Volpone

Volpone is a comedic play by English playwright Ben Jonson, written in 1605-06 and first performed by the King’s Men at the Globe Theatre the same year. The play was first published in a quarto in 1607 and then in an official folio, The Workes of Benjamin Jonson, in 1616. Volpone, like Jonson’s other popular works, is a satire that comments on The Corrupting Power of Greed,     The Moral Impact of Performance, and Seeking Justice in a Corrupt Society. The play follows the cunning Volpone and his sidekick Mosca as they trick gullible suitors out of their fortunes with increasingly risky ruses. Volpone remains Jonson’s most performed play, and it has had award-winning actors like Sir Ralph David Richardson and Paul Scofield play the titular role.

This study guide refers to the 2008 edition of the collection Ben Jonson: The Alchemist and Other Plays published by Oxford University Press.

Content Warning: The play features threats of gendered violence and sexual violence.

Plot Summary

The play opens with its main character, the Venetian gentleman Volpone, expressing his love for gold. His parasitic underling, Mosca, interjects with extra praises for his master. Volpone has no family to give his fortune to when he dies and has been growing his wealth by extorting gifts from potential heirs, falsely promising that they will become the sole inheritors. Before the suitors arrive, Volpone’s three fools perform a farcical skit about the transmigrations of Pythagoras’s soul.

Volpone puts on a disguise to look sickly. Mosca ushers in each of the would-be heirs—Voltore, Corbaccio, and Corvino—who bring presents for the supposedly dying man. Mosca promises the fortune to each man and adds the new scheme of Corbaccio naming Volpone his heir. Mosca mentions Corvino’s beautiful wife Celia, piquing Volpone’s curiosity. The pair disguises themselves as mountebanks—sellers of phony medicines who also functioned as street entertainers—so they can go out to see her.

Out on the streets of Venice, two English travelers—Sir Politic Would-Be and Peregrine—converse. They discuss news from England, and Sir Politic expresses alarm at each story, imagining it to be a bad omen or evidence of a conspiracy. Near Corvino’s house, Mosca and Nano set up a stage for Volpone’s mountebank performance, where he delivers a persuasive speech to sell a false elixir of life. Celia, who watches from her window, throws down her handkerchief to Volpone. Corvino arrives and angrily disperses the crowd. Volpone, now struck with lust for Celia, tells Mosca to do whatever he can to woo her for him.

At Corvino’s house, Corvino yells at Celia for getting involved in the mountebank show. He accuses her of wanting to have an affair and threatens to kill her. Mosca’s arrival disrupts the argument. Mosca lies that Volpone miraculously regained some of his health, but he needs to sleep with a beautiful woman to recover fully. Corvino offers Celia up for the task, hoping it will improve his position. He makes up with Celia, but he conceals his deal with Mosca. On his way home, Mosca celebrates his talent for aiding his patron’s elaborate deceptions. He meets Bonario, Corbaccio’s son, and reveals his father’s plan to disinherit him. Bonario follows Mosca to Volpone’s house, where he will overhear the deed.

The fools start another skit, but Lady Would-Be’s arrival interrupts the performance. Lady Would-Be annoys Volpone with her incessant chatter. To help his patron, Mosca lies that he saw Sir Politic with a sex worker, which prompts the lady to leave. Corvino and Celia arrive early, forcing Mosca to reposition Bonario in the house. Meanwhile, Corvino reveals the true intention of their visit to Celia, but she refuses to go along with the plan. Volpone, alone with Celia, leaps up and reveals his good health. He tries to woo the lady, but she rejects him. Volpone forces himself on Celia. Bonario stops him, saves Celia, and wounds Mosca. The pair leaves to tell the court of Volpone’s crime. Mosca convinces the suitors that they must challenge Bonario.

Sir Politic and Peregrine continue their conversation and discuss Sir Politic’s absurd business ideas. Lady Would-Be spots the pair and mistakes Peregrine for the sex worker Mosca told her about. Sir Politic leaves in shame. Mosca arrives and tells Lady Would-Be that the sex worker is actually Celia, who is already at the court. Peregrine vows to pay Sir Politic back for his humiliation.

In court, Mosca, Voltore, Corbaccio, Corvino, Lady Would-Be, and Volpone all corroborate a false story that accuses Bonario and Celia of being the true criminals. The Avvocati convict Bonario and Celia for their lack of contradictory evidence. Volpone returns to his house, and he worries that his feigned illnesses will soon start to become real. Mosca celebrates their success, but Volpone is not done scheming. He writes a will naming Mosca heir and commands his fools to spread the news that he is dead. The suitors arrive quickly, but they only see Mosca and his new fortune. Mosca scolds the suitors for their vices while Volpone watches. Volpone puts on a new disguise as a court officer (a commendatore) to follow the suitors around and torment them to their faces. Meanwhile, Peregrine plays a trick on Sir Politic, humiliating him into leaving Venice entirely.

Volpone provokes Voltore’s guilty conscience too far, and when the men return to court for Celia and Bonario’s sentencing, Voltore confesses to lying. Trying to save the scheme, Volpone, still disguised, secretly reveals that he is alive and promises to make Voltore heir once again. Voltore retracts his confession and reveals Volpone’s status. Mosca arrives but refuses to confirm that Volpone lives. Mosca tries to blackmail Volpone for half of the fortune in exchange for changing his story, but Volpone refuses. Volpone takes off his disguise and exposes the plot. The Avvocati release Celia and Bonario and punish the guilty men. Volpone delivers a short epilogue asking the audience for applause.