Avarice in Ben Jonson's Volpone

458 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Human nature in Shakespeare's plays

What a rare punishment/Is avarice to itself! Volpone, Act 1, sc.iv.

Do the events in the play confirm this?

Volpone was written at a time when Jacobean London was infected with

greed, cunning and credulity. These traits Ben Jonson used to show the

folly of avarice and its rewards or punishment to those whose only

love is money and appropriating more of it. Volpone is all about

morals, greed and the depths people will sink to get what they want,

despite its consequences on themselves and others.

The Jacobean audiences were familiar with its setting in Venice and

they thought Italy 'was the land of sensational evil-doing. Among

Italian cities Venice ... stood in the front rank for this sinister

repute.' (Barish, 1972: 65)

So the choice of setting was deliberate, he wanted t...

Show More
Related

  • Anger in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

    616 Words  | 2 Pages

    Does Romeo and Juliet show that good intentions are no match for anger? At the opening of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ we are told that, “Two households, both alike in dignity… From ancient grudge break to new mutiny.” This is the cause of both, Romeo and Juliet’s death and peace between the two families. Already, within the first three lines of the prologue, we are told what is going to happen.

    Read More

  • Crimes Committed in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

    944 Words  | 2 Pages

    The crime which Montague and Capulet committed was that they were fighting with each other. The reason for which they started fighting is uncertain. The hatred they feel towards each other filters down to their family members and servants. Gregory exclaims in the first scene, "The quarrel is between our masters, and us their men." (Act 1, sc (i) line 19). He is saying that how their masters fight is also theirs. Since Montage and Capulet committed atrocious crimes, god found a way to punish them both. The way in which he punished Capulet is first he killed off Tybault, and then he took his daughter Juliet, along with her proposed suitor, County Paris. Montague is emotionally destroyed when his only son, Romeo is banished from Verona, the same day that Benvolio breathed his last. . This upsets his wife so much that night after Romeo was banished, she slept, never to wake up again. The next day, he learns that his son, Romeo, has committed suicide, which brings an end to the emotional punishment he will receive. Both Capulet and Montague committed a crime, and for these acts have received the appropriate punishment.

    Read More

  • Essay On Impulsivity In Romeo And Juliet

    856 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the teenage years of the brain “…the part of the brain that requires a person to make responsible decisions, understand consequences, and process problem solving is under heavy construction, and much of the time dysfunctional” (Wolner). Teenage brains think on impulsivity because of this Romeo and Juliet committed suicide on acts of impulsivity that would have been solved if they thought rationally. Romeo led off of impulsivity because of his love for Juliet. Juliet on the other hand had bad adult inference in her life, which did lead to her acting on impulsivity.

    Read More

  • The Theme of Control in Shakespeare's Othello

    1006 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout history, powerful empires with boundless control have had a tendency to fall victim to corruption. It is common knowledge, among political scientists and historians, that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. William Shakespeare's "Othello, the Moor of Venice" (reprinted in Laurence Perrine and Thomas R. Arp, Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense, 6th ed. [Fort Worth: Harcourt, 1993] 1060-1147) contains several themes, but one theme in particular supports the truth of this knowledge. In "Othello, the Moor of Venice," the theme of control is one that causes corruption. Othello's control is stolen by Iago and, Iago's overbearing control of Othello's emotions causes chaos and absence of control until Lodovico arrives at the end of the story.

    Read More

  • The Dramatic Effect of Act One Scene Five of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

    1243 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Dramatic Effect of Act One Scene Five of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet In this essay I will explain how Act 1, Scene 5 is dramatically effective. Act 1, Scene 5 is the most important scene in the play because it is the scene where Romeo and Juliet first meet. This play is essentially about two families that are enemies, The Capulet’s and the Montague’s, Juliet is the daughter of Capulet and Romeo son of Montague during the play they fall in love. Right from the beginning the prologue tells us this play is a tragedy.

    Read More

  • Essay on the Vengeful and the Virtuous in William Shakespeare

    1227 Words  | 3 Pages

    Whether you hate your King, your Christian rival or a neighboring foe, if you're in a Shakespeare play then you will be punished.  In the first act of each play Shakespeare shows a conflict between two groups of people, one is vengeful the other virtuous.  After the conflict is introduced, the malignant characters have important parts of their lives taken away and in the end the ultimate penalties of each are inflicted.  All of the antagonists are left desolate in the end of the plays by either lost fortunes or their lives.  Shakespeare takes good care to give the protagonists of the plays much reward for being on the right side of the spectrum.  As the characters hate increases throughout the play they begin to loose what is precious to them, first in small amounts, but in the end, they are stripped of all they love and value.

    Read More

  • Dishonesty in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

    764 Words  | 2 Pages

    The suicides of Romeo and Juliet reflect their hasty and impulsive decisions as well as the dishonesty of Friar Lawrence and the Nurse. Romeo’s haste in drinking the venomous poison, Friar’s cowardice in handling the consequences as well as the Nurse’s choice of standing against the relationship of Romeo and Juliet contribute equally to their fatal end. Therefore, dishonesty and haste can result in undesirable circumstances to any individual.

