Who is William Shakespeare?

 William Shakespeare was born in 1564 at Stratford, a market town in the river of Avon. He was the eldest of eight

children of John Shakespeare (the three daughters died as children), a glover and soon become a bailiff (mayor)

and Mary Arden, a landowner’s daughter and has Catholic loyalty. His education is based on Latin grammar,

rhetoric, and composition; to speak English is forbidden in the upper form. At the church of the Holy Trinity,

which William attended by law of his father, he would also have learned much. He also saw the public life of the

town too. At the age of 15, he left school and after 3 years he married Anne Hathaway with three children. Later

on, people hear of William in London Theatre attacked in print by the university writer who warns other graduates

against an ‘Upstart Crow’ who supposes he is as well able to bombast out a blank verse as the best of you. This

upstart is in his own conceit the only Shake-scene in a country’. Shake-scene is Shakespeare, whose name is

found in various forms, some of them playful.

 Shakespeare’s family, early marriage and obscurity. First mentioned as a London player and playwright at the age

of 28. He came in on the crest of a wave of new poetic drama. Kyd and Marlowe died, leaving the stage to him.

He averaged two plays as year for twenty years: First comedy and history (a form of perfected), the tragedy, and

finally romance. He retired early, half of his plays being preserved only in the First Folio, introduced by this

successor, Jonson.

 Shakespeare lives because he is a playwright; his plays are re-created in daily performance in and beyond the

English-speaking world. He joined the theatre as it entered its great period, a time of general intellectual ferment,

cultural confidence and linguistic exuberance. Materials were to hand-classical and European literature re-created

in translation.

 He was known to be a man of sonnets that express the ideal love of the beauty of life.

 Glover means one that makes or sells gloves

 Bailiff means an official employed by a British sheriff to serve writs and make arrests and executions.
 Rhetoric means the art of speaking or writing effectively.
 Shake-scene means a scene-shifter: so called in contempt (in the passage quoted, with a punning allusion to the name of Shakspere).
 First Folio means the combination of the half of Shakespeare creation with classification of division of dramatic experience into comedy and tragedy
making it not pure or classical kind of play.
 Exuberance means liveliness and vibrancy.
 Sonnet contain finest love-poems: a fixed verse form of Italian origin consisting of 14 lines that are typically 5-foot iambics rhyming according to a
prescribed scheme and also: a poem in this pattern.

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Shakespearean Tragedy

Hamlet is one of the great tragedies of Shakespeare that do not conform strictly to a defined type, except that each

ends in the death of the hero, just as the comedies and marriage. Each finds the noble protagonist in an evil plight. In

Hamlet, it exclaims that “The time is out of joint. O cursed spite! That ever I was born to set it right”. Such mismatch is

one basis of tragedy; Hamlet is a humanist prince of Denmark, a Mafia family. Other examples are: In the Britain of Lear,

goodness has to go into exile or disguise if it is to survive. But Lear is partly responsible for his own tragedy, and Macbeth

almost entirely so: it is he who disjoint the time. Shakespeare didn’t adhere to one model, despite the continuing

popularity of ‘Tragic Flow’ theory of A. C Bradley, hence Bradley famously proposed that each tragic heroes has their

own flaw. This misapplies to Poetics of Aristotle, who did not speak of the protagonist’s character except to say that he

should be noble but not so noble that we cannot identify with him. Aristotle’s penetrating analysis was based on action,

finding that tragedy proceeds from a tragedy error as when Oedipus marries his own mother in ignorance rather than a

character flaw such as jealousy. The tragedy can be understood without Aristotle, even if Shakespeare knew of Aristotle’s

notion that a tragedy would inspire of feelings of “PITY and FEAR” as is suggested by the words “WOE and WONDER”

in Horatio line in Hamlet. Shakespeare does not exemplify Aristotle’s singleness of focus or unity in action: Hamlet is

exceedingly complex.

Hamlet: Prince of Denmark (1600)

 Characterized: Malignant Plotting, Cunning Death, and Madness

Hamlet is an entirely new kind of play, for his long soliloquies we are given unprecedented access to the thoughts and

feelings of Hamlet, an admirable hero in a horrible world. The prince is the ‘Expectancy and rose of the fair state’, the

ideal Renaissance prince lamented by Ophelia. The heir- apparent knows of the humanist ideal of human nature: ‘What a

piece of work is a man!’, But in practice, in the prison of Denmark, ‘Man delight not me’. Hamlet ponders, tests out the

king’s guilt, outwits those set to watch him, and reproaches his mother, but does not act. His madness is feigned, but he is

poisoned by the evil around him, mistreating Ophelia, sparing the life of Claudius when he finds him praying, in case

Claudius should be saved from eternal punishment. (A reason for not taking revenge too horrible to be read and uttered,

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by Johnson). Revenge tragedy is premised upon action and action to extremely deferred increase suspense. Only when

Hamlet is sent to England to be killed can he defend himself. He is relieved when he is challenged to a duel; once put out

of his mystery, he can act. The audience share his relieve. The concatenation of death in the last scene of Hamlet also

produces the strange aesthetic satisfaction peculiar to tragedy: if such dreadful things must be this is how they should

happen.

 Cowed means to destroy the resolve or courage of also: to bring to a state or an action by intimidation —used with into.
 Plight means an unfortunate, difficult, or precarious situation.
 Mismatch means a faulty or unsuitable match.
 Soliloquies means a poem, discourse, or utterance of a character in a drama that has the form of a monologue or gives the illusion of being a series
of unspoken reflections.
 Ponders means to think or consider especially quietly, soberly, and deeply.
 Feigned means not genuine or real and also: factitious, fake, and bogus.
 Peculiar means characteristic of only one person, group, or thing: Distinctive, Special, or Unusual.

Characters of Hamlet

 Hamlet-The protagonist of the tragedy, Hamlet is a beloved prince and a thoughtful, melancholy young man.

Distraught by his father’s death, Hamlet is only made more depressed by his uncle Claudius’ succession to the

throne and his subsequent marriage to his mother. When the ghost of the king, Hamlet’s father, tells him that he

was murdered by his brother Claudius and that Hamlet must avenge him, Hamlet becomes almost suicidal and

obsessed with revenge. He is slowly driven mad by his inability to act on this instruction. Very intelligent, Hamlet

decides to fake madness in order to fool his uncle and those loyal to him while he uncovers whether Claudius is

guilty for his father’s death, although often his mental health is genuinely in question. Worried about his own

guilt, Hamlet also becomes hateful, despising his uncle, voicing anger at his mother, frustrated with his traitorous

friends, and alienating Ophelia (whom he once courted). His anger borders on ruthlessness, and he is responsible

for numerous deaths throughout the play, but he never loses his reflective and melancholy traits.

 Claudius- is the play's antagonist, is the king of Denmark and Hamlet’s uncle. The one who killed the former

king who is his own brother by conniving strategy and married his own sister-in law, Gertrude. He remains

calculating and unloving throughout the play, driven by his ambition and lust. Later on plotted a plan togwther

with Laertes against Hamlet.

 Gertrude- is the queen of Denmark and Hamlet’s mother. She was originally married to Hamlet’s father, the dead

king, but has now married the new king Claudius, her former brother-in-law. She also enjoys the physical aspects

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 of her marriage to Claudius, a point that disturbs Hamlet. After the sword fight between Hamlet and Laertes,

Gertrude drinks the poisoned goblet meant for Hamlet and dies.

 The Ghost- is the one who claims to be Hamlet’s dead father, the former king of Denmark (also named Hamlet).

He appears as a ghost, informing Hamlet and others that he was murdered by his brother Claudius, who poured

poison into his ear while he slept.

