The Deception in the Volpone In the Volpone, Ben Jonson emphasizes the fun and humor of the deception, but does not overlook its wickedness, and ultimately punishes the deceivers. The play centers on the wealthy Volpone who, having no wife or children, pretends to be dying and, with the help of his cunning servant Mosca, lays eggs on several greedy characters, each of whom hopes to become Volpone's sole heir . Jonson's ardent love of language is revealed throughout the work, but especially in the words of Mosca and Volpone, who appreciate the deceptive powers of language. Volpone himself pursues his plans partly out of greed, but partly out of his passionate love of getting the best out of people. He cannot resist the temptation to outwit those around him, especially when fate hands him perfect seagulls such as the lawyer Voltore, the merchant Corvino, the staggering old Corbaccio and the foolish English travelers Sir Politic and Lady Aspirante. Mosca also revels in his ability to deceive others, remarking "I fear I'll begin to fall in love / With my dear self", so enthusiastic is he at his own manipulations. His self-love, however, will prove to be his downfall, as in the case of Volpone. Both characters become so enthralled by their elaborate pretenses that they are unable to stop their intrigues before betraying each other. Jonson's audience would have recognized both the wily Volpone and the parasitic Mosca as stereotypically Italian. English playwrights often borrowed characters from Italian drama and the Italian comic dramatic tradition, the commedia dell'arte. Venice, Volpone's setting, evoked the glory of Italian art and culture, but also the decadence and corruption of Italy, which the English saw... middle of paper... tractions were well known for be more than just “a little smutty,” as she puts it. We are encouraged to laugh with Volpone and Mosca at the pretensions and hypocrisies of the self-styled Lady and the other ever-hopeful "heirs"; but in the end Jonson chooses to punish the deceivers and asks us to side, however reluctantly, with the Venetian Senate in condemning them. Voltore, Corvino and the others may well deserve to be deceived, but Volpone and Mosca are not agents of justice, and we should not confuse them with truly virtuous characters like Celia and Bonario. However, Jonson gives Volpone the last word in the play's epilogue, where Volpone asks us for forgiveness, and we find ourselves once again complicit with him. Ultimately we are invited to enjoy the delight of deception and language and to suspend, if only briefly, our moral judgments..