Volpone

Ben Jonson argues that real poets should use their work to both entertain and instruct their audiences. Describe how Jonson uses comedy in the play to ridicule the vices of his characters.

Compare Volpone’s three main disguises—the invalid, the mountebank, and the commendatore. What do these disguises reveal about his true character?

Mosca proclaims that “All the wise world is little else in nature / But parasites or sub-parasites” (3.1.12-13). How does the play confirm this observation?