 Horatio- is Hamlet’s best friend and confidant known for giving sound advice. As Hamlet lies dying at the end of

the play, Horatio considers suicide, but Hamlet convinces him to live on to tell the story.

 Polonius- is the main advisor to the king, also known as the Lord Chamberlain. Pompous and arrogant, Polonius

is also the overbearing father of Ophelia and Laertes. As Laertes sets off for France to continue his studies,

Polonius gives him paradoxical advice, including the famous quotation, "to thine own self be true”—an ironic line

from a man who cannot keep his advice consistent. When Hamlet goes to his mother’s bedchamber, attempting to

confront her about his father’s murder, he kills Polonius, who is hiding behind a tapestry and whom Hamlet

mistakes for the king.

 Ophelia- is Polonius’s daughter and Hamlet’s lover. She is obedient, agreeing not to see Hamlet anymore at her

father's suggestion and spying on Hamlet when asked by Claudius. She believes that Hamlet loves her, despite his

inconsistent courtship, and is devastated during a conversation in which he seems not to love her at all. When

Hamlet kills her father, Ophelia goes mad and drowns in the river. Whether this is a suicide is left ambiguous.

Ophelia is feminine and almost maidenly throughout the play, though she is able to counter Hamlet’s wit.

 Laertes- is Polonius’s son and Ophelia’s brother, as well as a clear foil to Hamlet. Where Hamlet is

contemplative and frozen by emotions, Laertes is reactive and quick to action. He raised a rebellion plan together

with Cladius against Hamlet when he found out that his father was killed by the prince. Unlike Hamlet, Laertes

will stop at nothing for revenge. At the end of the play, Hamlet kills Laertes; as he lays dying, Laertes admits to

Claudius’s plot to kill Hamlet.

 Fortinbras- is the prince of neighboring Norway. His father was killed by Hamlet’s father, and Fortinbras is

looking for revenge. Fortinbras arrives in Denmark just as the climax is reached. In the end, he becomes the next

king of Denmark.

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  Rosencrantz and Guildenstern- are two acquaintances of Hamlet who are asked to spy on the young prince in

order to figure out the cause of his madness. They accompanied Halmet to England. They have secret orders from

the king of England to behead Hamlet on arrival, but the ship is attacked by pirates, and when Rosencrantz and

Guildenstern arrive in England, their heads are chopped off instead.

The Summary of Hamlet

William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet takes place in Elsinore, Denmark after the death of King Hamlet. The tragedy

tells the story of Prince Hamlet's moral struggle after his father’s ghost tells him that Claudius, Prince Hamlet's uncle,

murdered the king.

 Act I: The play begins on a cold night with the changing of the guard. The king of Denmark has died, and his

brother Claudius has taken the throne. However, for the past two nights, the guards (Francisco and Bernardo)

have seen a restless ghost resembling the old king wandering the castle grounds. They inform Hamlet’s friend

Horatio of what they've seen. The next morning, the wedding of Claudius and Gertrude, the wife of the late king,

takes place. When the room clears, Hamlet soliloquizes on his disgust at their union, which he views as a betrayal

of his father at best and, at worst, incest. Horatio and the guards enter and tell Hamlet to meet the ghost that night.

Meanwhile, Laertes, the son of the king's advisor Polonius, is getting ready for school. He says goodbye to his

sister Ophelia, who is romantically interested in Hamlet. Polonius enters and lectures Laertes extensively on how

to behave at school. Both father and son then warn Ophelia about Hamlet; in response, Ophelia promises to no

longer see him. That night, Hamlet meets the ghost, who claims to be the ghost of the king—Hamlet's father. The

ghost says that he was murdered by Claudius, that Claudius put poison in his ear while he slept, and that Gertrude

slept with Claudius even before his death. The ghost orders Hamlet to avenge the murder, but not to punish his

mother. Hamlet agrees. Later, he informs Horatio and Marcellus, one of the guards that he will pretend to be mad

until he can get his revenge.

 Act II: Polonius sends a spy, Reynaldo, to France to keep an eye on Laertes. Ophelia enters and tells Polonius

that Hamlet entered her room in a mad state, grabbing her wrists and staring wildly into her eyes. She also adds

that she has cut off all contact with Hamlet. Polonius, certain that Hamlet is madly in love with Ophelia and that it
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 was Ophelia's rejection that put him in this state, decides to meet the king to concoct a plan to spy on Hamlet in

conversation with Ophelia. Meanwhile, Gertrude has asked Hamlet’s school friends Rosencrantz and

Guildenstern to try to figure out the cause of his madness. Hamlet is suspicious of them, and he evades their

questions. Soon, a theatre troupe arrives, and Hamlet requests that the following night they perform a certain

play, The Murder of Gonzago, with a few passages inserted written by Hamlet. Alone on stage, Hamlet voices his

frustration about his own indecisiveness. He decides he must figure out if the ghost is truly his father or if it is a

specter leading him to sin without reason. Because the play depicts of a king who kills his brother and marries his

sister-in-law, Hamlet believes that the performance scheduled for the next night will make Claudius show his

guilt.

 Act III: Polonius and Claudius spy on Hamlet and Ophelia as she returns the gifts he gave her. They become

confused when Hamlet spurns her, telling her to go to a nunnery. Claudius concludes that the cause of Hamlet's

madness is not his love for Ophelia, and decides that he should send Hamlet away to England, unless Gertrude

can figure out the true cause. During the performance of The Murder of Gonzago, Claudius stops the action just

after the scene in which poison is poured into the king's ear. Hamlet tells Horatio he is now certain that Claudius

murdered his father. In the next scene, Claudius attempts to pray in church, but his guilt prevents him from doing

so. Hamlet enters and readies himself to kill Claudius, but stops when he realizes that Claudius might go to

heaven if he is killed while praying. Gertrude and Hamlet have a bitter fight in her bedchamber. When Hamlet

hears a noise behind the tapestry, he stabs the intruder: it is Polonius, who dies. The ghost appears again, rebuking

Hamlet for his harsh words against his mother. Gertrude, who cannot see the ghost, becomes certain that Hamlet

is mad. Hamlet drags Polonius’s body offstage.

 Act IV: Hamlet jokes with Claudius about killing Polonius; Claudius, fearing for his own life, orders Rosencrantz

and Guildenstern to bring Hamlet to England. Claudius has prepared letters telling the English king to kill Hamlet

when he arrives. Gertrude is told that Ophelia has gone mad with the news of her father’s death. Ophelia enters,

sings a number of strange songs, and speaks of her father’s death, insinuating that her brother Laertes will get

revenge. Soon, Laertes enters and demands Polonius. When Claudius tells Laertes that Polonius is dead, Ophelia

enters with a bundle of flowers, each one is symbolic. Laertes, upset by his sister’s state, promises to listen to

Claudius’s explanation. A messenger approaches Horatio with a letter from Hamlet. The letter explains that

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 Hamlet snuck onto a pirate vessel that attacked them; after they parted, the pirates mercifully agreed to take him

back to Denmark in return for some favors. Meanwhile, Claudius has convinced Laertes to join him against

Hamlet. A messenger arrives with a letter for Claudius from Hamlet, announcing his return. Quickly, Claudius

and Laertes plot how to kill Hamlet without upsetting Gertrude or the people of Denmark, with whom Hamlet is

popular. The two men agree to arrange a duel. Laertes acquires a poison blade, and Claudius plans to give Hamlet

a poisoned goblet. Gertrude then enters with news that Ophelia has drowned, reigniting Laertes’s anger.

