SYLLABUS OF M.A.

ENGLISH
COURSE 103
SHAKESPEARE AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES

Marlow : Doctor Faustus

Shakespeare : Twelfth Night
Ben Jonson : Volpone
Shakespeare : The Tempest

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 Unit-I
LESSON-1
INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE

STRUCTURE
1.1 INTRODUCTION
1.2 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1.3 CLASSICAL DRAMA
1.3.1 ORIGIN OF GREEK DRAMA OUT OF THE COURSE : GREEK
TRAGEDIES AND THREE UNITIES
A, B, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS
1.3.2 ANCIENT GREEK AND ROMAN COMEDIES
1.3.3 SENECA'S TRAGEDIES
1.3.4 SUMMING UP
1.4 THE CONCEPT OF TRAGEDY
C. SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
1.5 ARISTOTLE'S OBSERVATION ABOUT COMEDY
1.6 MYSTERY AND MORALITY PLAYS
1.6.1 MYSTERY PLAYS
1.6.2 MORALITY PLAYS
1.7 THE ELIZABETHAN THEATRE
1.8 THE DATES OF THE PLAYS
1.9 THE ELIZABETHAN AGE AND THE JACOBEAN AGE
1.10 HOW TO READ THE PLAYS
1.11 GLOSSARY
1.12 QUESTIONS
1.13 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS' ANSWER
1.14 SUGGESTED READINGS
1.1 INTRODUCTION
This course in Renaissance drama introduces you to some of the best plays from the golden age of
drama in England. Within the Renaissance period from around 1508 to 1660, the last quarter of the sixteenth
century and the first quarter of the seventeenth century (i.e., the years 1576-1625) constitute the golden age
of English drama. Doctor Faustus and Twelfth Night from the last decade of the sixteenth century and
Volpone and The Tempest from the beginning of the seventeenth century provide a fairly good idea of the
rich variety of drama during this period. Doctor Faustus (c. 1593) is a tragedy, Twelfth Night (c. 1601) a
romantic comedy, Volpone (1605) a satiric comedy, and The Tempest (1611) a dramatic romance which has
some features of tragedy and some of comedy. This lesson briefly describes the drama of ancient Greece and
Rome and the medieval mystery and morality plays of England because some of their features are reflected
in the plays in your course.

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1.2 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
This objective of this lesson is to introduce you to the concepts of tragedy, comedy, the three unities,
double plot, and type characters—in the context of the influence of ancient classical drama and medieval
English mystery and morality plays on the plays prescribed in this course. Though no direct question will be
set on this lesson, the information given here will help you understand better some aspects of the plays in
your course, and will help you attempt more specific questions on particular plays.
1.3 CLASSICAL DRAMA
The drama of ancient Greece and ancient Rome is referred to as Classical drama.
1.3.1 Origin of Greek drama out of the chorus; Greek tragedies; and the three unities
In Europe drama emerged in Greece in the sixth century BC out of religious worship. At first a
chorus of fifty dancers used to dance vigorously and sing songs in honour of god Dionysus. Then in sixth
century BC Thespis introduced an actor who could engage in dialogue with the chorus leader, and thus
drama was born in the west. (In India drama had become a fully developed art form by then, as we see in the
plays of Bhasa who was a contemporary of the Buddha; however, before Alexander’s invasion of 326 BC
there was no interaction between the Indians and the Greeks.) Later, in the beginning of the fifth century BC,
Aeschylus added a second actor and Sophocles a third actor. Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides were
three great writers of tragedies in Greece in the fifth century BC. Their plays were generally based on Greek
myths and legends, and usually involved intense suffering but did not always end in death. Often the action
of a tragedy involved some terrible act done knowingly or unknowingly by a near and dear one.
Ancient Greek plays usually had only one line of dramatic action, unlike the plays in your course. In
the fourth century BC, Aristotle in his Poetics affirmed that a single well-knit plot made a tragedy more
effective. A plot consists of a series of events which are interconnected in terms of cause and effect.
When a play has only one well-organized line of action, it is said to have unity of action.
In Greek theatre actors wore masks which showed the nature or temperament of the character being
represented; so one actor could play a number of roles at different times in a play. Enacted plays became
very popular and drama competitions were held every year. Open-air theatres were built outside towns
where hillsides were cut into seats on three sides. The acting area at the base of the hillsides consisted of a
slightly raised circular area on which the actors appeared and recited the dialogue. Around this area the
chorus danced and chanted from time to time. Over time the size of the chorus was reduced to twelve
members.
The chorus was made to represent a section of the people of a particular place. When a play began,
first of all the chorus entered and chanted an ode, describing the situation, showing anxiety, etc., and requesting
the protagonist to take suitable action. After that there would be some dialogue between the chorus and an
actor or among the actors. After some dialogue and action, there would be another choral ode commenting
on the main characters’ behaviour or about the developing situation. In this way there would be five segments
of dialogue and action, each followed by a choral ode; so there would be six choral odes in all apart from
interaction of the chorus with the actors. After the main action of the play was over the chorus would sing
and comment on the action or situation of the play or on human life in general; for example, towards the end
of Sophocles’ well-known tragedy Oedipus the chorus sings: “None can be called happy until that day when
he carries / His happiness down to the grave in peace.”
In later drama where there is no chorus of this kind, a character who comments on the behaviour
of the protagonists or on the situation, etc., is said to be performing the function of the chorus. In

