Volpone

Volpone
Poster for a 1939 production, part of the Federal Theatre Project
Written byBen Jonson
Date premieredSpring 1606
Place premieredGlobe Theatre, London
Original languageEarly Modern English
Subjectgreed, lust
Genrecomedy, city comedy
SettingVenice, Renaissance period
An illustration for an 1898 edition of Volpone by Aubrey Beardsley.

Volpone ([volˈpoːne], Italian for "sly fox") is a comedy play by English playwright Ben Jonson first produced in 1605–1606, drawing on elements of city comedy and beast fable. A merciless satire of greed and lust, it remains Jonson's most-performed play, and it is ranked among the finest Jacobean era comedies.[citation needed]