 Act V: While digging Ophelia’s grave, two gravediggers discuss her apparent suicide. Hamlet and Horatio enter,

and a gravedigger introduces him to a skull: Yorick, the old king’s jester whom Hamlet loved. Hamlet considers

the nature of death. The funeral procession interrupts Hamlet; Claudius, Gertrude, and Laertes are among the

entourage. Laertes jumps into his sister’s grave and demands to be buried alive. Hamlet reveals himself and

brawls with Laertes, exclaiming that he loved Ophelia more than forty thousand brothers could. After Hamlet’s

exit, Claudius reminds Laertes of their plan to kill Hamlet. Hamlet explains to Horatio that he read Rosencrantz

and Guildenstern’s letters, rewrote one demanding the beheading of his former friends, and swapped the letters

before escaping on the pirate ship. Osric, a courtier, interrupts with news of Laertes’s duel. At the court, Laertes

takes up the poisoned blade. After the first point, Hamlet refuses the poisoned drink from Claudius, from which

Gertrude then takes a sip. While Hamlet is unguarded, Laertes wounds him; they grapple and Hamlet wounds

Laertes with his own poisoned blade. Just then, Gertrude collapses, exclaiming she has been poisoned. Laertes

confesses the plan he shared with Claudius, and Hamlet wounds Claudius with the poisoned blade, killing him.

Laertes asks for Hamlet’s forgiveness, and dies. Hamlet asks Horatio to explain his story and declares Fortinbras

the next king of Denmark, then dies. Fortinbras enters, and Horatio promises to tell the story of Hamlet.

Fortinbras agrees to hear it, declaring that Hamlet will be buried as a soldier.

Themes of Hamlet

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 William Shakespeare's Hamlet is considered of the most thematically-rich works of literature in the English language.

The tragic play, which follows Prince Hamlet as he decides whether to revenge his father's death by murdering his uncle,

includes themes of appearance vs. reality, revenge, action vs. inaction, and the nature of death and the afterlife.

 Appearance vs. Reality

Appearance versus reality is a recurrent theme within Shakespeare’s plays, which often question the boundary

between actors and people. At the beginning of Hamlet, Hamlet finds himself questioning how much he can trust the

ghostly apparition. Is it really the ghost of his father, or is it an evil spirit meant to lead him into murderous sin? The

uncertainty remains central to the narrative throughout the play, as the ghost's statements determine much of the

narrative’s action.

Hamlet’s madness blurs the line between appearance and reality. In Act I, Hamlet clearly states that he plans to

feign madness. However, over the course of the play, it becomes less and less clear that he is only pretending to be mad.

Perhaps the best example of this confusion takes place in Act III, when Hamlet spurns Ophelia leaving her utterly

confused about the state of his affection for her. In this scene, Shakespeare brilliantly reflects the confusion in his choice

of language. As Hamlet tells Ophelia to “get thee to a nunnery,” an Elizabethan audience would hear a pun on “nunnery”

as a place of piety and chastity as well as the contemporary slang term “nunnery” for brothel. This collapse of opposites

reflects not only the confused state of Hamlet’s mind, but also Ophelia’s (and our own) inability to interpret him correctly.

This moment echoes the broader theme of the impossibility of interpreting reality, which in turn leads to Hamlet's struggle

with revenge and inaction.

 Revenge and Action vs. Inaction

Revenge is the catalyst for action in Hamlet. After all, it is the ghost’s injunction to Hamlet to seek revenge for his

death that forces Hamlet into action (or inaction, as the case may be). However, Hamlet is no simple drama of vengeance.

Instead, Hamlet continually puts off the revenge he is supposed to seize. He even considers his own suicide instead of

killing Claudius; however, the question of the afterlife, and whether he would be punished for taking his own life, stays

his hand. Similarly, when Claudius decides he must have Hamlet killed off, Claudius sends the prince to England with a

note to have him executed, rather than doing the deed himself.
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 In direct contrast to the inaction of Hamlet and Claudius is the forceful action of Laertes. As soon as he hears of his

father’s murder, Laertes returns to Denmark, ready to wreak revenge on those responsible. It is only through careful and

clever diplomacy that Claudius manages to convince the enraged Laertes that Hamlet is at fault for the murder.

Of course, at the end of the play, everyone is revenged: Hamlet’s father, as Claudius dies; Polonius and Ophelia, as

Laertes kills Hamlet; Hamlet himself, as he kills Laertes; even Gertrude, for her adultery, is killed drinking from the

poisoned goblet. In addition, Prince Fortinbras of Norway, who was searching for revenge for his father’s death at

Denmark’s hands, enters to find most of the offending royal family killed. But perhaps this fatally interlocking network

has a more sobering message: namely, the destructive consequences of a society that values vengeance.

 Death, Guilt, and the Afterlife

From the very beginning of the play, the question of death looms. The ghost of Hamlet’s father makes the audience

wonder about the religious forces at work within the play. Does the ghost’s appearance mean Hamlet’s father is in heaven,

or hell?

Hamlet struggles with the question of the afterlife. He wonders whether, if he kills Claudius, he will end up in hell

himself. Particularly given his lack of trust in the ghost’s words, Hamlet wonders if Claudius is even as guilty as the ghost

says. Hamlet's desire to prove Claudius's guilt beyond all doubt results in much of the action in the play, including the

play-within-a-play he commissions. Even when Hamlet comes close to killing Claudius, raising his sword to murder the

oblivious Claudius in church, he pauses with the question of the afterlife in mind: if he kills Claudius while he is praying,

does that mean Claudius will go to heaven? (Notably, in this scene, the audience has just witnessed the difficulty Claudius

faces in being able to pray, his own heart burdened by guilt.)

Suicide is another aspect of this theme. Hamlet takes place in era when the prevailing Christian belief asserted that

suicide would damn its victim to hell. Yet Ophelia, who is considered to have died by suicide, is buried in hallowed

ground. Indeed, her final appearance onstage, singing simple songs and distributing flowers, seems to indicate her

innocence, a stark contrast with the allegedly sinful nature of her death.

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 Hamlet grapples with the question of suicide in his famous "to be, or not to be" soliloquy. In thus considering suicide,

Hamlet finds that “the dread of something after death” gives him pause. This theme is echoed by the skulls Hamlet

encounters in one of the final scenes; he is amazed by the anonymity of each skull, unable to recognize even that of his

favorite jester Yorick. Thus, Shakespeare presents Hamlet’s struggle to understand the mystery of death, which divides us

from even seemingly the most fundamental aspects of our identity.

Fun Fact: Shakespeare’s son, who died at age 11, was named Hamnet; he may have been an inspiration for the tragic

character Hamlet.

Shakespearean Comedy

His early works are mostly comedy and history, kinds of play more open and inclusive than tragedy. Comedy

came easily to Shakespeare. Half of his dramatic output is comic, and his earlier critics from Jonson to Johnson, preferred

his comedy. Comedy was easier to write than history: there was a repertory to hand in Roman comedy and medieval

romance, and the humanist wit and polish of Lyly. To write a history, Shakespeare had to run chronicle into drama, but in

comedy he had a stock of devices already proven on the stage- disguise, mistaken identity, the contrasting perspectives on

love of men and women, parents and children, masters and servants. Alternation of perspective, contrast and variety

became a structural principle in all his plays.

As you like it (1598-1600)

It is five-act comedy by William Shakespeare, written and performed about 1598–1600 and first published in

the First Folio of 1623. Shakespeare based the play on Rosalynde (1590), a prose romance by Thomas Lodge.