    Read More

  • Lusts In Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet

    729 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of Shakespeare's most famous tragedies, Romeo and Juliet, is a story about two teenagers of rival houses that fell in love at first sight, but did they really? It seems quite odd that two literary characters as well-known as these, were amorous with one another after a brief meeting at a ball. Teenagers, since the Elizabethan era have been called impulsive, their decisions often sudden and have an unhappy ending. They have also been accused of being lustful and over-dramatic, due to their intense, temporary feelings. These beliefs apply to the two “star-crossed lovers” as well as the decisions they made, both of which caused pain and regret for both themselves and others as well, even if it wasn’t intended.

    Read More

  • Jane Eyre Passage Analysis Essay

    406 Words  | 1 Pages

    Charlotte Bronte includes this passage in order to draw parallels between Mr. Rochester and Jane. In the first passage, Jane thought Mr. Rochester didn’t want to marry her because of her social class and lack of wealth and beauty. In this passage, Mr. Rochester feels Jane likes St. John more than him because of his appearances. A common theme throughout the book as well as in this passage is jealousy drives passion. In the beginning of the book Mr. Rochester used Ms. Ingram in order to make Jane jealous. In this passage, Jane similarly makes Mr. Rochester jealous by explaining how St. John is handsome. Both, at the time, knowingly tempted the other by using someone else to spark jealousy and drive the other to deeper emotions. For example, Jane

    Read More

  • Baz Luhrmann's Modern Version Of Romeo and Juliet

    1313 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lurhmann sets the film in a fictitious border city between the United States and Mexico. The city is called ‘Verona’ so it maintains its original name from the play. It is extremely built-up and urban just like New York or London so that a modern audience can relate to the film and understand where the film is set. In other modern films, a big urban city is usually the setting where there are big gang rivalries and Lurhmann makes this clear by showing that the Montague’s and Capulet’s are the big two families in the city and they are not to be reckoned with.

    Read More

  • Jane Eyre Concordance Essay

    1968 Words  | 4 Pages

    -the lonely drudgery, of my present life: for I _was _lonely. Never, from month to month, from year to year, except during my brief intervals of rest at home, did I see one creature to whom I could open my heart

    Read More

  • Reasons For The Death Of Romeo And Juliet

    817 Words  | 2 Pages

    "I do beseech you, sir, have patience. Your looks are pale and wild, and do import some misadventure." (Act 5, Scene 1). Romeo, once again, pays no heed to such wise counsel and instead embarks on another wild, ill-advised fit of passion which will result in three, more deaths. Had he taken the time to contemplate the news or even time to grieve his wife, no one else would have died and he and Juliet may have yet been reunited. He doesn't. Despite the fact his acting out continually exacerbates the situation, he doesn't attempt to rein himself in. He does, however, make sure to ruin one more life before he heads out of town and entices a poverty stricken apothecary to break the law, for which the penalty is death. "Such mortal drugs I have, but Mantua’s law Is death to any he that utters them." (Act 5, Scene 1). One can assume that the gentleman in question had little time to spend the money, once the two most powerful families in Verona find out what part he played in the death of their heirs. If we add the Apothecary's death and that of Lady Montague, Romeo amasses quite the body count on the road from Mantua to fair

    Read More

  • The Dramatic Effects of Act 1 Scene 5 of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

    812 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Dramatic Effects of Act 1 Scene 5 of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet There are many components to Shakespeare’s classic ‘Romeo’. Juliet’, which mainly consists of love, hate and honour. This is the story of the incessant love of two young people, which crosses the borders of family and convention. It encompasses love, hate and tons of other things. of emotion, tragically ending with the harsh reality of death.

    Read More

  • Antitheatricalism and Jonson's Volpone

    797 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...goal of the Antitheatrical movement in the Renaissance, was both supported and denounced by Jonson in various ways. However, the general perception is that Jonson (unlike Shakespeare) fueled the fires of degradation- implicating women with the weakness, lack of intelligence, and reason they were believed to exude. In the annals of theatrical history, Jonson's metadrama could be said to perpetuate this social stereotype. Nevertheless, Jonson's crossing of the gender line and sexual scenes like Volpone's "flashing" of Celia were enough to have religious, moral, and social commentators screaming blood murder. Two issues demand prominence in the play. While outwardly a play driven by blatant genderless controversy, the inward thematic, character-driven nature of Volpone suggests a conformity and adherence to the intellectual and theological moralism of the time.

    Read More

  • The Balance Of Passion And Passion In Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre

    1115 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the well-praised novel Jane Eyre, the balance of passion (early 19th Century romanticism) and reason (Victorian realism) is represented as a major theme throughout. Bronte successfully displays the balance of passion and reason between Jane's relationship with Mr. Rochester and St. John Rivers as an obligatory aspect of marriage as well as a necessary ideology of life. Jane struggles with the balance of passion and reason initially with her relationship with Mr. Rochester at Thornfield. Her internal conflict soon continues when she meets St. John Rivers at Marsh End. Although Jane does not properly balance the novel's theme of passion and reason instantly, she achieves the balance at the end of the novel with Mr. Rochester.

    Read More

More about Avarice in Ben Jonson's Volpone

Open Document