Ben Jonson

Study question Ben Jonson

Facts about Ben Jonson

➾ He was born two months after his father died.

➾ He initially followed his stepfather’s trade, working as a bricklayer.

➾ He fought with the English forces in the Netherlands with some success.

➾ In 1598, he killed a fellow actor in a duel.

➾ He escaped capital punishment for the killing by pleading “benefit of clergy” but was branded.

➾ During his brief imprisonment for the duel, he became a Roman Catholic.

➾ Despite being “twelve years a papist,” he was Protestant England’s first poet laureate.

➾ He was summoned to the consistory court in 1606 with his wife for not participating in the Anglican church.

➾ Between 1618 and 1619, he embarked on an extensive walking tour to Scotland.

➾ In 1623, his personal library was destroyed by fire.

➾ A stroke in 1628 confined him to his room and chair for the rest of his life.

Ben Jonson MCQs

1. When was Ben Jonson born?

A. August 6, 1637
B. June 11, 1572
C. March 25, 1598
D. June 11, 1605

B. June 11, 1572.
Ben Jonson was born on June 11, 1572, in London, England.

2. Where was Ben Jonson born?

A. Dublin, Ireland
B. London, Scotland
C. London, England
D. Paris, France

C. London, England.
Ben Jonson was born in London, England, shortly after his father’s death.

3. What was the trade of Jonson’s stepfather?

A. Actor and poet
B. Soldier and writer
C. Bricklayer
D. Impresario

C. Bricklayer.
His mother married a master bricklayer about two years after his father’s death.

4. Which school did Jonson attend?

A. Oxford University
B. St. Paul’s School
C. Westminster School
D. Cambridge School

C. Westminster School.
Jonson attended Westminster School before his stepfather forced him to leave his education early.

5. Which country did Jonson fight in early on?

A. The Netherlands
B. Spain
C. France
D. Ireland

A. The Netherlands.
Disliking the bricklayer trade, Jonson went to the Low Countries (The Netherlands) and fought with English forces.

6. What career did Jonson pursue immediately after returning from fighting?

A. Bricklayer and poet
B. Actor and playwright
C. Soldier and critic
D. Teacher and scholar

B. Actor and playwright.
After returning from the Netherlands, he joined the theatrical world as both an actor and a playwright.

7. What leading role did Jonson reportedly play as an actor?

A. Macbeth in Macbeth
B. Hieronimo in The Spanish Tragedy
C. Dr. Faustus
D. King Lear

B. Hieronimo in The Spanish Tragedy.
He worked as an actor and is believed to have played the leading role of Hieronimo in The Spanish Tragedy.

8. Which impresario was Jonson writing plays for by 1597?

A. William Shakespeare
B. Lord Chamberlain
C. Philip Henslowe
D. Inigo Jones

C. Philip Henslowe.
By 1597, Jonson was writing original and collaborative plays for Philip Henslowe’s theatrical company.

9. Which early play is known to be extant, besides his major works?

A. The Spanish Tragedy
B. Sejanus
C. The Case Is Altered
D. Volpone

C. The Case Is Altered.
The Case Is Altered is one of his earliest comedies, and one of the few surviving plays from this period.

10. Which play established Jonson’s reputation in 1598?

A. The Alchemist
B. Volpone
C. Every Man in His Humour
D. Catiline

C. Every Man in His Humour.
This play, produced in 1598, established Jonson’s reputation and marked a significant change in his status.

11. Who supposedly recommended Every Man in His Humour?

A. Philip Henslowe
B. Inigo Jones
C. William Shakespeare
D. King James I

C. William Shakespeare.
A later legend suggests that William Shakespeare himself recommended the play to the company.

12. Who did Jonson kill in a duel in 1598?

A. An audience member
B. A fellow actor
C. A soldier
D. A rival writer

B. A fellow actor.
In 1598, Jonson killed a fellow actor, Gabriel Spenser, in a duel.

13. How did Jonson escape capital punishment for the killing?

A. Royal pardon
B. Fleeing the country
C. Pleading “benefit of clergy”
D. Jury acquittal

C. Pleading “benefit of clergy”.
After killing an actor in a duel, Jonson pleaded “benefit of clergy” to escape capital punishment.

