Volpone; Or, The Fox

In Venice, the rich and childless Volpone, 'the Fox', pretends to be dying so that greedy men will compete to become his heir by bringing him ever richer gifts. With his clever servant Mosca, 'the Fly', he fools a lawyer named Voltore, an old miser named Corbaccio, who disinherits his own son, and a merchant named Corvino, who is even willing to offer his young wife. But Mosca has plans of his own, and the trickery spirals out of control.

Ben Jonson (1572–1637), Shakespeare's friend and rival, wrote the comedy in 1605 or 1606, in five weeks, he boasted. Its characters are named after animals, as in a beast fable: Voltore is the vulture, Corbaccio the raven, Corvino the crow. It remains one of the sharpest satires of greed in English. Compare The Merchant of Venice.