After reading the whole drama, Volpone by Ben Jonson, the reader may be confused as they would not be able to lebel the play as a
comedy or a
tragedy or a
satire or a
fable. Actually there is nothing confusing matter in the play at all. Jonson combines all types of drama- tragedy, comedy, satire, beast fable to
entertain its reader. And thus the play becomes entertaining as well as moralizing. We know that the core object of a comedy or a tragedy is to entertain readers or the audience by make them laughing or crying and a satire moralizes the society- its people. Therefore through Volpone Jonson is trying to teach, moralize and at the same time entertain his audience.But there has been an argument between the critics of Volpone. According to some of them Volpone is a tragic comedy, some opine that it is a popular city comedy and some other mentions the play as a fable with a moral ending. Now let us discuss the issue. Jonson''s Volpone obviously has some comical elements especially in the subplot of Volpone. This Would-be plot is ridiculous as well as moralizing. There are some grave matters also in it; such as the corruption of the court and of the legacy hunters seem too us very tragic. It is also clear to us that Jonson''s Volpone is a satire to the contemporary British society and its people. Like a fable its characters have some animal names; it also has a moral. But it would be wrong to put it into a definite genre as the play does not satisfy all the characteristics or a tragedy, a comedy or a satire. Therefore Volpone remains a new sort of drama by Ben Jonson.