14. What consequence did Jonson face despite escaping execution?

A. Exile to France
B. Payment of fine
C. Forced imprisonment
D. Branding

D. Branding.
Although he escaped execution, Jonson was still imprisoned and subsequently branded on his thumb.

15. What religious conversion happened during his imprisonment?

A. Anglican to Puritan
B. Catholic to Anglican
C. Became Roman Catholic
D. Protestant to Puritan

C. Became Roman Catholic.
During his brief imprisonment in 1598, Jonson converted to Roman Catholicism.

16. Which specific classical writer influenced Every Man in His Humour’s plot?

A. Sophocles
B. Aristophanes
C. Plautus
D. Virgil

C. Plautus.
The play was an attempt to bring the methods and practices of classical Latin comedy, like Plautus, to England.

17. Every Man in His Humour embodied the theory of what concept?

A. The five elements
B. The four humours
C. The three estates
D. Courtly love

B. The four humours.
The play embodied the medieval theory of the four humours (blood, phlegm, choler, melancholy) in its main characters.

18. Which play was Jonson’s longest ever written for the public theatre?

A. Every Man in His Humour
B. Every Man Out of His Humour
C. Volpone
D. The Alchemist

B. Every Man Out of His Humour.
This 1599 play was extremely long and attempted to emulate the satirical style of Greek comedy.

19. Which Greek comedy writer did Every Man Out of His Humour try to emulate?

A. Euripides
B. Menander
C. Aristophanes
D. Aeschylus

C. Aristophanes.
Every Man Out of His Humour was an attempt to provide an equivalent of the Greek comedy writer Aristophanes.

20. After his 1599 failure, where did Jonson primarily write?

A. Provincial theatres
B. Court masques
C. Public theatres
D. Private theatres

D. Private theatres.
Following the play’s failure, Jonson turned to writing for private theatres, which featured children’s companies.

21. What characteristic defined the high-priced private theatre audience?

A. Preference for tragedy
B. Willingness for satire
C. Love for romance
D. Focus on history

B. Willingness for satire.
The private theatres allowed Jonson to focus on strong satire and formal experimentation.

22. Jonson’s extant tragedies include Sejanus, and which other play?

A. Poetaster
B. Catiline
C. The Spanish Tragedy
D. The Masque of Queens

B. Catiline.
Jonson’s only two surviving tragedies are Sejanus (1603) and Catiline (1611).

23. What genre of court entertainment did Jonson regularly contribute to?

A. Royal pageants
B. Masques
C. Ballads
D. Operas

B. Masques.
From 1605, Jonson became a regular contributor to masques for the royal courts.

24. Which architect did Jonson collaborate with on masques?

A. Christopher Wren
B. John Webb
C. Nicholas Stone
D. Inigo Jones

D. Inigo Jones.
Jonson collaborated for many years with the architect Inigo Jones on these court masques.

25. What work secured Jonson’s initial favour with James I’s court?

A. The Alchemist
B. The Masque of Blackness
C. Entertainment at Althorpe
D. Every Man in His Humour

C. Entertainment at Althorpe.
He won royal attention for the entertainment he performed for the Queen during her journey from Scotland.

26. What was the central role Jonson filled regarding the masque text?

A. Designing scenery
B. Providing allegorical meaning
C. Training the dancers
D. Managing finances

B. Providing allegorical meaning.
The author’s role was to provide the allegorical meaning that justified the spectacle of the masque.

27. What structural innovation did Jonson introduce to the masque form?

A. The chorus
B. The dramatic prologue
C. The antimasque
D. The set song

C. The antimasque.
Jonson introduced the antimasque, a preliminary spectacle featuring grotesque or comic figures.

28. Which two groups were typically featured in the antimasque?

A. Royals or nobles
B. Dancers or singers
C. Grotesques or comics
D. Poets or critics

C. Grotesques or comics.
The antimasque was a “disorderly spectacle” featuring grotesque or comic figures before the main masque.

