A Modern Day Volpone

Volpone was definitely filled with comedy but it was also very ironic and kinda tragic at the end. However, the characters definitely got what they were asking for by the end of the play. At the beginning of the play, I was not really sure where the play was going to end up. There were many turns and twists in the plot. There were also many sub-plots under the main plot. Jonson was definitely trying to make a statement on human nature, especially when it comes to greed. A majority of the characters are extremely self-serving, always wondering what they can do to help themselves. Even Mosca, who in the beginning of the play, was more concerned with obeying Volpone began to think more about himself than others by the end. The characters in this play would never put someone else over their own wants and needs and it ultimately leads to their downfall. I wonder if Jonson was commenting on what he believes should happen to people like this in real life. Does he think that people who are this greedy and care about themselves having it coming to them? Or in a perfect world, would justice be served?

When reading Volpone, I couldn't help but think of who I would cast to play these characters. As I begin reading, I took this play to be one in which we were supposed to be amused. This concept changed for me by the end of the play. However, I still believe that my original actors and characters could still pull off this interesting play. My first impression of Volpone was someone who had no reguard for anyone else. He did not care who he hurt, in fact, he got amusement out of the misery of others. A character that reminded me of Volpone in our modern media was Aldous Snow, played by Russel Brand, whose character was two big for just one movie. Aldous Snow appeared in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him to the Greek. This character is one who only cares about himself in the beginning of the movies. Although this character shows some soft sides throughout these movies, I still think his mischievous and self-serving character could fill the shoes of Volpone. While think about the other characters, I could not help but picture Jim and Dwight from The Office while reading the exchanges between Peregrine and Sir Politic especially in Act II, scene ii. Peregrine knows that Sir Politic is so gullible that he will believe anything that he says and it assumes him. Similarly, Jim plays tricks on Dwight or tells him outrageous stories that only Dwight would go along with in order to assume himself while at the office. This relationship takes a turn later in the play when Peregrine seeks revenge on Sir Politic. Jim and Dwight have definitely been at odds more than once during the show. The relationship between Peregrine and Sir Politic is a humorous but complicated one just like Jim and Dwight's.

These characters were the ones that really stuck out to me to cast easily, I'm still trying to figure out who could play the characters. What were some your ideas about who could be in this play while you were reading?