Shakespeare kept the basic plot but made changes necessary to make the story more playable on the stage, and added

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more realistic characters such as Jaques, Touchstone, William and Audrey. The play has many of the aspects of the

pastoral romance, one of the most popular forms of literature during Renaissance. Pastoral works, including poetry,

novels, and plays, dealt with the countryside and country people, often shepherds. The play suggests a Robbin Hood kind

of existence in the living conditions of the banished duke and his followers. The central plot, as developed by Shakespeare

rather than Lodge, deals with the romance of Rosalind and Orlando. Rosalind loves Orlandos but masquerade as a boy

until she is sure of his love. Then she removes her disguise, and the play ends with these two getting married. There are

various subplots involving the two dukes and the love stories of the other characters. However, Rosalinda and Orlando are

the focus of attention. One of the most interesting characters in the play is the comic Touchstone, who as a “City Dweller”

is contrasted with the shepherds and rustics whom he meets. Touchstone is witty and conceited, but we learn to like him

because of his faithfulness and honesty. Another interesting character is Jaques, who contributes nothing to the plot but

whose personality is very well developed. Although not considered one of Shakespeare’s greatest plays, As You Like It

has always been popular because of its lightness and charm.

Characters of As You Like It

 Rosalind/ Ganymede- She's the daughter of the banished Duke Senior and a cousin and a dear friend to Celia

who was with her running away to the Forest of Arden in search of freedom. She's also the saucy, cross-dressing

lover of Orlando. She puts on a brave face and. This girl is not only adventurous, but she's also gutsy.

 Orlando- is the youngest son of the late Sir Rowland de Boys. He's also the younger brother of the nasty tyrant

Oliver and lover of Rosalind. He was a troubled teenager. He stands up to his bully of a big brother, picks a fight

with a bigger guy, runs away to the Forest of Arden, and then tags up all the trees with poems about his girlfriend.

 Celia/ Aliena- is the daughter of Duke Frederick, cousin to Rosalind, and a general balance to Rosalind's foolish
love.
 Jaques- is one of Duke Senior's attendants and he's got a well-deserved reputation for being "melancholy." We

might even say that Jaques enjoys being sad and mopey because he purposefully seeks out experiences that are

depressing.

 Touchstone- starts off as Duke Frederick's court fool and ends up being Rosalind and Celia's partner-in-crime for

their runaway adventure. As a "licensed fool," he literally has a license to say whatever he wants. Touchstone is

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 brilliant, he's insightful about human nature and has a quick wit. Touchstone laughs at himself as easily as he

laughs at others. He's raunchy, funny, and observant, and never fails to provide a witty perspective on the

serendipity and capricious madness that characterize the entire play.

 Oliver de Boys- is the oldest son of Sir Rowland de Boys, which makes him the older brother of Orlando and

Jaques de Boys (not to be confused with Jaques the melancholy clown). Because he's the oldest, Oliver has

inherited just about all of his dead father's fortune and he's also been put in charge of looking after his little

brothers.

 Duke Senior- is the play's glass-half-full character. The first time we meet him in the Forest of Arden, he's living

in exile because his little brother (Frederick) has stolen his dukedom. He was the father of Rosalind. Despite the

fact that he's been betrayed by his own brother and now lives in a cave, Duke Senior doesn't let anything get him

down. He tells us that, even though Arden is cold, windy, and rugged, it seems like the Garden of Eden to him

because, in Arden, he finds "books in the running brooks”, or Sermons in the stones, and good in everything”.

 Duke Frederick- is the one who banished his older brother from court and has also stolen his title. He was the

father of Celia and the uncle of Rosalind.

 Adam- is the guy who's spent his entire life serving the de Boys family: He's crazy old and he's crazy loyal. When

Adam learns that Oliver wants to kill Orlando, he gives Orlando his entire life savings and flees with him to the

Forest of Arden for safety.

 Silvius- is a young shepherd who is madly love with Phoebe, a snobby shepherdess who thinks she's way too

good for Silvius.

 Phoebe- a shepherdess.

 Corin- is an old shepherd and a native of Arden. He's also a really nice guy. Corin is a stock figure, the "kindly

and generous old shepherd" who shows up a lot in "pastoral" literature. Despite the fact that Corin is poor and can

hardly afford to be hospitable (he doesn't even have food in his cottage), he offers to shelter Rosalind and Celia

when they ask him for help.

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  Charles- He's the neck-snapping, rib-cracking, limb-shattering court wrestler who's ordered to kill Orlando

during an upcoming match in Act 1, Scene 1.

 Audrey- is a country bumpkin-ette looking for love. A country wrench. When she's not busy herding goats, she's

getting cozy with Touchstone. Audrey's not particularly bright, so it's a bit of a surprise when witty Touchstone

declares that he's going to marry her. Whereas Touchstone spends most of his time running linguistic circles

around everyone, Audrey has a very hard time with basic vocabulary.

 William- is the country bumpkin who is in love with Touchstone's girl, Audrey.

The Summary of As You Like It

Rosalind and her cousin escape into the forest and find Orlando, Rosalind's love. Disguised as a boy shepherd,

Rosalind has Orlando woo her under the guise of "curing" him of his love for Rosalind. Rosalind reveals she is a girl and

marries Orlando during a group wedding at the end of the play.

Act I: Orlando, the youngest son of the recently-deceased Sir Rowland de Boys, is treated harshly by his eldest brother,

Oliver. Bitter and angry, Orlando challenges the court wrestler, Charles, to a fight. When Oliver learns of the fight, Oliver

tells Charles to injure Orlando if possible.

Duke Frederick has recently deposed his brother, Duke Senior, as head of the court who is now living in the

Forest of Arden. But he allowed Senior's daughter, Rosalind, to remain, and she and Celia, the new Duke's daughter,

watch the wrestling competition. During the match, Rosalind falls in love with Orlando and thinks Orlando is the

dreamiest boy she's ever laid eyes on and Orlando feels the same way about her. The two fall in love faster. Rosalind

gives Orlando her necklace, which means the two are officially an item.

Act II: Things go downhill from there. Orlando finds out that his big brother Oliver is planning to burn his house down

(with Orlando in it), so he runs away to the Forest of Arden. Since he's broke he takes his old family servant Adam along

for the adventure. This is a good thing because Adam ponies up his entire life savings to help cover the cost of the road

trip. At the same time, and seemingly without cause, Duke Frederick banishes Rosalind because he doesn't like the fact
13
that Rosalind is more popular than his daughter, Celia. Rosalind decides to run away to the Forest of Arden, which,

apparently, is the destination of choice for exiles. To avoid being the target of rapists and thieves, Rosalind decides that

she'll dress as a boy and call herself "Ganymede." Cousin Celia is so devoted that she decides to run away too and she

disguises herself as "Ganymede's" sister "Aliena," as in Celia is now alienated from her father. Just for kicks, the girls

decide to invite the court fool, Touchstone, along with them.

Cut to the Forest of Arden, where we meet Rosalind's dad, Duke Senior. He's a pretty happy-go-lucky guy for

being a banished duke, and he tells us that Arden is a lot like the Garden of Eden, except for the fact that Arden is lot

colder and windier.

Meanwhile, Orlando and his servant Adam are starving because they have no idea how to find food in the forest.

Adam passes out and Orlando promises to find him some dinner. Luckily, Orlando stumbles upon Duke Senior and his

band of "merry men" sitting down to a mouth-watering banquet. Orlando crashes the party and threatens to kill everyone

if they don't give him something to eat, like, right now. The Duke is all "chill out, and bring Adam, too." Orlando and

Adam make a ton of new friends at the banquet, including "melancholy" Jaques.

Act III: In the Forest of Arden, the weary cousins meet an old shepherd named Corin in their settlement in the forest, who

advised them about the cottage or shelter that comes with its own flock of sheep and plenty of land for grazing and

happen to meet a local named Silvius, a lovesick shepherd. Silvius was in the act of declaring his feelings for Phoebe, a

scornful shepherdess. Ganymede buys the lease to the property of an old shepherd who needs someone to manage his

estate. Ganymede and Aliena set up home in the forest. Not far away, and unaware of the newcomers, Duke Senior is

living a simple outdoor life with his fellow exiled courtiers and huntsmen. Their merriment is interrupted by the arrival of

Orlando, who seeks nourishment for himself and his servant. The two men are welcomed by the outlaw courtiers.