29. What caused the eventual break between Jonson and Inigo Jones?

A. Disagreement over money
B. Jones’s contributions caused a stir
C. Jonson’s Catholicism
D. Political differences

B. Jones’s contributions caused stir.
Friction grew because Inigo Jones’s spectacular scenic contributions were causing more popular excitement than Jonson’s text.

30. Jonson was, in effect though not in title, the first what?

A. Master of Revels
B. Royal Historian
C. Poet laureate
D. City chronologer

C. Poet laureate.
His standing was recognized with a royal pension and a reversion of the Master of Revels post, effectively making him poet laureate.

31. Jonson was brought before the consistory court in 1606 for what failure?

A. Seditious writing
B. Duelling again
C. Failing to pay debts
D. Anglican non-attendance

D. Anglican non-attendance.
He and his wife were brought before the court for recusancy (not participating in Anglican services).

32. Jonson was a Roman Catholic for how long?

A. Six years
B. Twelve years
C. Twenty years
D. Lifetime

B. Twelve years.
He converted to Roman Catholicism in 1598 and remained so for twelve years.

33. Which two famous comedies express distaste for the world and the pursuit of gold?

A. Sejanus and Catiline
B. Volpone and The Alchemist
C. Cynthia’s Revels and Poetaster
D. Epicoene and Bartholomew Fair

B. Volpone and The Alchemist.
Volpone (1606) and The Alchemist (1610) are his most famous comedies, both exploring the folly of pursuing gold.

34. Jonson’s comedies are set in Italy or in what other city?

A. Edinburgh
B. Paris
C. London
D. Dublin

C. London.
His major comedies, like The Alchemist and Bartholomew Fair, were set in contemporary London.

35. When did Jonson embark on his walking tour to Scotland?

A. 1603–1604
B. 1610–1611
C. 1618–1619
D. 1628–1629

C. 1618–1619.
Jonson undertook a famous walking tour to Scotland during the years 1618 and 1619.

36. What civic honor did Edinburgh bestow upon Jonson?

A. Royal Poet title
B. Honorary burgess
C. Lifetime pension
D. Freedom of the city

B. Honorary burgess.
During his tour of Scotland, the city of Edinburgh made him an honorary burgess and guild brother.

37. Which university granted Jonson an honorary Master of Arts degree?

A. Cambridge
B. Oxford
C. Edinburgh
D. London

B. Oxford.
After returning from Scotland, Oxford University honoured him with a Master of Arts degree.

38. Jonson’s witty conversations with Shakespeare were called what?

A. Literary disputes
B. Rhetorical battles
C. Wit-combats
D. Philosophical duels

C. Wit-combats.
His witty conversations, especially with Shakespeare, were famously referred to as “wit-combats”.

39. What personal catastrophe struck Jonson in 1623?

A. His wife’s death
B. Loss of court favour
C. Library destroyed by fire
D. Suffering a major stroke

C. Library destroyed by fire.
In 1623, Jonson suffered a significant personal loss when his extensive personal library was destroyed by fire.

40. What ailment confined Jonson starting in 1628?

A. Gout
B. Tuberculosis
C. A stroke
D. Severe fever

C. A stroke.
In 1628, Jonson suffered a stroke that left him partially paralyzed and confined to his room.

41. What civic position was Jonson appointed to in 1628?

A. Court Surveyor
B. Master of Revels
C. City chronologer
D. Public Orator

C. City chronologer.
Despite his illness, he was appointed city chronologer for London in 1628.

42. When did Ben Jonson die?

A. June 11, 1572
B. August 6, 1637
C. March 25, 1616
D. December 1, 1628

B. August 6, 1637.
Ben Jonson died on August 6, 1637, after his long illness.

43. Where was Jonson buried?

A. St. Paul’s Cathedral
B. London Bridge
C. Westminster Abbey
D. Poet’s Corner

C. Westminster Abbey.
He was buried in Westminster Abbey, a high honor for a poet and playwright.

44. What milestone occurred in 1616 regarding his works?

A. He stopped writing
B. The First Folio edition appeared
C. His plays were banned
D. He received his pension

B. The first folio edition appeared.
In 1616, Jonson published the first folio edition of his collected works, titled The Works of Benjamin Jonson.

