Use of Animal Imagery in the Characterization of Volpone

Introduction Ben Jonson’s Volpone (1606) is one of the most brilliant and biting comedies of the Jacobean period. Set in Venice, it is a dark satire on greed, hypocrisy, and moral corruption. The title itself — Volpone, meaning “the fox” in Italian — gives the audience a direct clue to Jonson’s central technique: animal imagery. … Read more