Ganymede and Aliena find verses addressed to Rosalind hung on the forest branches by Orlando. Ganymede finds

Orlando and proposes to cure Orlando of his love. To do this, Orlando will woo Ganymede as if he were Rosalind (even

though "he" really is . . . Rosalind). Orlando consents and visits Ganymede/Rosalind every day for his lessons. Orlando

generously offers to pretend to be Rosalind/Ganymede, so that Orlando can practice all of his best moves in the romance

department. Orlando, who has no idea "Ganymede" is actually the girl he loves, takes the bait and even participates in a

pretend wedding. In the meantime, the shepherdess Phoebe has fallen for Ganymede while the shepherd Silvius still
14
pursues her. Furthermore, Touchstone, the court fool, has dazzled a country girl, Audrey, with his courtly manners.

Audrey deserts her young suitor, William, for him.

Act IV: When Duke Frederick hears Orlando disappeared at the same time as Rosalind and Celia, he orders Oliver to the

forest to seek his brothe and to kill it by his ownr. But in the forest, Orlando saves Oliver's life, injuring his arm in the

process from the ferocious lion and decide not to kill his brother anymore. Oliver runs into Ganymede and Aliena in the

forest and relates this news. Rosalind (disguised as Ganymede) is overcome with her feelings for Orlando. Celia

(disguised as Aliena) and Oliver quickly fall in love with one another. Seeing Oliver and Celia so happy makes Orlando

sad. Even though it's been fun pretend-romancing "Ganymede," Orlando says he can't live another day without the real

Rosalind. "Ganymede" takes pity and promises Orlando that he'll get to marry his girl the very next day. Then

"Ganymede" promises that all the lovesick characters will be getting hitched tomorrow . Rosalind decides that it is time to

end her game with Orlando and devises a plan in which everyone will get married.

Act V: As Ganymede, Rosalind promises Phoebe that they will marry, Celia will marry Oliver, Touchstone will marry

Audrey, and Orlando will marry Rosalind. She makes Phoebe promise that if they, for some reason, don't get married,

Phoebe will marry Silvius instead.

On the day of the wedding, and with the help of the god Hymen, Rosalind reappears in her female clothes. Duke Senior

gives her away to Orlando, while Phoebe accepts Silvius. Orlando's other older brother returns from college with the news

that Celia's father, Duke Ferdinand, has left court to become a hermit. Thus, everyone is happy (except maybe Phoebe,

who marries someone she doesn't love and Silvius, who marries someone who doesn't love him). The play ends with a

joyful dance to celebrate the four marriages. Before all of the couples get a chance to smash wedding cakes into each

others' faces, Orlando's brother, Jaques de Boys (not to be confused with melancholy Jaques), shows up with news that

Duke Frederick has decided to give back Duke Senior's dukedom. Apparently, Frederick entered the forest ready to kill

his brother, but met a "religious man" along the way and experienced a sudden conversion. Like we said, things happen

fast in Arden.

Duke Senior can't wait to return to court and promises to restore all the exiles to their proper social stations—including his

new son-in-law Orlando, who will inherit his dukedom. For now, though, he says that everyone should party like it's 1599.
15
The Themes of as You Like It

 Love

As You Like It is obsessed with the nature of love and desire. In the play, Shakespeare demonstrates over and over

again how love can make people do some pretty risky and foolish things. In particular, the play spends a lot of time

critiquing the artificiality of "courtly" romance and reminds us of the silliness of assuming the clichéd pose of a

"Petrarchan lover", something that involves a lot of dramatic sighing, sadness, and frustration over an unattainable girl

(check out "Characters: Orlando" for more on that).

As a Shakespearean comedy, As You Like It steadily works its way toward marriage (four of 'em!). Yet, the play is

more than a little anxious about what happens after a couple gets hitched. Shakespeare raises the possibility that

heterosexual unions aren't everything they're cracked up to be—hence, the numerous cuckold jokes that suggest all men

(regardless of age and social status) are destined to be cheated on by unfaithful wives. To complicate matters further, the

play also explores the possibilities of same-sex desire between Phoebe and Rosalind, Rosalind and Celia, and

"Ganymede" and Orlando.

 Folishness and Folly

As You Like It makes it clear that human beings can be pretty ridiculous, so, naturally, much of the play is spent

poking fun of foolish behavior—from Orlando's silly notion that love should look like a 14th-century Italian Hallmark

card to Jaques's melancholy and highly clichéd outlook on life. Touchstone, the character who does most of the mocking

in the play, just happens to be a "licensed fool." Like Shakespeare's other fools, Touchstone's quick wit and insight into

human nature allow him to point out the folly of those around him, even as he participates in clowning and foolery.

Despite its critique of human folly, As You Like It also acknowledges that foolishness and folly are the very things that

make us human. And if we can recognize this, we're way ahead of the game. As Touchstone (channeling Socrates) points

out "The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man/ knows himself to be a fool.

 Contrast Religion

By contrasting the treacherous French court with the idealized Forest of Arden, As You Like It participates in an age-

old debate of pastoral literature—is city life better than country life? On the one hand, the court is a cutthroat place where
16
corruption and family treachery are all too common, while the Forest of Arden is a place of simplicity, freedom, and self-

discovery for the exiles seeking its refuge. On the other hand, despite its appeal, the forest is only a temporary sanctuary

for Shakespeare's city-slickers. In the end, most of the cast high-tails it back to court, where, presumably, they will make it

a better place. So much for roughing it.

 Gender

Like Twelfth Night and The Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare's As You Like It features a cross-dressing heroine whose

disguise allows Shakespeare to explore the fluidity of gender. When Rosalind flees into the woods for safety, she

disguises herself as an attractive young boy, "Ganymede," challenging traditional ideas about what it means to be a man

or a woman. Rosalind's gender-bending game of make-believe is complicated even further by the fact that the actor

playing the role of "Rosalind" would have been a boy, since women weren't allowed to perform on Shakespeare's public

stage. In As You Like It, Shakespeare makes it clear that gender roles can be imitated and performed—in theater and in

real life.

 Family

Domestic drama is par for the course in Shakespeare's comedies. In As You Like It, family treachery and betrayal drive

the play's action and also remind us that relatives cannot always be counted on to be loyal or loving. (After all, we're

talking about a play that features a duke who has stolen his older brother's title and another man who hires a wrestler to

snap his little brother's neck. In fact, cousins Celia and Rosalind seem to enjoy the only loving familial relationship until

the final act.).

Like King Lear and Henry IV Part 1 and Part 2, As You Like It is largely preoccupied with the unfairness

of primogeniture and all the privileges one receives simply for being the first born in a family. It explores the social

problems that can arise when oldest sons inherit all of their fathers' titles, land, and wealth, leaving younger brothers with

virtually nothing. Because As You Like It is a comedy, though, all of the family drama is resolved by the play's end and

domestic order is restored... for the most part.

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  Transformation

Transformation is a big deal in As You Like It. In the Forest of Arden, some characters transform through the ancient

art of cross-dressing, while others shrug off their city-slicker identities and live as rustic country-types. Physical

transformations aren't the only big changes at work in the play's pastoral setting. Except for the endlessly melancholy

Jaques, most characters undergo some sort of psychological or spiritual transformation in Arden. Often, these

"conversions" are sudden and seemingly miraculous, as is the case with Duke Frederick and Oliver, who change their evil

ways upon entering the woods.

