The Story Archive

Volpone

Ben Jonson · 1606 CE · Play · English · Renaissance

A childless Venetian magnifico lies in bed pretending to be dying while his servant Mosca ushers in a lawyer, an old miser and a merchant, each convinced a richer gift will make him the heir. The performance holds until greed asks for something the law can see, and a Venetian court has to decide who is deceiving whom. Jonson took the legacy-hunting from Roman satire and gave every character a beast's name.

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Lineage

Attributes

Genre
ComedySatire
Theme
Wealth & GreedAppearance vs RealityPower & Corruption
Archetype (Jung / Campbell)
TricksterShapeshifterVillain / Tyrant
Plot structure
TrialIronic ReversalMistaken Identity
Emotional arc (story shape)
Rise–Fall (Icarus)
Quest object (Greimas)
Wealth / Treasure
Symbol / motif
Gold / TreasureThe MaskThe BeastThe City
Conflict
vs Personvs Society
Mode / tone
ComicSatiricalIronic
Culture / tradition
English

Closest analogues