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Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night; the fool Feste to some extent performs this function. In Doctor Faustus one
single actor, called Chorus, comes to the stage at the beginning of the play, at the end of the play, and also
twice in between (after Scene 7 and after Scene 10) to perform this function of commenting on the action of
the play; in some of the speeches this chorus also describes the situation or sums up the events that are
supposed to have happened off stage. In the twentieth century T.S. Eliot’s play Murder in the Cathedral
(1935), which is in your course in Semester III, has a chorus which functions on the pattern of Greek tragedy
and represents the women of Canterbury.
Because Greek drama was born out of chorus, even when gradually dialogue became more important
than the songs of the chorus, Greek dramatists could not even think of leaving out the chorus. The chorus
was present from the beginning till the end of the play, and represented people of a particular place; so it
could not be assumed that they would keep standing at a particular place for years or even days; nor could
they be assumed to move from one town to another along with the protagonists. For this reason the action of
ancient Greek plays tended to be limited to one location and to events of about one day.
In the Renaissance drama there was no such, chorus, so often the action of a play covers many
months or years and may even be spread over different countries, as it is in Doctor Faustus which covers
events of twenty-four years. Still the action in Ben Jonson’s Volpone and Shakespeare’s The Tempest is
limited to one day and one place as in Greek drama. When the action of a play is limited to one day, it is
described as unity of time; and when its events are limited to one place (i.e. one town or city as in
Twelfth Night and Volpone, or a small island as in The Tempest, or a village etc ), it is described as unity
of place. The term ‘the three unities’ refers to the unity of time, place and action.
Self Assessment Questions
A. What is the function of the chorus?
B. What do you understand by the unity of action, unity of time, and unity of place?
1.3.2 Ancient Greek and Roman Comedies
In the field of comedy, in ancient Greece, towards the end of the fifth century BC Aristophanes
wrote powerful and lively satiric comedies. He was critical of the tendencies which he felt were weakening
Greece, and especially criticized the continuing warfare between the city states of Greece. He made fun of
some contemporary generals by name, holding them responsible for unnecessary suffering of people. This
led to a ban on personal attacks in drama. As a result in his later plays of early fourth century BC the satire
became more general. In your course Ben Jonson’s Volpone is a satiric comedy that criticizes self-centred
appetites, especially greed, which is seen as a threat to society.
Towards the end of the fourth century BC Greek playwright Menander wrote comedies of a different
kind, which influenced Roman writers Plautus and Terence of the third and second centuries BC, and became
the model for romantic comedies centring on the theme of love. In these comedies also there is a marked
element of satire and mockery, especially of those persons and those weaknesses that come in the way of
fruition of love in marriage. The stock pattern of action in such comedies is as follows: Two young person’s
fall in love, but their love is opposed by some ill-tempered parent or guardian. Sometimes there may also be
a villain harassing the young lady. At times the circumstances, such as the difference in the class or social
status of the persons in love, come in the way of their marriage. The obstacles in a way test their love, and as
their love remains unshaken by the difficulties, in the end the hostile parent or guardian agrees to the marriage.
The class difference in the case of some Roman comedies disappears when the young person from a lower

