Volpone (Dover Thrift Editions) [Paperback]

Ben Jonson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 20, 1994 | Series: Dover Thrift Editions

Bitter, satiric comedy in blank verse is one of the great Elizabethan dramatist’s finest plays. The plot concerns a wealthy, lecherous old man who feigns a mortal illness in order to solicit bribes from greedy acquaintances who hope to inherit his fortune. Many complexities of plot and connivance ensue, but in the end, the guilty parties are exposed and punished. Explanatory footnotes.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...a solid and useful book. Medieval and Renaissance Drama in England

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Robert Watson is Professor of English at UCLA

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (May 20, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486280497
• ISBN-13: 978-0486280493
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,031,646 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Volpone - Great Introduction to Ben Jonson, November 12, 2002

By 

Michael Wischmeyer (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Volpone, or The Fox (Paperback)

I had expected Jonson's plays to be difficult and certainly less rewarding than Shakespeare. Surprisingly, despite the passage of four centuries, the humor in "Volpone" remains natural and entertaining today. I have now read several other comedies by Ben Jonson, but "Volpone" remains my favorite.

I did have difficulty getting started with "Volpone". The rather long dedication, the argument, and the prologue all took their toll. To make matters worse, I was completely confused and lost in Act One, Scene One, by a "Pythagorean satire", entertainment provided by Volpone's eccentric servants, Mosca, Nano, Andrrogyno, and Castrone. (I later learned that Jonson may have added this literary satire for special performances at Oxford and Cambridge. Apparently Jonson knew his scholars well, as "Volpone" was well-received at both universities.)

Fortunately, Scene One is not representative of the play, and I had little difficulty thereafter with either the plot or the humor. Unlike Shakespeare, Ben Jonson's characters seldom reflect on their motivations in soliloquies or insightful dialogue. We meet characters without great complexity. Once we know them, we find that they remain in character and behave predictably. This does not mean his characters are shallow or uninteresting. I even found myself somewhat sympathetic for the unscrupulous Volpone, Mosca, Voltore, Corbaccio, and Corvino. They are all villains, just not particularly villainous villains.

Even though the characters behave predictably, the plot is anything but predictable. The confusion builds throughout the play and I had no idea how Jonson was going to resolve the situation in Act Five. I quite enjoyed "Volpone" and I would like to have an opportunity to see it on stage someday.

One aspect might surprise the modern reader: Volpone's rather unusual house servants include the dwarf Nano, the eunuch Castrone, and the hermaphrodite Androgyno. These individuals, occasional targets for humor, play rather unimportant roles and are sometimes deleted from modern productions.

Ben Jonson was a talented playwright that had the historical misfortune to be a younger contemporary of Shakespeare. He is quite familiar to literary scholars and English literature majors, but for most of us he remains in the shadow of Shakespeare.

You can find several good editions of "Volpone", either alone or in collections. I recommend "Volpone or, The Fox", edited by David Cook, and published by Routledge in London. It was published in 1962, but has been reprinted many times. I benefited greatly from Cook's introduction and footnotes. This softcover book is printed on high quality paper.

Another widely available source is the inexpensive Oxford World's Classics, "The Alchemist and Other Plays" by Ben Jonson. The introduction and footnotes by Gordon Campbell are quite good.

I am a fan of Dover Thrift Editions, but I don't recommend the Dover "Volpone" 1994 edition for a first reading of Jonson as the footnotes are sparse.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Volpone : The DALLAS of the 17th Century, July 11, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Volpone (Paperback)

Volpone is a fast-paced comedic drama with Italian inspiration. <BA>Though the language of Volpone may at first induce flashbacks of seemingly endless hours listening to a grade-school teacher praise the words of Shakespeare and the feeling that perhaps you had not learned to read after all; do not paint Volpone with the brush you had in grade nine! Volpone contains all of the things that we value in good books in the twentieth century : deception, greed, lust and humour. The language is not as difficult as it may seem at first glance and the play moves quickly. It will keep you smiling throughout.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Controversial, irreverent and still standing!, August 20, 2005

By 

Hiram Gomez Pardo (Valencia, Venezuela) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Volpone (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)

This famous adaptation of Ben Johnson is terrific and still modern in its whole conception, this is a characteristic seal of the masterpieces. Aided by his loyal server Mosca. Volpone makes his friend to believe is dying and convinces to every one of his greedy friends is his heir.

As you can guess, the macabre spell and incisive charm of this play still makes laugh and think to a great audience.

In 1939 Maurice Tourneur decided to make a film about it. The tragic new is this film was released after WW2, but Harry Baur, the most complete actor f the French Cinema by then, wouldn't be present, his mysterious death was attributed to Nazis.

If you are looking for one of the best and most genuine jewel of the Universal literature, go for this one.