Discussion Topic
Volpone Subplot's Role and Significance
Summary:
The subplot in Ben Jonson's Volpone plays a crucial role in reinforcing the main plot's themes and providing comic relief. It features Peregrine and Sir Politic Would-Be, paralleling Volpone's deceitful antics by highlighting gullibility and vanity. Peregrine's trickery of Sir Politic echoes Volpone's manipulation of his suitors, emphasizing the world of deception in Venice. The subplot's humor lightens the play's mood, while also critiquing societal flaws, making it integral to the thematic exploration.
How does Volpone's subplot develop the main plot's thematic elements?
The subplot of this play concerns the two characters of Peregrine and the rather naive and foolish Sir Politic Would-Be. The key events in the subplot are the ways in which Sir Politic tries to present himself as an experienced traveller with an intimate knowledge of Venice, where the play is set. He also shares his ludicrous schemes for making money. Peregrine, rather more streetwise, sees through the pomp and vanity of Sir Politic Would-Be and determines to trick him for his own amusement.
There is a definite parallel in terms of theme and plot between the main plot of Volpone and his avarice and how this leads him to trick the various suitors who gather round his supposedly dying body and the way in which Peregrine fools Sir Politic Would-Be. Both Volpone and Peregrine show themselves to be very canny and intelligent individuals who are able to identify and...
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use the weaknesses of others against them for their own benefit. The only difference would be that the kind of revenge that Peregrine visits upon the poor Sir Politic is far more ridiculous than what Volpone does to the suitors. Making Sir Politic crawl across the floor pretendign to be a tortoise hurts only his pride and exposes him for the vain, pompous fool that he is.
What connects the two is the way that Venice is presented as a world made up of deceivers and the deceived. Jonson through the subplot and the example of poor Sir Politic seems to suggest that it is only a very brave or/and foolish Englishman who would enter such a brutal environment.
How significant is the subplot in Volpone?
One could argue that the subplot of Ben Jonson's Volpone lies in its existence as comic relief. Typically, comic relief, something used by many Elizabethan playwrights (like Shakespeare), is used to lighten the mood of a play (in one scene). Typically, the action has been revolving around sinister actions, deceit, and/or death, and comic relief allows the reader or viewer to take an emotional break from the seriousness of what is going on.
Prior to the introduction of the subplot, the play focuses upon Volpone's dishonest actions in amassing his fortunes. His latest con is convincing others that he is extremely ill in order to have extravagant gifts bestowed upon him.
The subplot happens in the following act—act 2. It is here that readers/viewers meet some of the secondary characters. For some, the second act illuminates the corruptible nature of society as a whole. Given that the vices of mankind are, essentially, split up between numerous different characters, their "flaws" do not seem as damning as Volpone's (since he possesses many). Instead, we are allowed to find humor in the behaviors of these characters because they seem to be more of a character flaw than anything.
We are not necessarily supposed to like the characters, but they seem to be far less intrusive and sinful as Volpone. Given this, many find that as the scene plays out, a little humor lightens the overall mood.