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class is discovered to be the lost child of parents from the upper class. The play ends with the marriage feast
and even the villainous characters are forgiven. However, unlike similar plots in Hindi movies and unlike
Ferdinand in Shakespeare’s play The Tempest which is in your course, the lover in the comedies of Menander,
Plautus and Terence simply sighs in love, and all the effort to bring about the marriage is done by the slave
who is loyal to his young master. In Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night Duke Orsino is such a passive lover
who asks his servant Cesario to woo and win the lady on his behalf. In Shakespeare’s play The Tempest
Prospero deliberately plays the role of a hostile parent “even when his daughter’s falling in love with his
enemy’s son Ferdinand is what he himself wants. He justifies his pretended anger in an ‘aside’ (i.e., words
expressing a character’s inner thoughts and feelings which are spoken aloud by the actor but are not
supposed to be heard by the other characters on the stage):
They are both in either’s pow’rs: but this swift business
I must uneasy make, lest too light winning
Make the prize light. (Act I, scene 2, lines 453-55)
Before being rewarded with marriage, their love must be tested. Prospero feels that if they get
married without facing any difficulties they may not value their love so much and their marriage might
become unhappy.
1.3.3 Seneca’s tragedies
In the first century A.D. Roman dramatist, philosopher and statesman, Seneca wrote a number of
tragedies, which were translated into English in the sixteenth century and exercised considerable influence
on the Renaissance English drama, especially on the revenge tragedy. Seneca’s tragedies were based on
Greek legends, which for him were only sensational stories. In his tragedies there is a lot of violence and
bloodshed, which is largely reported rather than being shown on stage. In Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus Faustus’s
bloody death is similarly reported: of course, it would have been impossible to show that on stage. However,
many other Renaissance tragedies often show on stage brutal violence (like the blinding of Gloucester in
Shakespeare’s King Lear), murders and revenge killings, etc. Often the theme in Seneca’s tragedies is revenge,
and sometimes one of the characters is a ghost seeking revenge, as in Renaissance English playwright
Thomas Kyd’s The Revenge Tragedy. Seneca’s tragedies have the five-act structure which became the standard
pattern in Renaissance English drama. (Note that during the Renaissance when plays were published in
book form [some time after their stage performance] there were no Act and scene divisions in the printed
text. The Act and scene numbers that you see in the texts of the plays were generally inserted later on by
different critics who edited the plays.)
Two other features of Seneca’s plays which influenced Renaissance English drama were elaborate
set speeches, and maxims or observations about human life in general. These features are noticeable in the
plays in your course.
1.3.4 Summing Up
After the spread of Christianity from the fourth century onwards, the study of classical literature
.was largely ignored, and in Europe the tradition of drama was disrupted, as the theatres were closed down.
During the Renaissance there was a widespread revival of the study of the literature and learning of ancient
Greece and Rome, and then Roman drama became a model for experimentation by English dramatists.
Shakespeare’s first play The Comedy of Errors was part adaptation and part further enrichment of Roman
playwright Plautus’s, comedy Menaechmi, and his first tragedy Titus Andronicus, which has extensive violence
and bloodshed, was considerably influenced by Roman writer Seneca’s tragedies.
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 In the fourth century BC Greek philosopher Aristotle, in his Poetics, had described in detail the
nature of tragedy and epic poetry, and made some observations about comedy. In the Renaissance he was
highly respected as a critic and theorist, and in the sixteenth century in Italy Castelvetro wrote a famous
commentary on his Poetics. During the Renaissance Castelvetro’s commentary was read more often than
Aristotle’s Poetics, and because of that the three unities of time, place and action came to be attributed to
Aristotle, though Aristotle in his Poetics insisted only on the unity of action.
1.4 THE CONCEPT OF TRAGEDY
In chapter 13 of his Poetics Aristotle observes that the combined emotions of ‘pity and fear’ constitute
the aesthetic pleasure of tragedy—pity for undeserved suffering, and fear when such undeserved suffering
is undergone by a person like us, with whom we can feel some empathy (that is, with whom we can
identify ourselves to some extent), who is not perfect but whose weakness of character is not in the nature
of an evil tendency. You should keep these features of tragedy in mind when you discuss a character in a play
or a novel as a tragic figure. If the suffering is fully deserved, as it is in case of Volpone in Jonson’s play in
your course, that character cannot be described as tragic. If we do not feel any empathy with a particular
character (i.e. if we cannot identify ourselves with him/her), then also the effect is not that of tragedy—for
this reason to the wicked Volpone can in no way be described as a tragic figure even though he falls and
suffers because of his errors of judgement caused by his weaknesses of character.
Aristotle observes that a tragedy becomes more effective when the protagonist’s excessive suffering
results from some great error of judgement on his part or because of a flaw in character which is not evil
in nature. The Greek word hamartia used by Aristotle in this context primarily means ‘an error of judgement’
but also implies ‘a tragic flaw’. Often in the Renaissance drama we see characters making tragic errors of
judgement in a given situation because of a tragic flaw in their nature. This means that a tragedy becomes
more effective when the protagonist’s own mistake or weakness brings excessive suffering on him or
her, much more than what that error or weakness deserved. This situation is neatly summed up in the
words with which the protagonist in Shakespeare’s great tragedy King Lear describes himself: “a man more
sinn’d against than sinning.” This element of tragedy is seen clearly in the career of Doctor Faustus and also
to some extent in Prospero’s suffering in the past which he describes to his daughter Miranda in Act 1 scene
2 of Shakespeare’s play The Tempest.
A tragic figure is ‘better than average’ in the sense of having nobility of spirit or remarkable
dignity, or otherwise being more alive as a human being in some respect than average human beings.
Often during the course of intense suffering, a tragic protagonist attains greater dignity and
rises to a higher level of awareness, from where he or she can see life more clearly and with widened
sympathies. Even in death the tragic protagonist affirms the dignity of human spirit.
Self Assessment Question
C. What are the main features of a tragedy?
1.5. ARISTOTLE’S OBSERVATION ABOUT COMEDY
In chapter 5 of his Poetics Aristotle observes that comedy portrays those weaknesses which do not
cause pain or harm to others. The doings of Volpone and his assistant Mosca in Jonson’s play Volpone
almost blast the lives of innocent persons; so their doings seem to go beyond the harmless follies of comedy
to the domain of tragedy. However, as explained above (in Section 1.2), Volpone is not a tragic figure either.