45. What historical distinction does Jonson hold regarding the publication of dramatic works?

A. First published under a pseudonym
B. First published in quarto
C. First published in folio
D. Only plays published alive

C. First published in folio.
His 1616 folio was the first time an English playwright’s dramatic works were published in the prestigious folio format.

46. What work appeared posthumously in 1640?

A. The New Inn
B. The Staple of News
C. Timber: or, Discoveries
D. The Silent Woman

C. Timber: or, Discoveries.
Timber: or, Discoveries, a collection of his observations, was published posthumously in the 1640 folio.

47. In Timber, Jonson said he honored Shakespeare’s memory how?

A. With great love
B. On this side idolatry
C. As a great friend
D. Beyond measure

B. On this side idolatry.
Jonson famously stated that he loved Shakespeare “on this side idolatry” as much as any man.

48. What Latin phrase did Jonson use to criticize Shakespeare’s verbosity?

A. Veni, vidi, vici
B. Carpe diem
C. Sufflaminandus erat
D. Et tu, Brute

C. Sufflaminandus erat.
Jonson famously noted that Shakespeare “flowed with that facility, that sometime it was necessary he should be stopped,” or Sufflaminandus erat.

49. Jonson is generally regarded as the second most important English dramatist during the reign of whom?

A. Elizabeth I
B. Henry VIII
C. James I
D. Charles II

C. James I.
After Shakespeare, Jonson is regarded as the second most important English dramatist of the Jacobean era (reign of James I).

50. What philosophical practice reinforced his dramatic style?

A. Medieval concepts
B. Classical theory
C. Romantic sentiment
D. Political realism

B. Classical theory.
Jonson’s dramatic practice was reinforced by his insistence on putting classical theory into practice.

Volpone MCQs

1. What two things does Volpone first greet in the morning?

A. Day, his bed
B. Mosca, his treasure
C. Day, his treasure
D. His treasure, his bed

C. Day, his treasure.
Volpone begins the play by saluting the new day and, immediately afterwards, his beloved piles of glittering gold.

2. What action does Mosca perform to reveal the gold?

A. Opens his book
B. Draws the curtain
C. Rings a bell
D. Unlocks the chest

B. Draws the curtain.
Mosca withdraws the curtain to expose Volpone’s sacred “Saint,” the massive collection of gold, plate, and jewels.

3. What type of ‘God’ does Volpone call Riches?

A. Ancient God
B. Loud God
C. Dûmb God
D. Powerful God

C. Dûmb God.
Volpone praises Riches, calling it the “dûmb God,” which magically gives all other men tongues.

4. What does Volpone value more than possessing wealth?

A. Gaining knowledge
B. Glad possession
C. Cunning purchase
D. Daily worship

C. Cunning purchase.
He glories more in the inventive, non-traditional way he acquires his money than simply owning it.

5. What natural disaster does Volpone avoid by not trading by sea?

A. Calms and shallows
B. Threat’nings of the sea
C. Ice and snow
D. Strong currents

B. Threat’nings of the sea.
Volpone confirms he does not expose his ships to the “furrow-faced sea’s” dangers, unlike common merchants.

6. What type of wealthy person does Mosca say Volpone avoids devouring?

A. Soft prodigals
B. Rich bankers
C. Honest farmers
D. Proud lawyers

A. Soft prodigals.
Mosca affirms that Volpone avoids consuming “melting heirs” who are easily fooled and ruined by others.

7. What food does Mosca say a hungry thresher often eats?

A. Bitter herbs
B. Heap of corn
C. Mallows
D. Smallest grain

C. Mallows.
The thresher guards corn but feeds on bitter mallows and herbs, unlike Volpone who enjoys his wealth.

8. Volpone says men observe him because he lacks what?

A. Knowledge
B. Money
C. True faith
D. Natural heir

D. Natural heir.
Because Volpone has no true family, men observe him, hoping to be the one he chooses to inherit his substance.

