In the play “Volpone,” Ben Jonson attempts to depict the social system of his time. The events of this play unfold in Venice, a prosperous city in Italy. We also observe that Shakespeare’s play “The Merchant of Venice” is set in Venice, and several works of English literature draw inspiration from the city. However, despite the setting in Venice and the portrayal of its social system, “Volpone” actually aims to portray the society of England, particularly London, during that era.
The main plot of this play goes somewhat like this: Volpone is a nobleman in Venice. He is wealthy and possesses many assets, but he has no children. As a result, many people are greedy about who will inherit his wealth after his death, and several individuals desire to become the heir to his wealth. Volpone takes advantage of this opportunity by employing his loyal servant, Mosca. Mosca goes to everyone and tells them that they will be the sole heirs of Volpone, thus tempting these individuals. So, we can see that to appease Volpone, some people send their wives to him, while others disinherit their sons and nominate Volpone as the heir to their wealth. This way, an anarchy is created.
Although Ben Jonson talks about Venice, it actually represents Renaissance England society. The Renaissance brought many good things to England, but at the same time, it also created a lack of morality among people. In that era, individual freedom developed, and some bad people took this opportunity to achieve their goals and became morally corrupt in society.
The main reason for this is that, on the one hand, the Renaissance and, on the other hand, economic conditions improved during the Elizabethan age. As a result, prosperity increased, and London became a wealthier city. The middle class emerged, and the wealth of the upper-class elite continued to grow. As a result of all this, people’s desire and greed for wealth increased significantly. Consequently, those who are morally corrupt in society try to take advantage of this, while good people begin to suffer, and many of them also turn corrupt. Ben Jonson might have been somewhat worried about all these issues, which is why he aimed to show in his play that greed never brings positive results. Upon examining the play, we observe that every character is morally corrupt and greedy. Volpone constantly thinks about how to cunningly acquire other people’s wealth illegally. Mosca shares the same desires. Corvino and Corbaccio believe they will be the sole heirs to Volpone’s wealth and eagerly await his demise, hoping he will designate them as heirs in his will before he dies. As a result, each character does not hesitate to commit any evil deed. Volpone hears that Corvino’s wife, Celia, is very beautiful and desires to have her, even though she is someone else’s wife. Volpone cunningly attempts to rape her.
The main lesson we learn from this play is that good people like Celia and Bonario are primarily tortured because of the lack of unity among them. On the other hand, bad people unite for their interests and, in doing so, can easily oppress good people. When Celia falls into danger, there is no one to help her. Conversely, Bonario’s father betrays him and gives testimony against him. Similarly, even after Celia survives the rape, her husband does not come forward to help her in court. Celia’s husband and Bonario’s father unite with bad people like Volpone and Mosca. As a result, they forget the simple fact that it is not outsiders but their family members who are being harmed, all because they fall into greed.
When bad people unite in society, it leads to the destruction of good people, and as a result, it does not mean that the bad people win. Instead, bad people often end up causing harm to themselves. Ben Jonson has beautifully portrayed this idea and suggested that exactly this kind of destruction is impending in English society, especially in London. If people do not become aware from now on, it will bring a lot of danger for the future. So, Ben Jonson tried to convey to people that if we do not choose the path of goodness, we will lead to the destruction of society. If society is affected, its impact will affect everyone, whether good or bad.
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