Volpone: Character Mind Map & Summary
Ben Jonson’s Volpone: the key characters and their animal names, the con, the punishments, a quick summary and the exam facts.
The Character Mind Map
Tap any name to open the details.
Volpone
A rich, childless Venetian nobleman who worships his gold. He pretends to be dying so that greedy “legacy hunters” will shower him with gifts, each hoping to be named his heir. With his clever servant Mosca he plays them against each other, until his own love of the game ruins him.
Good morning to the day; and next, my gold! / Open the shrine, that I may see my saint.Fate: jailed in chains until he is truly sick and lame
🦊 The Tricksters
The fox & the flyMosca“The Fly” · Volpone’s parasite
Role: Clever and shameless; he runs the con for Volpone, then tries to steal the whole fortune when Volpone pretends to be dead.
Whipped and sent to the galleys for life🦅 The Legacy Hunters
Birds of preyVoltore“The Vulture” · a lawyer
Role: Brings rich gifts and lies in court to protect the con.
Disbarred and banishedCorbaccio“The Raven” · an old miser
Role: Deaf and near death himself, he disinherits his own son Bonario in Volpone’s favour.
Estate given to Bonario; sent to a monasteryCorvino“The Crow” · a jealous merchant
Role: Normally mad with jealousy, he offers his own wife, Celia, to Volpone to win the inheritance.
Paraded through Venice wearing ass’s ears🕊️ The Innocents & the Subplot
Virtue & follyCeliaCorvino’s virtuous wife
Role: Resists Volpone’s attempt to seduce her.
Come, my Celia, let us prove, / While we can, the sports of love. (Volpone’s song to her)Returned to her father with a tripled dowry
BonarioCorbaccio’s honest son
Role: Rescues Celia from Volpone, but is framed for it in court.
Receives his father’s estateSir Politic & Lady Would-beAn English couple in Venice
Role: Foolish English travellers. Sir Pol is full of silly plots and ends up hiding in a tortoise shell, tricked by the young traveller Peregrine.
Memory Hook: A Beast Fable
Every name is an animal in Italian. Learn the animals and you know the characters.
The Punishments
The court’s final judgments, a favourite exam question.
Act-by-Act Summary
The plot in five quick stops.
Act 1The Con
- Volpone worships his gold; Voltore, Corbaccio and Corvino arrive with gifts for the “dying” man.
Act 2The Mountebank
- Volpone disguises himself as a quack doctor, Scoto of Mantua, to see Celia. Corvino agrees to offer her to Volpone.
Act 3The Rescue
- Volpone tries to seduce Celia; Bonario bursts in and rescues her.
Act 4The Trial
- Mosca and the legacy hunters lie in court; Celia and Bonario are condemned.
Act 5The Fall
- Volpone fakes his death and names Mosca heir to torment the others. Mosca refuses to give the fortune back, so Volpone unmasks himself, and all are punished.
Must-Know Exam Facts
Quick points for UGC NET, SET and PGT.
Title & Date
Volpone, or The Fox, first performed in 1606 by the King’s Men; printed in 1607 and in Jonson’s 1616 Folio.
Dedication
Dedicated to the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, where it had also been performed.
Genre
A satirical comedy and beast fable attacking greed, with a harsh moral ending.
Sources
Roman satire on legacy hunting, and Aesop’s fable of the fox who pretends to be dead.
Key Themes
Greed and gold, deception and disguise, and folly and punishment.
100+ Key Works of English Literature
All the character mind maps in one printed book.