At times, this theme allows Shakespeare to explore the nature of the theatre which requires actors to transform

themselves on an ever-changing stage. At other times, the characters' physical and spiritual conversions allow

Shakespeare to comment on humanity—we may be deeply flawed, but we are also capable of changing for the better.

Who is Ben Jonson?

 Born at year 1575 and died at year 1632, known to be an eight year Shakespeare’s junior and his successor. They

acted in each other play. Jonson wrote Shakespeare was the greatest of writers, and that he ‘loved the man, this

side of idolatry’; he also mentioned his small Latin and less Greek and his carelessness.

 He worked with his step- father, a bricklayer, and served as a soldier in the Low Countries, killing an enemy

champion in a single combat. In 1598, he killed a fellow-player in self-defence that made him in prison and he

was twelve years a Papist.

 He was a playwright, poet, critic, and a man of letters in his generation making as the “Great poet and Great

Dramatist”. He was also known through his moral satire (motive of his comedy), criticism, social verse, and self-

portraits.

 His ridicule of the deformations of contemporary life is ferocious but farcical: although he held that comedy does

not derive from laughter, we laugh more, and harder, at his comedies than Shakespeare’s because he has

renaissance idea that comedy laugh us out of vices and follies. Comedy is an imitation of the common errors of

life, which he represent in the most ridiculous and scornful sort that may be, so as it is impossible that any

beholder can be content to be such a one.

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  His characters of Comedy-of-humour are caricatures ruled by a single idea and classical focus which involve

unbalanced the temperament, making it phlegmatic, bilious, sanguine, melancholy, choleric, and trickery.

 Papist means usually disparaging: ROMAN CATHOLIC.

 Ridicule means to make fun of.
 Ferocious means exhibiting or given to extreme fierceness and unrestrained violence and brutality.
 Farcical means laughing incept: comedic.
 Phlegmatic means having or showing a slow and stolid temperament: unemotionally or stolid.
 Bilious means sickeningly unpleasant.
 Sanguine means marked by eager hopefulness: confidently optimistic and blood-thirsty.
 Choleric means easily moved to often unreasonable or excessive anger: hot-tempered.

Volpone (1605)

It’s written in Venice, Italy at year 1605 over the course of one day derived from the Italian term “Old Fox”.

Volpone is a rich man and a cousin of Sir Epicure. The play begins with ‘Good morrow of the day; and next day, my

gold! Open the shrine, that I may see my saint’. He and his servant Mosca (fly) trick a series of fortune- hunters, Voltore,

Cobaccio, and Corvino: each makes him a gift in the hope of becoming his heir. Corvino (Crow) is persuaded that the

bedridden Volpone is so deaf that he must be at death’s door: Mosca yells into Volpone’s ear that his ‘hangiing cheeks…

look like fozen dish-clouts, set on end. ‘Corvino tries comically hard, but cannot match Mosca’s Cockney insult. Mosca

suggest Corvino t5to invite Volpone to enjoy his young wife Celia. Before taking advantage of Corvino’s generosity,

Voplone sings a sprightly song, adapted from Catullus: ‘Come, my Celia, Let us prove. While we spies?’. His rape is

foiled, but his fantastic tricks come to an end only when, in order to enjoy the discomfiture of thye birds of carrion, he

makes Mosca his heir and pretends to die. Mosca tries to double-cross Volpone and so on, in a court-room climax,

Volpone has to prove he is alive. Put in irons until he is as ill as he pretends to be, he exit with: ‘This is called mortifying

of a Fox’. This savagely moral caricature on avarice is also wonderfully entertaining; Volpone is allowed to speak the

witty epilogue.

 Sprightly means marked by a gay lightness and vivacity: SPIRITED.

 Discomfiture means an act of confusion, disconcertment, or embarrassment.
 Mortifying means causing feelings of strong shame or embarrassment.
 Avarice means excessive or insatiable desire for wealth or gain: GREEDINESS.

Characters of Volpone

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 Volpone- The protagonist of the play. Volpone's name means "The Fox" in Italian. He is lustful, lecherous, and

greedy for pleasure. He is also energetic and has an unusual gift for rhetoric, mixing the sacred and the profane to

enunciate a passionate commitment to self-gratification. He worships his money, all of which he has acquired

through cons, such as the one he now plays on Voltore, Corbaccio, and Corvino. Volpone has no children, but he

has something of a family: his parasite, Mosca, his dwarf, Nano, his eunuch, Castrone, and his hermaphrodite,

Androgyno. Mosca is his only true confidante, and he begins to lust feverishly after Celia upon first setting eyes

on her.

 Mosca- Mosca is Volpone's parasite, a combination of his slave, his servant, his lackey, and his surrogate child.

Though initially (and for most of the play) he behaves in a servile manner towards Volpone, Mosca conceals a

growing independence he gains as a result of the incredible resourcefulness he shows in aiding and abetting

Volpone's confidence game. Mosca's growing confidence, and awareness that the others in the play are just as

much "parasites" as he—in that they too would rather live off the wealth of others than do honest work—

eventually bring him into conflict with Volpone, a conflict that destroys them both.

 Celia- The voice of goodness and religiosity in the play, Celia is the wife of Corvino, who is extremely beautiful,

enough to drive both Volpone and Corvino to distraction. She is absolutely committed to her husband, even

though he treats her horribly, and has a faith in God and sense of honor, traits which seem to be lacking in both

Corvino and Volpone. These traits guide her toward self- restraint and self-denial. Her self-restraint makes her a

foil for Volpone, who suffers a complete absence of that quality.

 Voltore- One of the three legacy hunters or carrion-birds—the legacy hunters continually circle around Volpone,

giving him gifts in the hope that he will choose them as his heir. Voltore is a lawyer by profession, and, as a

result, he is adept in the use of words and, by implication, adept in deceit, something he proves during the course

of the play. He is also something of a social climber, conscious of his position in his society and resentful at being

overtaken by others on the way up. (The Vulture)

 Corvino- An extremely vicious and dishonorable character, Corvino is Celia's jealous husband. He frequently

threatens to do disgusting acts of physical violence to her and her family in order to gain control over her. Yet he

is more concerned with financial gain than with her faithfulness, seeing her, in essence, as a piece of property.

Corvino is another one of the "carrion-birds" circling Volpone. (Carrion Crow)

 Corbaccio- The third "carrion-bird" circling Volpone, Corbaccio is actually extremely old and ill himself and is

much more likely to die before Volpone even has a chance to bequeath him his wealth. He has a hearing problem

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 and betrays no sign of concern for Volpone, delighting openly in (fake) reports of Volpone's worsening

symptoms. (The Raven)

 Bonario- The son of Corbaccio. Bonario is an upright youth who remains loyal to his father even when his father

perjures against him in court. He heroically rescues Celia from Volpone and represents bravery and honor,

qualities which the other characters seem to lack.

 Sir Politic Would-Be- An English knight who resides in Venice. Sir Politic represents the danger of moral

corruption that English travelers face when they go abroad to the continent, especially to Italy. He occupies the

central role in the subplot, which centers on the relationship between himself and Peregrine, another English

traveler much less gullible than the good knight. Sir Politic is also imaginative, coming up with ideas for

moneymaking schemes such as using onions to detect the plague, as well as the idea of making a detailed note of

every single action he performs in his diary, including his urinations.

 Lady Politic Would-Be- The Lady Politic Would-be is portrayed as a would-be courtesan. She was the impetus

for the Would-bes move to Venice, because of her desire to learn the ways of the sophisticated Venetians. She is

very well read and very inclined to let anyone know this, or anything else about her. She is extremely vain.