9. What term does Mosca use to refer to Volpone’s household retainers?

A. Noble servants
B. Household-trifle
C. Loving clients
D. Greedy mongrels

B. Household-trifle.
Mosca accepts the money Volpone gives him, along with the dwarf, eunuch, and hèrmaphrodite.

10. What nickname does Volpone use collectively for his clients?

A. Hungry dogs
B. Birds of prey
C. Feathered friends
D. Wise men

B. Birds of prey.
Volpone calls his clients Vulture, Kite, Raven, and Gorgcrow, seeing them as scavengers who expect him to die.

11. Who is the first client, identified by Mosca’s knowledge of his knock?

A. Corvino
B. The merchant
C. Signior Voltore
D. Corbaccio

C. Signior Voltore.
Mosca hears the loud knock and identifies the first client as Voltore, the Advocate, by the sound.

12. What specific inscription is on Voltore’s gift?

A. Name and arms
B. A fox image
C. A raven
D. A loving tribute

A. Name and arms.
The plate is described as huge, massive, antique, and engraved with Volpone’s name and armorial bearings.

13. What is Voltore’s occupation, described by Mosca?

A. A lawyer
B. A doctor
C. A fool
D. A merchant

A. A lawyer.
Voltore is referred to as “the advocate” and is praised for his large profession and perplexed tongue.

14. What does Mosca say the clients hope the present will accomplish?

A. Keep Volpone alive
B. Secure the inheritance
C. Bring great joy
D. Cure his gout

B. Secure the inheritance.
They hope that this gift might be the “last gift” needed to fetch the entire inheritance upon Volpone’s immediate death.

15. Who arrives second, described as the old raven?

A. Corvino
B. Signior Voltore
C. Corbaccio
D. Sir Politick

C. Corbaccio.
After the Vulture (Voltore) leaves, the “old raven,” Signior Corbaccio, arrives to see the sick Volpone.

16. What does Corbaccio bring Volpone in hopes of improving his health?

A. An opiate
B. A gold coin
C. A rare feather
D. Fine new clothes

A. An opiate.
Corbaccio brings a powerful drug, an opiate, made by his own doctor, supposedly to make Volpone sleep.

17. What Latin phrase does Mosca call Corbaccio’s bag of money?

A. Summa bonum
B. Aurum palpabile
C. Dolor alienae
D. Quater est

B. Aurum palpabile.
Mosca names the money as “palpable gold,” which is better physic than any opiate Corbaccio has brought.

18. What does Corbaccio agree to disinherit?

A. His brother
B. His dog
C. His son
D. His daughter

C. His son.
Mosca plots for Corbaccio to draft a will making Volpone sole heir, disinheriting Bonario to ensure Volpone’s gratitude.

19. What character does Volpone compliment for his rare humour?

A. Mosca
B. The dwarf
C. Voltore
D. Corvino

A. Mosca.
Volpone praises Mosca’s work and placement of the bait, calling it a “rare humour” and kissing the servant.

20. What is Corvino’s profession?

A. Advocate
B. Soldier
C. Merchant
D. Anatomist

C. Merchant.
Corvino is referred to as “our spruce merchant” when he is about to enter Volpone’s house.

21. What second gift does Corvino bring Volpone?

A. A pearl
B. A diamond
C. A ruby
D. A gold coin

B. A diamond.
After the pearl, Corvino quickly offers Mosca a diamond to put into Volpone’s hand, hoping he still has feeling.

22. Who is described as the “blazing star of Italy”?

A. Mosca
B. Lady Would-be
C. Celia
D. Nano

C. Celia.
Mosca describes Corvino’s wife, Celia, as an exquisite beauty, the wonder and blazing star of Italy.

23. What, according to Mosca, is the “common fable” about Volpone’s children?

A. They are lawyers
B. They were stolen
C. They are bastards
D. They are dead

C. They are bastards.
Mosca explains that Volpone has “bastards, some dozen, or more” begotten on beggars, gîpsies, and Jews.

