Joson frequently
makes references to
religion to mock the
conflicts between
the Catholic church
faith and the
Protestant faith.
Equivication:
presented in
Volpone to reflect
how members of
the church
changed their
minds as if they
stuck to their
faith, they were
being faithful bit
if it wasn't what
they wanted, they
would be killed.
People wanted to
avoid being killed
whilst being
faithful.
"Shrine"
"Saint"
Volpone, meaning "the fox", has
been
Beast Fables
There are frequent
direct references to
beast fables such as
the eponymous
character "Volpone"
from the beast fable
"The Fox and the
Crow" where the fox
tricks the crow by
asking him to sing
causing him to drop
the cheese that the
fox wanted.
Beast fables were
stories designed to
teach and warn
people about trust
and crooks however,
Jonson has
produced a didactic
play with an added
comedic approach
that keeps his
audience interested
Manipulation
& Deception
Pride &
Honour/Reputation
The animalistic approach that the
legacy hunters take to bribing
Volpone is an example of pride as
they all compete like animals with
lack of humanity and a
Machiavellian approach.
"
Money & Wealth
"Open the shrine and let me see thy saint"
Jonson is presenting the
importance on money
and wealth in the play
through the mocking of
the catholic faith to
please his mainly
protestant audience
"I glory more in
the cunning
purchase [...] than
in the glad
possession"
Showing how
Volpone enjoys
getting the money
rather than having
the wealth.
Describes his
"Good morning to the day, and next my gold"
Juxtaposition of his
gold and the morning
represents Volpone's
perception of wealth
Greed
Law & Justice
Venice is the
"seat of
immorality"
thus
encouraging
the audience
to accept the
lack of justice
that occurs
in the
denouement
Loyalty, Betrayal &
Trust
"I could stifle him
rarely with a
pillow as well as
any woman that
should keep him"
Putting on an
act/play
Ben Jonson's life
Born in 1572,
soon after the
death of his father
which would have
been a suitable
influence for the
play's basis and
the primogenitor
Jonson had a very successful education so he tried
to replicate this intelligence through his plays by
creating a consistent didactic tone to teach his
audiences and warn them about who not to trust.
Morailty plays
Oxford university
Jonson's
intelligence
influenced his idea
to keep to the rules
of the three unities