 Peregrine- Peregrine is a young English traveler who meets and befriends Sir Politic Would- be upon arriving in

Venice. Peregrine is amused by the gullible Would-be, but is also easily offended, as demonstrated by his adverse

reaction to Lady Politic Would-be's suggestive comments.

 Nano- Nano, as his named in Italian indicates ("nano" means "dwarf"), is a dwarf. He is also Volpone's fool, or

jester, keeping Volpone amused with songs and jokes written by Mosca.

 Castrone- The only notable fact about Castrone is that his name means eunuch ("castrone" means "eunuch" in

Italian). There is not much else to say about Castrone, as he has no speaking lines whatsoever.

 Androgyno- "Androgyno" means "hermaphrodite" in Italian, and as in the case of Nano and Castrone, the name

rings true. Androgyno apparently possesses the soul of Pythagoras, according to Nano, which has been in gradual

decline ever since it left the ancient mathematician's body.

Other Characters

 Avocatori- is one of the four Magistrates [a principal official exercising governmental powers over a major

political unit (such as a nation)]

 Notario- is the one who register

 Commandatori- is the officers

 Mercatori- are the three merchants

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  Servitore- is a servant

The Summary of Volpone

Act I: The play opens at the house of Volpone, a Venetian nobleman. He and his "parasite" Mosca—part slave, part

servant, part lackey—enter the shrine where Volpone keeps his gold. Volpone has amassed his fortune, we learn, through

dishonest means: he is a con artist. And we also learn that he likes to use his money extravagantly.

Soon, we see Volpone's latest con in action. For the last three years, he has been attracting the interest of three

legacy hunters: Voltore, a lawyer; Corbaccio, an old gentleman; and Corvino, a merchant—individuals interested in

inheriting his estate after he dies. Volpone is known to be rich, and he is also known to be childless, have no natural heirs.

Furthermore, he is believed to very ill, so each of the legacy hunters lavishes gifts on him, in the hope that Volpone, out of

gratitude, will make him his heir. The legacy hunters do not know that Volpone is actually in excellent health and merely

faking illness for the purpose of collecting all those impressive "get-well" gifts. Each legacy hunter arrives to present a

gift to Volpone, except for Corbaccio, who offers only a worthless (and probably poisoned) vial of medicine. But

Corbaccio agrees to return later in the day to make Volpone his heir, so that Volpone will return the favor. This act is a

boon to Volpone, since Corbaccio, in all likelihood, will die long before Volpone does. After each hunter leaves, Volpone

and Mosca laugh at each's gullibility. After Corvino's departure Lady Politic Would-be, the wife of an English knight

living in Venice, arrives at the house but is told to come back three hours later. And Volpone decides that he will try to get

a close look at Corvino's wife, Celia, who Mosca describes as one of the most beautiful women in all of Italy. She is kept

under lock and key by her husband, who has ten guards on her at all times, but Volpone vows to use disguise to get

around these barriers.

Act II: It portrays a time just a short while later that day, and we meet Sir Politic Would-be, Lady Politic's husband, who

is conversing with Peregrine, an young English traveler who has just landed in Venice. Sir Politic takes a liking to the

young boy and vows to teach him a thing or two about Venice and Venetians; Peregrine, too, enjoys the company of Sir

Politic, but only because he is hilariously gullible and vain. The two are walking in the public square in front of Corvino's

house and are interrupted by the arrival of "Scoto Mantua," actually Volpone in diguise as an Italian mountebank, or

medicine-show man. Scoto engages in a long and colorful speech, hawking his new "oil", which is touted as a cure-all for

disease and suffering. At the end of the speech, he asks the crows to toss him their handkerchiefs, and Celia complies.

Corvino arrives, just as she does this, and flies into a jealous rage, scattering the crows in the square. Volpone goes home

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and complains to Mosca that he is sick with lust for Celia, and Mosca vows to deliver her to Volpone. Meanwhile,

Corvino berates his wife for tossing her handkerchief, since he interprets it as a sign of her unfaithfulness, and he

threatens to murder her and her family as a result. He decrees that, as punishment, she will now no longer be allowed to

go to Church, she cannot stand near windows (as she did when watching Volpone), and, most bizarrely, she must do

everything backwards from now on–she must even walk and speak backwards. Mosca then arrives, implying to Corvino

that if he lets Celia sleep with Volpone (as a "restorative" for Volpone's failing health), then Volpone will choose him as

his heir. Suddenly, Corvino's jealousy disappears, and he consents to the offer.

Act III: It begins with a soliloquy from Mosca, indicating that he is growing increasingly conscious of his power and his

independence from Volpone. Mosca then runs into Bonario, Corbaccio's son, and informs the young man of his father's

plans to disinherit him. He has Bonario come back to Volpone's house with him, in order to watch Corbaccio sign the

documents (hoping that Bonario might kill Corbaccio then and there out of rage, thus allowing Volpone to gain his

inheritance early). Meanwhile Lady Politic again arrives at Volpone's residence, indicating that it is now mid-morning,

approaching noon. This time, Volpone lets her in, but he soon regrets it, for he is exasperated by her talkativeness. Mosca

rescues Volpone by telling the Lady that Sir Politic has been seen in a gondola with a courtesan (a high-class prostitute).

Volpone then prepares for his seduction of Celia, while Mosca hides Bonario in a corner of the bedroom, in anticipation

of Corbaccio's arrival. But Celia and Corvino arrive first—Celia complains bitterly about being forced to be unfaithful,

while Corvino tells her to be quiet and do her job. When Celia and Volpone are alone together, Volpone greatly surprises

Celia by leaping out of bed. Celia had expected and old, infirm man, but what she gets instead is a lothario who attempts

to seduce her with a passionate speech. Always the good Christian, Celia refuses Volpone's advances, at which point

Volpone says that he will rape her. But Bonario, who has been witnessing the scene from his hiding place the entire time,

rescues Celia. Bonario wounds Mosca on his way out. Corbaccio finally arrives, too late, as does Voltore. Mosca plots,

with Voltore's assistance, how to get Volpone out of this mess.

Act IV: A short while later, in the early afternoon, Peregrine and Sir Politic are still talking. Sir Politic gives the young

traveler some advice on living in Venice and describes several schemes he has under consideration for making a great deal

of money. They are soon interrupted by Lady Politic, who is convinced that Peregrine is the prostitute Mosca told her

about—admittedly, in disguise. But Mosca arrives and tells Lady Politic that she is mistaken; the courtesan he referred to

is now in front of the Senate (in other words, Celia). Lady Politic believes him and ends by giving Peregrine a seductive

goodbye with a coy suggestion that they see each other again. Peregrine is incensed at her behavior and vows revenge on

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Sir Politic because of it. The scene switches to the Scrutineo, the Venetian Senate building, where Celia and Bonario have

informed the judges of Venice about Volpone's deceit, Volpone's attempt to rape Celia, Corbaccio's disinheritance of his

son, and Corvino's decision to prostitute his wife. But the defendants make a very good case for themselves, led by their

lawyer, Voltore. Voltore portrays Bonario and Celia as lovers, Corvino as an innocent jilted husband, and Corbaccio as a

wounded father nearly killed by his evil son. The judge are swayed when Lady Politic comes in and (set up perfectly by

Mosca) identifies Celia as the seducer of her husband Sir Politic. Further, they are convinced when Volpone enters the

courtroom, again acting ill. The judges order that Celia and Bonario be arrested and separated.

