Volponeas a Satirical Comedy: Undercutting the Gift-Giving Rhetoric

Abstract

Jonson as a teacher and reformer of the then Renaissance society, brings the satirical moments in drama and attacks legacy-hunting and worship of gold. He depicts the human greed, demystifies the then patronage system that emphasized on the sycophancy and gift-giving rhetoric. In the playVolpone, he remains highly critical of the Renaissance avarice for wealth to be gotten through legacy, flattery and dowry. He takes greed, power, and money as sin and hates human pride, materialistic pleasure, sinfulness of the people and suggests not indulging over such things. Through his work Jonson ridicules the tendency of people of taking gift-giving system as a means for the accumulation of wealth. In his drama, Jonson subjects the materialistic aspect of Renaissance to a close dramatic scrutiny and emphasizes the dangers inherent in it.