Volpone – Disturbing or Funny?

'It invites us to laugh at things which with only a slight shift of

perspective are troubling and disturbing rather than funny'

The backbone of ' Volpone' is a tale of a dark and absurd world where

twisted, greedy characters deceive and attempt to deceive each other. Despite

this bleak situation it is a very funny play, the humor increases as the

characters sink to new levels. This interplay of disturbing human fault with

witty humor does indeed allow us to laugh at situations that are at a second

glance horrific and distressful. This tactic is Johnson's tool for the

juvenalian satire of the play's over plot, we are not independent of

Volpone's world as he warns in the prologue:-

'Only a little salt remaineth,

Where with he'll rub your cheeks, till, red with laughter,

They shall look fresh a week after.'

We are warned that though this is funny it has a sting to make us

contemplate it more deeply. As the quote suggests the play does not always

deal with the twisted and disturbing, many of it's targets are minor and are

treated with fittingly soft satire. For example, the foolish Sir

Politic-would-be. However, this light relief often serves to enhance the

darker satire which has the dominant influence in the play. We are reminded

by the character's very animal names, that another look at this comic world

of fools, egoists and greedy men reveals a dark bestial horror, carrions

circling round a dying fox when infact the fox and his parasite are

entrapping them, the real predators.

Evidence of the title view is shown in our first meeting with Volpone, the

visual impact of the scene is amusing, we laugh at this silly man talking to

objects and are enterta...

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...osed as fools. Even the

convicted innocents are so sickeningly and laughably righteous we find

ourselves siding with their more entertaining accusers. However, a change in

perspective shows a troubling world where not only can the good be betrayed

by justice and law but also where goodness, honesty and virtue have no value.

The only tools for survival are money and wit, they are the only useful

attributes in this dispiriting world.

In conclusion, from examining these moments that are funny and yet

profoundly disturbing I have realized their importance in ' Volpone'.

Laughing at something troubling and often wrong is the basis of Johnson's

Juvenalin satire. By inviting us to laugh at the troubling and disturbing we

are also invited to question why we are laughing, what this says about

ourselves and what we can do about it.