Act V: Volpone returns home tired and worried that he is actually growing ill, for he is now feeling some of the

symptoms he has been faking. To dispel his fears, he decides to engage in one final prank on the legacy hunters. He

spreads a rumor that he has died and then tells Mosca to pretend that he has been made his master's heir. The plan goes off

perfectly, and all three legacy hunters are fooled. Volpone then disguises himself as a Venetian guard, so that he can gloat

in each legacy hunter's face over their humiliation, without being recognized. But Mosca lets the audience know that

Volpone is dead in the eyes of the world and that Mosca will not let him "return to the world of the living" unless Volpone

pays up, giving Mosca a share of his wealth.

Meanwhile, Peregrine is in disguise himself, playing his own prank on Sir Politic. Peregrine presents himself as a

merchant to the knight and informs Politic that word has gotten out of his plan to sell Venice to the Turks. Politic, who

once mentioned the idea in jest, is terrified. When three merchants who are in collusion with Peregrine knock on the door,

Politic jumps into a tortoise-shell wine case to save himself. Peregrine informs the merchants when they enter that he is

looking at a valuable tortoise. The merchants decide to jump on the tortoise and demand that it crawls along the floor.

They remark loudly upon its leg-garters and fine hand-gloves, before turning it over to reveal Sir Politic. Peregrine and the

merchants go off, laughing at their prank, and Sir Politic moans about how much he agrees with his wife's desire to leave

Venice and go back to England.

Meanwhile, Volpone gloats in front of each legacy hunter, deriding them for having lost Volpone's inheritance to a

parasite such as Mosca, and he successfully avoids recognition. But his plan backfires nonetheless. Voltore, driven to such

a state of distraction by Volpone's teasing, decides to recant his testimony in front of the Senate, implicating both himself

but more importantly Mosca as a criminal. Corvino accuses him of being a sore loser, upset that Mosca has inherited

Volpone's estate upon his death, and the news of this death surprises the Senators greatly. Volpone nearly recovers from

his blunder by telling Voltore, in the middle of the Senate proceeding, that "Volpone" is still alive. Mosca pretends to faint

and claims to the Senate that he does not know where he is, how he got there, and that he must have been possessed by a

24
demon during the last few minutes when he was speaking to them. He also informs the Senators that Volpone is not dead,

contradicting Corvino. All seems good for Volpone until Mosca returns, and, instead of confirming Voltore's claim that

Volpone is alive, Mosca denies it. Mosca, after all, has a will, written by Volpone and in his signature, stating that he is

Volpone's heir. Now that Volpone is believed to be dead, Mosca legally owns Volpone's property, and Mosca tells

Volpone that he is not going to give it back by telling the truth. Realizing that he has been betrayed, Volpone decides that

rather than let Mosca inherit his wealth, he will turn them both in. Volpone takes off his disguise and finally reveals the

truth about the events of the past day. Volpone ends up being sent to prison, while Mosca is consigned to a slave galley.

Voltore is disbarred, Corbaccio is stripped of his property (which is given to his son Bonario), and Corvino is publicly

humiliated, forced to wear donkey's ears while being rowed around the canals of Venice. At the end, there is a small note

from the playwright to the audience, simply asking them to applaud if they enjoyed the play they just saw.

The Argument

V olpone, childless, rich, feigns sick, despairs,

O ffers his state (poverty) to hopes of several heirs,

L ies languishing (to be or live in a state of depression or decreasing vitality); his Parasite receives

P resents all, assures, deludes (to mislead the mind or judgment of); then weaves

O ther cross plots, which ope (open) themselves, are told (exposed)

N ew tricks for safety are sought; they thrive; when, bold

E ach tempts ‘th other again, and all are sold (enslaved)

Themes of Volpone

 Greed
The theme of greed pervades the entire play. It is embodies by Volpone, Mosca, and all the "clients." In his opening

soliloquy, Volpone displays how utterly consumed by greed he is. In a sense, greed defines the major conflict of Volpone.

Volpone's scam is born of his own greed and fed by the greed of his "clients." After Mosca compares Celia's beauty to that

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of gold, Volpone's greed inspires unconquerable desire for her. Because greed is all that he knows, Volpone even resorts

to it as a tactic for seducing Celia. Ultimately, it is greed which causes Volpone and Mosca's downfall. Because they

cannot agree to share the fortune, Volpone unmasks himself and brings Mosca down with him.

 Animalization

Animalization, that is, Jonson's representation of characters as their namesake animals, transforms Volpone into a kind

of fable. Arguably, the characters are not as one-dimensional as their names might suggest, but their names are fitting,

memorable, and, most importantly, descriptive. If the names of Jonson's characters can be considered predictors of their

actions, then the majority of the play's action comes as no surprise to the audience. Combined with the Argument, the

Animalization theme reveals the motivations of every character. As a result, the audience can focus more readily on the

underlying meaning of the play instead of the how and the what.

 Parasitism

Although Mosca is the foremost parasite in the play, Corvino, Corbaccio, and Voltore might well be considered

parasites as well. Certainly, Volpone's entire scam depends on Mosca's keen ability to leech his clients, but if not for the

clients' desire to leech Volpone, the scam would fall flat. Volpone, Mosca, and all the clients are, in fact, competing

parasites.

Parasitism is an explicit theme of the play as it emerges from Mosca's soliloquy in 3.1. Here, Mosca expresses his

opinion that parasitism is a universal guiding principle: that is, everyone is a parasite, but some are better at it than others.

In the case of Volpone, this principle rings true. Few characters in the play act honestly; all seem willing, instead, to use

any means to secure Volpone's fortune. They are all parasites, flies and carrion birds competing over Volpone's dying

carcass. Only Mosca, however - the cleverest parasite of all - is fully aware of his parasitic status. Thus, arguably, he is

best able to manipulate others.

 Deception

Like greed, deception pervades the entire play. As a theme, deception has the effect of marking characters for

punishment. In the main plot of Volpone, Jonson's sense of poetic justice is such that any character who deceives another

is ultimately punished. Bonario and Celia, who never engage in deception but who are honest to the last, are exempted

from punishment. Meanwhile, Mosca, Volpone, and the rest of the clients all get their comeuppance.

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  Knowledge/Ignorance

At any given time during the course of the play's action, no characters on stage know as much as the audience;

they are all thus ignorant, though some are more ignorant than others. Jonson's extensive use of dramatic irony ensures

that only the audience is fully aware of each character's situation. Not even Mosca, the master puppeteer, knows that

Corvino and Celia will come to the door earlier than expected and that, as a result, Bonario will leap out and discover

Volpone's scam. Jonson plays with the knowing position of the audience, inviting us to consider their moral failings from

an unsurprised position. Thus he equates ignorance with moral chicanery and knowledge with moral instruction.

This knowledge-ignorance dialectic develops the conflict of both the main plot and the subplot. Sir Politic, who

epitomizes ignorance, and Peregrine, who epitomizes knowledge, clash in predictable ways. On the subject of the

mountebanks, for example, Peregrine has his reservations but Sir Politic declares that "They are the only knowing men of

Europe!" (2.2.9). And, however ironically, Peregrine is supposedly being instructed by Sir Politic in the ways of a

gentleman traveler. Sir Politic and Peregrine's interaction might best be summarized by the maxim which says, "Wise men

learn more from fools than fools from the wise."

 Carcass means the living, material, or physical body or the underlying structure or frame structure.
 Comeuppance means a deserved rebuke or penalty: DESERTS
 Chicanery means deception by artful subterfuge or sophistry: TRICKERY.

Bibiliography:
 Bate. J., The genius of Shakespeare (London: Picador, 1997)

 Dobson. M, and S. Wells (eds), The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001)

 Gurr. A., The Shakespeare Stage, 1574-1642, 3rd edn (Cambridge University press, 1992)

 Cassady. M., and P., An Introduction to Theatre and Drama (National Textbook Company USA, 1985)

 Kenan. A., and Young. R., The Yale of Ben Jonson (Yale University Press, 1962)

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