24. Who tells Volpone that Celia is “kept as warily” as his gold?

A. Corvino
B. Voltore
C. Nano
D. Mosca

D. Mosca.
Mosca tells Volpone that Corvino watches Celia meticulously, fearing any form of outside contact.

25. What soul is enclosed within the Hèrmaphrodite, Androgyno?

A. Pythagoras
B. Apollo
C. Euphorbus
D. Crates

A. Pythagoras.
Nano introduces Androgyno as containing the soul of “Pythagoras, that juggler divine”.

26. Who does Nano sing is the “only nation worth men’s envy”?

A. Lawyers
B. Merchants
C. Fools
D. Courtiers

C. Fools.
Nano and Castrone sing a song declaring that Fools are the only nation worthy of admiration because they are free from sorrow.

27. What does Sir Politick Would-be call the entire world?

A. His soil
B. His house
C. His plot
D. His market

A. His soil.
Sir Politick Would-be begins his conversation claiming that “to a wise man, all the world’s his soil”.

28. Sir Politick claims the recent whale in the river was sent by whom?

A. The Turk
B. The archdukes
C. His wife
D. The English king

B. The archdukes.
He believes the whale was a hostile project, sent by Spain or “the archdukes” for the subversion of the Stode fleet.

29. How did Stone the fool reportedly receive secret intelligence?

A. In oranges
B. In cabbages
C. In letters
D. In toothpicks

B. In cabbages.
Sir Politick claims Stone received weekly intelligence out of the Low Countries hidden inside cabbages.

30. What is Volpone’s mountebank name?

A. Alessandro Buttone
B. Signior Flaminio
C. Scoto Mantuano
D. Zan Fritada

C. Scoto Mantuano.
Volpone, disguised, introduces himself proudly to the crowd as “your Scoto Mantuano”.

31. Volpone, as the mountebank, claims his oil costs what final price?

A. Eight crowns
B. Six crowns
C. Sixpence
D. A thousand crowns

C. Sixpence.
Though he initially valued the oil much higher, he finally asks for sixpence, simply a “pledge of your love”.

32. What specific item does Celia throw down to Scoto?

A. A piece of gold
B. A ring
C. Her handkerchief
D. A pearl

C. Her handkerchief.
Celia, watching from her window, is the one who throws down her handkerchief to the mountebank.

33. What powder does Scoto claim was derived from Venus?

A. To clear wrinkles
B. To cure sickness
C. To secure fortunes
D. To attract gold

A. To clear wrinkles.
He claims the powder kept Venus perpetually young, cleared her wrinkles, and firmed her gums.

34. What does Corvino threaten to turn Celia into if she disobeys him?

A. A poor beggar
B. An anatomy
C. A slave
D. A broken vase

B. An anatomy.
Corvino threatens to dissect her himself and give a public lecture on her to the entire city.

35. Corvino believes Volpone recovered due to the oil of what animal?

A. A sheep’s gall
B. A fox’s brain
C. A lion’s tooth
D. A large snake

A. A sheep’s gall.
Corvino insists that the ingredients of the mountebank’s oil included a sheep’s gall and roasted bitch’s marrow.

36. Who does Mosca tell Bonario is planning to disinherit him this hour?

A. His uncle
B. His father
C. Volpone
D. The advocate

B. His father.
Mosca, pretending loyalty, informs Bonario that Corbaccio is currently planning to make him a stranger to his own blood.

37. What does Mosca suggest Bonario might hear if he follows him?

A. His father’s curses
B. Himself written bastard
C. Volpone’s confession
D. Corvino’s lies

B. Himself written a bastard.
Mosca convinces Bonario to hide and witness the deed, where he will hear himself labeled the “common issue of the earth”.

38. What character enters Volpone’s house in Act 3 and proves tedious?

A. Bonario
B. Fallace
C. Lady Politick
D. Celia

C. Lady Politick.
Volpone calls her presence “torment” and “a second hell,” wishing her eternal tongue would cease.

39. Lady Politick claims the highest female grace is what?

A. Being silent
B. Having music
C. Elegant discourse
D. Great education

A. Being silent.
Volpone falsely attributes this opinion to a poet, and Lady Politick readily agrees, immediately continuing to speak.

40. What does Mosca tell Lady Politick her husband is doing?

A. Rowing in a gondola
B. Studying politics
C. Eating a feast
D. Gambling in the City

A. Rowing in a gondola.
Mosca successfully gets rid of Lady Politick by telling her her husband is with a courtesan in a gondola.

