Rumination: Sarcasm in Volpone

When performed, written text often takes on a different meaning. Subtle literary references to character, sarcasm, and judgmental undertones become exaggerated in theatrical productions as to convey the meaning to the audience. For example, someone who is hinted at in the text as being overly materialistic may appear on stage in ridiculously gaudy attire. Similarly, a character who is hinted as secretly being a homosexual may take on a voice or stance on stage that is stereotypically indicative of being gay. While the text version of these productions are often more difficult to navigate through when looking for these subtle elements, they are rewarding in the sense that these elements are seen in their raw form. A deeper reading of texts such as Jonson's "Volpone" can help its readers to grasp onto some of these elements that can often be overlooked in reading - particularly the element of sarcasm, which is often difficult to convey through text.

When being tried, Celia is quoted as saying that "And heaven never fails the innocent." While perhaps these words were meant to be hopeful, they are loaded with sarcasm and come off as mildly humorous to the reader. They tie into our current day sayings about how the "good guy" always finishes last. Perhaps Jonson, the author, intended to use her words as a commentary on the way that heaven, God, and even our own society and governments DO fail the innocent. This scene however, is not the only place where sarcasm appears throughout the text.

In one scene, when Volpone makes his entrance Voltore cries out that "here's the ravisher, the rider on men's wives, the great impostor, the grand voluptuary!" but later goes on to change his position when he instead suggests that perhaps torturing Volpone would prove his sickness to be valid. When first reading this, I took his words literally and was very confused. However, a further investigation into the text showed that he was sarcastically suggesting the idea of torture - a suggestion that changed the air surrounding the situation and made other characters in the scene uneasy.

Taking into consideration later sarcastic references to wealth and old age, one can view Jonson's work as pretty humorous. To me, his writing is almost that of a comedy when you examine the spitfire dialogue between characters.