1. Discuss Volpone as comedy of humor?
Answer:
The conception of the humor
of the medieval age has a great impact in Ben Jonson’s Volpone, especially in
the character development. Actually, Volpone is, to many extents, based upon
the humor theory. In the play, Volpone, Mosca, Corvino, Corbaccio, Voltore, Sir
politic Would be and this imbalance make the play a comedy since these abnormal
characters pave the way for making the plot satiric and amusing. Each character
is peculiar and singular in his own way. Here Jonson shows that the mental
imbalance is more dangerous than physical imbalance as he shows that, the
characters Nano, Castrone and androgyno being physically abnormal, are better
creatures than the earlier ones. A comedy of humors focuses in characters, each
character representing a type of personality. The characters in Volpone are stereotypes.
All of the characters are imbalanced as well, so their “humors” are out of
balance and they thus act in comical ways. Thus, Volpone is a comedy of humors.
2. Animal imagery in the volpone.
Answer:
Animal imagery:The animal imagery,
that runs alongside the animalistic names of the characters, is very important
as it gives us insight into the (corrupt) nature of each character.
By giving them animalistic names, Jonson clearly sees
the 'clients' as scavengers, after naming them after birds of prey. He sees
their actions in fight for Volpone's wealth as primitive and malicious.
Textual Evidence:
'I shall have instantly my Vulture, Crow, Raven come
flying here on the news, to peck for carrion'
'Give me my furs'
'He is not dead' / 'All good symptoms'
'A creature of delight'
'His furs and foot-cloths;waited on by herd-clients'
Character Names:
Most of the characters names' are Itlian words for
animals:
Volpone = Fox
Mosca = Parasitic Fly
Voltore = Vulture
Animalistic Imagery in the
language.
This beast/animal imagery in the language is used in
Volpone to represent the deformity and degeneration of the characters and moral
abnormality found in Venice, portraying the city as a hotbed of crime, knavery
and lust.
'Begin their visitation! Vulture, kite, Raven, and
gor-crow, all my birds of prey, That think me leaving carcass.'
Critical Quotes
'It is difficult to condemn real vultures for behaving
like vultures.' - Robert Macdonald.
'In this strongly moralistic play, the presentation of
man as a beast - specifically beast and birds of prey - is used as a satirical
device' - James M. Welsh Corvino = Crow
Corbaccio = Raven
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3.
Characteristic analysis of lagacy, hunters of Volpone.
Answer:
Three legacy hunters are Voltore, a lawyer; Corbaccio,
an old gentleman; and Corvino, a merchant
Voltore
One of the three legacy hunters or carrion-birds—the
legacy hunters continually circle around Volpone, giving him gifts in the hope
that he will choose them as his heir. Voltore is a lawyer by profession, and,
as a result, he is adept in the use of words.
Voltore is,
like all the legacy hunters, named after a carrion-bird. In the case of
Voltore, that bird is the vulture; for Corvino, it is the crow, and for
Corbaccio, the raven. Voltore is the most pleasant of all the legacy hunters,
for he is the least crass and the least obsessed with seeing Volpone die.
His preferential status shows in Mosca's special regard
for him: Mosca tries to make sure that Voltore gets enough payment for his
services at the Scrutineo in Act IV. But Voltore comes to regret his actions at
the Scrutineo. Of course, this regret only comes after he has been denied his
inheritance, and it seems to stem directly from his bitterness at Mosca's
leapfrogging over him on the social ladder.
And when Volpone whispers to him that he might still
get his inheritance, he stops confessinghis lies to the Scrutineo and pretends
that he was "possessed" by an evil demon. Theverbal irony is that
Voltore, in that statement and action, reveals his greed.
Corbaccio
Another "carrion-bird" circling Volpone,
Corbaccio is actually extremely old and ill himself and is much more likely to
die before Volpone even has a chance to bequeath him his wealth. He has a
hearing problem and betrays no sign of concern for Volpone, delighting openly
in (fake) reports of Volpone's worsening symptoms. He goes as far as to testify
against his own son. He is finally punished, sent to a monastery, and forced to
turn his estate over to his son, Bonario.
Corvino
A greedy, rich merchant and an extremely cruel and
dishonorable character, Corvino is Celia's jealous husband. He frequently
threatens to do disgusting acts of physical violence to her and her family in
order to gain control over her. Yet he is more concerned with financial gain
than with her faithfulness, seeing her, in essence, as a piece of property.
Corvino is another one of the "carrion-birds" circling Volpone.
Corvino is punished in theend for offering up his wife, which results in her
returning to her father, with her dowry tripled. Corviono is the third of the
"carrion-birds" circling Volpone.
4.
Character analysis Volpone Mosca
Answer:
Volpone
Volpone
is the protagonist of the play. His name means "The Fox" in Italian.
Jonson used him as an instrument of satire of money-obsessed society, and he
seems to share in Jonson's satiric interpretation of the events. He is lustful,
raffish, and greedy for pleasure.He is a creature of passion, continually
looking to find and attain new forms of pleasure,whatever the consequences may
be. He is also energetic and has an unusual gift for rhetoric. He worships his
money, all of which he has acquired through cons, such as the one he plays on
Voltore, Corbaccio, and Corvino. Volpone has no children, but he has something
of a family: his parasite, Mosca, his dwarf, Nano, his eunuch, Castrone, and
his hermaphrodite, And rogyno. Mosca is his only true confidante. Volpone hates
to make money through honest labour or cold, he loves making it in clever,
deceitful ways. This dynamic in his character shapes our reaction to him
throughout the play. At times, this hedonism seems fun, engaging, entertaining,
and even morally valuable, such as when he is engaged in the con on his fortune
hunters. But his attempted seduction of Celia revealsa darker side to his
hedonism when it becomes an attempted rape. The incident makeshim, in the moral
universe of the play, a worthy target of satire. Through the play, welearn that
he is the one who makes the satire but the satire eventually turns back on
him,when he becomes a victim of Mosca's "Fox-trap." The reason he is
ensnared by Mosca is that he cannot resist one final gloat at his dupes,
oblivious to the fact that in doing so, hehands over his entire estate to
Mosca. This lack of rational forethought and commitmentto his own sensual
impulses is characteristic of Volpone. Therefore, he has threeweaknesses that
might make his ‘plots’ fail: the first is his lust for Celia, the second is
hisoverconfident behavior, and the last is his complete trust in Mosca.
Mosca
Mosca
is Volpone's parasite, a combination of his slave, his servant and his lackey.
He is the person who continually executes Volpone's ideas and the one who comes
up with the necessary lie whenever needed. In the opening acts, Mosca appears
to be exactly what he is described as: a clinging, servile parasite, who only
exists for Volpone and through Volpone. In other words, he exists to serve
Volpone, and all that Volpone wants he wants.But in Act Three, we have the
beginning of his assertion of self-identity, when he begins to grow confident
in his abilities. But then this confidence again is left unvoiced, and Mosca
seems to go back to being Volpone's faithful servant, helping him get out of
the trouble some situation with Bonario and Celia. Mosca himself is possessed
by greed, and he attempts to move out of his role as parasite to the role of
great beast himself. But his attempt fails, as Volpone exposes them both.
Though initially (and for most of the play)he behaves in a servile manner
towards Volpone, Mosca conceals a growing independence he gains as a result of
the incredible resourcefulness he shows in aiding and abetting Volpone's
confidence game. Mosca's growing confidence, and awareness that the
others
in the play are just as much "parasites" as he—in that they too would
rather live off the wealth of others than do honest work—eventually bring him
into conflict withVolpone, a conflict that destroys them both.