41. What does Corvino force Celia to prepare for Volpone?

A. To wear jewels
B. To read poetry
C. To sing songs
D. To lie with him

D. To lie with him.
Corvino forces his wife, Celia, to pròstitute herself to Volpone, calling it a “pious work” for physic.

42. What vice does Celia say is “nearer manliness” than lust?

A. Wrath
B. Gluttony
C. Greed
D. Envy

A. Wrath.
Celia begs Volpone to choose wrath and punish her, as that vice comes closer to human manliness than lust.

43. Who rushes in and saves Celia from Volpone’s attempted assault?

A. Corbaccio
B. Bonario
C. Voltore
D. Mosca

B. Bonario.
Bonario, who was hiding, intervenes, calling Volpone a “foul ravisher, libidinous swine,” and frees Celia.

44. When does Mosca get wounded?

A. By Voltore
B. By Bonario
C. By Corvino
D. By Volpone

B. By Bonario.
Mosca rushes in wounded and bleeding, noting that Bonario’s sword had struck him during the intervention.

45. What does Voltore argue Celia is during the first trial?

A. A known whore
B. A young scholar
C. An honest woman
D. A poor victim

A. A known whore.
Voltore claims that Celia is a “close adulteress” known to the court, using her handkerchief as evidence.

46. How is Volpone brought before the judges for the first time?

A. Walking in slowly
B. Carried on a couch
C. On a mule
D. In chains

B. Carried on a couch.
Officers bear Volpone in on a couch to demonstrate his feigned weakness and impotence to the Avocatori.

47. After the first trial, what position does Volpone command Mosca to take?

A. To feign death
B. To hide Voltore
C. To become the heir
D. To run away

C. To become the heir.
Volpone gives Mosca a blank will and orders him to put on a gown and publicly take up the heir’s role.

48. What character first discovers that Mosca has become the heir in the new will?

A. Corbaccio
B. Lady Politick
C. Voltore
D. Corvino

C. Voltore.
Voltore reads the will and exclaims in shock, “Mosca the heir?” realizing he has been completely duped.

49. How does Volpone help Voltore try to save the second trial?

A. Confesses the truth
B. Feigns possession
C. Claims Voltore is sick
D. Blames Corbaccio

B. Feigns possession.
Volpone advises Voltore to fall down and appear possessed, claiming to see a blue toad flying away.

50. What happens to Volpone’s wealth as part of his final sentence?

A. Given to Mosca
B. Confiscate to the hospital
C. Given to the poor
D. Returned to the clients

B. Confiscate it for the hospital.
The Avocatori sentence Volpone’s entire substance to be confiscated and given to the Hospital of the Incurabili.

Brief Overview

Volpone; Or, The Fox is a satirical comedy by Ben Jonson, first performed in 1605–1606. This Jacobean-era play is considered one of the greatest English satires, sharply critiquing human greed, lust, and social hypocrisy.

The plot centers on Volpone, a rich Venetian nobleman who pretends to be mortally ill and dying. He delights in his immense wealth and the cunning ways he gains more of it. His brilliant, scheming servant, Mosca, helps him carry out his elaborate tricks.

Because Volpone has no true heir, a group of greedy clients visits his home daily with expensive gifts. They are hoping to be named the sole heir upon his death. These clients are nicknamed Volpone’s “birds of prey.” Mosca promises the inheritance to multiple clients, including Voltore (a lawyer) and Corbaccio (who disinherits his own son for the chance).

Volpone’s lust leads him to disguise himself as a mountebank doctor to see Celia, the beautiful wife of the jealous Corvino. Corvino forces Celia to visit Volpone for profit. Bonario, Corbaccio’s son, saves Celia from Volpone’s planned assault.

The greedy clients lie in court to frame the innocent Bonario and Celia. Volpone then plays his greatest joke by publicly naming Mosca as his sole heir. Mosca subsequently assumes Volpone’s role and torments the old clients. Volpone reveals his true identity to stop Mosca from keeping the fortune. The court punishes everyone for their actions: Volpone loses his gold and is imprisoned.