barin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Some events of plot interestingly reminded me of Machiavelli's The Mandrake and that created prejudice even in the very first act. Some static aspects of the characters and moral ''profit'' of the play continued to disturb me while reading.

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Nov 03, 2010 Abby rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-school, plays

Certainly not my favorite of the classic plays. Plays should make me want to see them or act in them. This one did neither.

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Mar 23, 2009 Kate rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: school

Not the greatest play. I found it really hard to follow at times as well. It was kind of interesting how instead of simply using names for characters he chose names that actually had a deeper meaning which related to the play. It was kind of boring to me.

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Aug 22, 2011 Hadrian rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: british, plays, humor-and-satire

Riotous farce about money and greed. Ben Jonson is no Shakespeare, but he has quite a talent.

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Feb 18, 2011 Ashley rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: drama, masters-exams, satire

There's nothing really wrong with this play, but there's nothing really likable about it either.

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Mar 12, 2013 Mary rated it 4 of 5 stars

Hilarious commentary on English society - what is not to love?

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May 14, 2012 Caspian rated it 5 of 5 stars

Volpone is a little bellend. Good play though.

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Mar 24, 2012 Mike Jensen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jonson's brilliant play is a very good edition.

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Jul 13, 2010 Jessica rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: classic-literature, plays

Ben Jonson is just too clever for me.

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Mar 23, 2013 Mebhe rated it 5 of 5 stars

Très sympa ! Un mixt entre la comédie grecque, romaine et la commedia dell'arte.

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Dec 08, 2012 Emylie added it

Shelves: 2012-read, school

not one of my favourites...I think I prefer the tragedies and histories

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Mar 07, 2012 Mădă rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: english-theatre

It truly is a Jacobean comedy. The fact that each character has its own passion or obsession, the satire upon them, that bitter humour... and last but not least, Jonson's language, make "Volpone" one remarkable piece for the Jacobean age. Yet, it is less violent than Restoration comedies.
I liked very much how the falseness of people is revealed in the end of the play, how they all changed themselves and were ready to sacrifice their loved ones for gold, for money.
A play that reflects reality.

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Apr 18, 2013 J. Alfred rated it 3 of 5 stars

Everyone is greedy, and everyone who is greedy gets his or her comeuppance. Hey, maybe be honest?

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Sep 28, 2010 Resa rated it 2 of 5 stars

It was a good play, but I would not pick it up for enjoyment.

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Apr 15, 2013 Emily Adam rated it 4 of 5 stars

Good play, though I felt like Jonson was kinda forcefully punishing Volpne and Mosca at the end.

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Jun 05, 2008 Zhang Wu added it

Shelves: advisory-07-07

a well written play. hard to decipher if its tragic or comedy. there is so much going on that included a various of topics and subjects that it can be quit confusing. volpone himself is a greedy man as he pretends to be sick and dying in order to gain more wealth and fame. it teaches the negatives of greed and how humans fall victims to it. the main issue i had with this play is the language as its very hard.

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About Ben Jonson

Benjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems. A man of vast reading and a seemingly insatiable appetite for controversy, Jonson had an unparalleled breadth of influence on Jacobean and...more

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Quotes from Volpone: Or, the Fox

“Riches, the dumb god that giv'st all men tongues, / That canst do nought, and yet mak'st men do all things; / The price of souls; even hell, with thee to boot, / Is made worth heaven!” — 5 people liked it

“Mischiefs feed / Like beasts, till they be fat, and then they bleed.” — 4 people liked it

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