Avarice in Ben Jonsons Volpone Essay -- English Literature

What a rare punishment/Is rapacity to itself Volpone, Act 1, sc.iv.Do the events in the play confirm this?Volpone was written at a time when Jacobean London was infected withgreed, cunning and credulity. These traits Ben Jonson utilise to show thefolly of avarice and its rewards or punishment to those whose only jazz is money and appropriating more of it. Volpone is all aboutmorals, greed and the depths people testament sink to get what they want,despite its consequences on themselves and others.The Jacobean audiences were familiar with its vista in Venice andthey thought Italy was the land of sensational evil-doing. AmongItalian cities Venice ... stood in the preceding rank for this sinisterrepute. (Barish, 1972 65)So the choice of setting was deliberate, he wanted t...