Ben Jonson. "Volpone". Study Guide.

1. The plot of Volpone can be hard to follow, especially on the first reading. The main plot in act 5 and the subplot concerning Sir Politic Would-be can be particularly confusing. You might find it helpful to refer to a plot summary if/when you get confused.
2. The text that is linked for this course has an extensive glossary of unfamiliar words. You should use that glossary and a good dictionary as you read the text.
3. One element of Volpone that comes from classical (specifically Roman) drama is the theme of legacy hunting. What is "legacy hunting"? Who are the legacy hunters in Volpone?
4. Volpone also relies on medieval beast fables, especially one entitled "The Fox Who Feigned Death." A fable is a brief tale with a stated moral. Most but not all fables are beast fables, in which the characters are animals who behave like humans. Beast fables satirize (and present a moral concerning) human nature by depicting animals with human weaknesses. Although the characters in Volpone are not animals, their names and costumes suggest animals. Suggesting that the characters are animals satirizes human nature in general and shows the bestiality of the characters' behavior.
5. In act 1, what gifts do Voltore, Corbaccio, and Corvino bring to Volpone? Why do they bring these gifts? What do Volpone and Mosca do and say to trick them?
6. In act 2, why does Volpone pose as a mountebank? What is a mountebank?
7. What does Celia do that provokes Corvino's anger when Volpone appears as a mountebank beneath her window? What punishment does Corvino impose on her?
8. Why does Corvino revoke this punishment so suddenly? What does he now ask her to do instead?
9. In act 3, why does Corbaccio's son Bonario come to Volpone's house?
10. As a footnote points out, the song Volpone sings to woo Celia (act 3, scene 7) is based on a poem by the Latin lyric poet Catullus. What Latin phrase sums up the theme of this song? What does this phrase mean?
11. What scenario allows Celia to be rescued from Volpone's advances?
12. When Lady Politic Would-be comes to visit Volpone in act 3, why is he so eager to get rid of her? What does Mosca say that prompts her to leave in a hurry?
13. Because of what Mosca has said, what ridiculous assumption does Lady Politic make about Peregrine when she finds him talking to Sir Politic in act 4?
14. What does Lady Politic testify in court concerning Celia? Why does she say this?
15. In act 4, what judgment is reached in the courtroom scene?
16. Not knowing when to quit, what plot do Volpone and Mosca hatch to further torture the legacy hunters at the beginning of act 5?
17. How do they execute this plan? What does Mosca do that enrages the legacy hunters?
18. What trick does Peregrine play on Sir Politic? Why is Sir Politic so afraid?
19. How does Mosca double-cross Volpone?
20. Why is the court convened for a second time (act 5, scene 10)?
21. Why does Voltore tell the truth in this second courtroom scene? Why does he then suddenly decide to go back to his previous lies? What does he do to try to invalidate the truth he has just told?
22. In the second courtroom scene, why won't Mosca go along with Volpone and reveal that Volpone is still alive?
23. Who finally exposes all the liars in court? Why?
24. Who receives the worst punishment? Why?
25. In Latin, Volpone means "fox." In the words of the beast fable on which the play is based, Volpone is a "fox who feigns [pretends] death." In what other sense is Volpone a "fox"?
26. Volpone's game of trickery is motivated by weaknesses that the play satirizes. What do you think are Volpone's primary motivations for deceiving the legacy hunters?
27. The interlude (short play) about transmigration that is enacted by these three servants parallels Volpone's descent to being less than fully human. (This play-within-the-play is one of the most difficult parts of Volpone; don't worry if you don't understand it.)
28. What are the names of Volpone's three household servants, and what do their names mean? What is misshapen or unnatural about the body of each?
29. The name Mosca means "fly." Like a fly, Mosca is a parasite who lives off Volpone's wealth. What weakness causes Mosca's undoing at the end of play?
30. What is the definition of gull as a noun referring to human beings? What do the noun gull, the verb to gull, and the adjective gullible have in common?
31. The audience is likely to have little sympathy for the gulls in the play. Each of these characters is greedy for material wealth but is also satirized for another weakness.
32. The name of each of the gulls suggests a bird of prey or a bird who eats carrion (dead meat). In what sense do they all behave like birds of prey or carrion?
33. To what bird of prey or carrion does the name Voltore refer?
34. Voltore is satirized for abusing his profession. What is Voltore's profession? How does he abuse the skills of his profession? (See Mosca's speech to Voltore in 1.3.51-66.)
35. In talking to Voltore, Mosca tells him about Volpone's praise of this profession. How does it serve to satirize Voltore's profession?
36. What does Voltore say and do in court that serves to satirize this profession?
37. To what bird of prey does the name Corbaccio refer?
38. In general, how old is Corbaccio? What specific physical problem does he have? How is this physical problem presented humorously (act 1, scene 4)?
39. Although Corbaccio can't help having this physical problem, Volpone ridicules him for being in a state of denial about his health and longevity (act 1, scene 4) What does Volpone say about Corbaccio (and those like him) in this speech?
40. To what bird of prey does the name Corvino refer?
41. In the first part of the play, how is Corvino's treatment of his wife extreme? Later in the play, how does his treatment of his wife change to the opposite extreme? What causes this change? What is being satirized through these actions?
42. Because parrots are frequently called Pol or Polly, the name of Sir Politic Would-be suggests a parrot. He parrots everything he hears, regardless of its source, truth, or logic. Sir Politic pretends to be as sly at "policy" (public affairs) as Volpone actually is in private affairs. What are some of the public projects Sir Politic proposes? What is his proposal for detecting ships carrying the plague (act 4, scene 1)?
43. Which plan of Sir Politic's is potentially treasonous (act 4, scene 1)? How does Peregrine use this plan to trick Sir Politic (act 5, scene 4)?
44. What details about his private life does Sir Politic include in his diary (act 4, scene 1)? What do these details reveal about him?
45. In what way is Lady Politic Would-be, Sir Politic's wife, also like a parrot? What humorous remarks does Volpone make about this irritating character trait of Lady Politic's (act 3, scene 4)?
46. What does Mosca reveal that Lady Politic has done in hopes of being named in Volpone's will (act 5, scene 3, line 40 ff.)?
47. In order to please Volpone in court, what does Lady Politic say about Celia?
48. Volpone states an important theme early in the play when he says, "What a rare punishment / Is avarice to itself!" (1.4.142-43). What is avarice? In the play, in what sense is avarice a punishment to those who practice it?
49. Jonson satirizes not only these greedy individuals but also the baseness of human nature in general and the rise of a capitalist economy in which all actions are based on financial profit and self-interest. What does Avocatore 4 say in act 5, scene 12, that reflects Jonson's belief that society as a whole, including the judicial system, is corrupt?