Volpone

Ben Jonson was born in 1572 in London and was raised by his mother and stepfather. Though the family was poor, Jonson received an extensive education at the prestigious Westminster School, where he grew to love classic drama. Jonson began contributing to playwrighting in 1597 with The Case is Altered, and he wrote his first major solo work, Every Man in His Humor, a year later. Jonson was a younger contemporary of Shakespeare, whose acting troupe, The King’s Men, performed many of Jonson’s plays. Jonson occasionally wrote tragic plays, but he is best known for comedies like Volpone, The Alchemist, Bartholomew Fair, and Epicene. Jonson developed a reputation for his intellect, wit, and satirical character sketches (Campbell, Gordon. Introduction. Ben Jonson: The Alchemist and Other Plays, edited by Campbell, Oxford University Press, 2008, pp. vii-xxi).

Jonson became embroiled in a famous period of rivalry known as the War of the Theatres. The rivalry broke out in 1599, when Jonson took offense to a character in John Marston’s play Histriomastix, which Marston intended to be “a flattering representation of [Jonson]” (Cook, David. Introduction. Volpone, by Ben Jonson, Methuen & Co. Ltd., 1962, pp. 7-49). Jonson’s rebuttal came in Every Man in His Humor through the pompous character of Clove. The men continued this back-and-forth until 1601, with playwright Thomas Dekker also joining in. This period advanced Jonson’s theories about the philosophical purpose of drama and his criticisms of modern playwriting, which he codifies in the Epistle that precedes Volpone. Although Marston and Dekker ridiculed Jonson for his misanthropic satire, Jonson believed it was his duty to expose the realities of his time and “inform men in the best reason of living” (Epistle, 96). Putting this theory into action in Volpone, Jonson encourages his audiences to laugh at the ridiculous suitors and appreciate Volpone and Mosca’s cunning, but also to cheer for their eventual punishment.