Ben Jonson’s Volpone: Satire, Morality, and the Beast Fable
(1314 Words)
Ben Jonson’s Volpone occupies a distinctive position within early modern comedy because it combines the conventions of satire with the moral structure of the morality play and the symbolic framework of the beast fable. By adopting characteristics of the morality tradition, Jonson sought to “imitate justice” and “instruct to life” (Volpone, lines 112–113), combining moral instruction with satiric comedy. The severity of the punishments imposed at the end of the play aligns more closely with the morality tradition than with conventional comic satire. As Watson argues, “The surprisingly blunt exposure and punishment in Volpone pits the indulgent conventions of satiric comedy, in which wit is the sole criterion for success, against the forces of conventional moralism” (83). Thus, although Volpone contains the wit, deception, and comic intrigue characteristic of satire, Jonson ultimately subordinates these elements to a broader moral purpose. Through the use of animal symbolism, exaggerated characters, and a deliberately punitive conclusion, Jonson transforms the traditional beast-fable structure into a vehicle for social criticism, exposing the destructive effects of greed, materialism, hypocrisy, and moral corruption.
In a conventional satiric comedy, Volpone might have escaped punishment, particularly after successfully deceiving the other characters at the end of Act IV. Jonson, however, deliberately rejects such an ending. Instead, he uses the final act to establish moral consequences for the characters’ greed, deception, and corruption. Throughout the play, he satirises both contemporary social conventions and the growing materialism of London society. In doing so, Jonson develops a distinctive form of comedy that draws not only on contemporary satire but also on the moral structure of the ancient beast fable, particularly the tradition associated with Aesop.
The classification of Volpone as a beast fable is largely based on its use of animal names and its moral conclusion. Volpone, Voltore, Corbaccio, and Corvino are all associated with particular animals, and their behaviour reflects characteristics traditionally attributed to those creatures. Nevertheless, Volpone does not reproduce the traditional fable exactly. In many beast fables, the clever protagonist succeeds through intelligence and deception. In Jonson’s play, however, the fox’s wit ultimately fails. This departure from the conventional fable structure allows Jonson to combine comic ingenuity with moral judgment, transforming the familiar figure of the cunning fox into a character whose intelligence becomes a source of his downfall.
The beast-fable framework therefore provides Jonson with an effective method of presenting his social criticism. By transforming his characters into symbolic animals, he can expose human greed and corruption while maintaining a degree of comic distance. The dedication of the play indicates Jonson’s intention to provide entertainment that also offers moral instruction. The fable form supports this purpose by allowing the audience to recognise human weaknesses through exaggerated animal characteristics. The characters’ animal identities consequently function not merely as comic devices but also as moral indicators, revealing the vices that dominate their behaviour.
The central plot particularly resembles the traditional fox fable. In many fables, the fox represents intelligence and cunning and defeats stronger or more predatory creatures through deception. Volpone similarly uses his intelligence to manipulate the “birds of prey” who compete to become his heir. As Watson observes, the fox “outwits ‘the birds of prey and finally entraps them by feigning death’” (85). Volpone therefore initially appears to fulfil the traditional role of the clever fox who triumphs through wit. His success, however, is only temporary, and Jonson ultimately reverses the expectations of the conventional fable by ensuring that the fox himself is caught.
The principal characters form a carefully constructed animal hierarchy. Volpone is the fox, while Mosca functions as a parasitic fly who benefits from the fox’s schemes. Voltore, Corbaccio, and Corvino represent predatory birds: the vulture, raven, and crow. These associations reinforce the characters’ moral identities. Their pursuit of Volpone’s wealth transforms them into predators competing for material gain. Volpone’s deception is therefore satirical because it exposes the greed of those who are willing to sacrifice morality, family, and dignity for the possibility of inheriting his fortune. The animal imagery intensifies this criticism by suggesting that their desire for wealth reduces them to instinctive predators.
Corbaccio’s treatment of his son provides a particularly strong example of this corruption. He is willing to disinherit his own child in the hope of becoming Volpone’s heir. His behaviour contradicts the natural responsibilities associated with parenthood. White notes that Jonson uses Corbaccio’s character to emphasise this unnatural rejection of paternal duty (141–142). Similarly, Corvino violates the expected role of a husband by treating his wife, Celia, as a means of acquiring wealth. Through these characters, Jonson uses the beast-fable structure to represent a society in which natural and moral values have been inverted. Greed becomes stronger than familial loyalty, marital responsibility, or social morality.
However, Jonson deliberately disrupts the traditional fable by allowing the fox’s schemes to fail. Volpone’s punishment demonstrates that intelligence and deception cannot ultimately guarantee success. Watson argues that the ethical conclusion of Jonsonian comedy adopts a “conventional and comfortable form” only to reject the unrealistic expectation that the world should conform to a pleasant literary formula (96–97). Jonson’s ending is therefore significant because it prioritises moral realism over the conventional triumph of comic wit. The punishment of Volpone and his associates establishes that cleverness without morality is ultimately destructive.
This combination of satire and morality is particularly evident in the subplot involving Sir and Lady Would-be. The subplot provides a parallel to the corruption of the main plot while introducing a different form of social criticism. As Barish argues, “It is on the thematic level that the presence of the Would-be’s can be justified and their antics related to the major motifs of the play” (93). The Would-be couple imitate aspects of the social and cultural behaviour associated with the main characters, but they are not morally equivalent to them.
Sir Would-be can be understood as “a comic distortion of Volpone” (Barish 94), while Lady Would-be represents an exaggerated imitation of Venetian sophistication. Their behaviour reflects folly rather than the serious vice displayed by Volpone and his associates. Jonson therefore distinguishes between genuine moral corruption and the foolish imitation of corruption. Through the Would-be’s, he suggests that English society may still avoid the fate of the characters in the main plot if it recognises and rejects such behaviour. Their comic treatment also prevents the play from becoming entirely severe, allowing Jonson to maintain the entertaining qualities of comedy while continuing to develop his moral argument.
The contrast between the two plots is essential to Jonson’s moral purpose. Those who are genuinely committed to vice are ultimately punished, whereas those whose faults are primarily foolishness are allowed to escape. The structure suggests that society faces serious consequences if it allows greed and moral corruption to dominate. At the same time, Jonson does not necessarily present England as irredeemably corrupt. Instead, the play functions as a warning: audiences can recognise the dangers represented by the characters and change their behaviour before those dangers become fully established. Comedy therefore becomes a means of moral education, encouraging audiences to laugh at vice while also recognising its potentially destructive consequences.
Ultimately, Volpone presents a distinctive form of comedy by combining satire, morality, and the beast-fable tradition. Jonson uses humour and deception to entertain his audience while simultaneously exposing the dangers of greed, materialism, hypocrisy, and moral corruption. Issues such as the elevation of gold above religious and moral values, as well as Corvino’s treatment of Celia, demonstrate that the play’s concerns extend beyond individual characters to wider questions of social and ethical behaviour. The beast-fable framework allows Jonson to distance his audience from these problems sufficiently to laugh at them, while the moral ending forces them to consider their consequences. In this way, Volpone successfully merges comic entertainment with moral instruction, creating a form of satire that challenges its audience not merely to laugh at human vice but also to recognise and resist it.
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