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1.6. MYSTERY AND MORALITY PLAYS
1.6.1 Mystery Plays
Drama re-emerged in Europe from ceremonies of worship in the church. From the tenth century,
dramatic tropes or brief enactments of events related to Christ’s birth and Resurrection (i.e., his rising from
the grave two days after his crucifixion) were presented in the church by priests, in Latin, on Christmas and
Easter. Gradually the brief enactments grew in size and number, the language of the people came to be used
in place of Latin, the enactment of different plays related to the Bible was assigned to different guilds (i.e.,
associations of persons belonging to particular professions), and the venue was shifted to the marketplace,
though the script was still written and controlled by the priests. By the fourteenth century, in England and
other countries of Europe, cycles (i.e., sequences) of such plays were being performed once a year in different
towns on the feast of Corpus Christi in the beginning of June every year. These biblical plays covered the
history of mankind from the creation of the universe to the Day of Judgment, but focused on Christ’s nativity
(i.e., birth) and passion (i.e., his suffering before death as well as his crucifixion).
These plays were called Mystery plays because they were the living book in which ordinary people
could read the mysteries of their faith. In England these plays were also called Miracle plays, though in
France only the plays dealing with the lives of saints were called miracle plays. These Mystery or Miracle
plays were very popular and continued to be performed till 1572-80 in different parts of England. Marlowe
and Shakespeare, both born in 1564, must have seen these plays in their childhood.
Though each mystery play presents some event mentioned in the Bible, and has a serious religious
purpose, almost every mystery play combines realistic comic elements with the more serious religious
theme. Sometimes a passing mention of something in the Bible is developed into a comic episode; but many
times a comic plot is added for which there is no basis In the Bible. For example, a play dealing with Christ’
birth (the Second Nativity Play in the Wakefield cycle of mystery plays) begins with a realistic scene in
which three shepherds talk about their problems: harsh winter weather, low wages which make it difficult
to support the family, heartless employers, etc. Then enters another character, Mac, who is known to be a
thief. However, he wins the trust of the simple shepherds; but as soon as they fall asleep he steals a lamb and
rushes back home. There is a bit of comic dialogue between Mac and his wife who is annoyed by his
knocking at the door in the middle of the night when she is busy spinning (an indirect hint of their poverty
which makes her work so hard). As the three shepherds wake up and find Mac missing, they immediately
sense that he must have stolen a sheep or lamb; and when they find that one lamb is missing, they go to
Mac’s hut. Mac wraps up the lamb in a piece of cloth like a newborn baby and starts singing a lullaby, while
his wife groans as if she has just given birth to a child. The simple shepherds believe this deception, and go
back; but just then they remember that they did not give any gift to the child. So they return and insist on
seeing the face of the child before giving their gifts, and then Mac’s theft is exposed. The shepherds toss
Mac in a blanket a few times and leaves. After these realistic and comic parts covering 637 lines in a play of
754 lines, begins the main biblical episode. An angel tells these shepherds about the birth of the saviour of
mankind and asks them to go to Bethlehem to see him. The shepherds then go and greet the “young Child”
and give him simple gifts.
This mingling of the comic and the serious is a recurrent feature of Renaissance English drama
and is seen in all the four plays in your course. Also note that in the mystery play summarized above, the
realistic and comic elements have no direct connection with the religious theme and exist almost like
independent episodes in the nature of a subplot. In the same way you have subplots in Twelfth Night,
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Volpone and The Tempest which have hardly any link with the action of the main plot; in Doctor Faustus the
comic episodes in the middle of the play similarly seem to have no relation with the more serious elements
of tragedy in the beginning and end of the play. However, sometimes the subplot is like a parody of some
elements of the main plot. In the mystery play described above, the shepherds wanted to give gifts to Mac’s
supposed son who turns out to be their stolen lamb, and they actually give gifts to baby Jesus who is often
described as the Lamb of God. In Volpone Sir Pol in the subplot is a parody of Volpone of the main plot; in
The Tempest Caliban’s murder plan in the subplot parodies the more serious plotting of Antonio and Sebastian
in the main plot; in Twelfth Night Malvolio’s delusions of love are a parody of Orsino’s and Olivia’s feelings
of love. Also, very often the more realistic or/and comic subplot makes the view of life presented in the
play more comprehensive, in that it supplements the action of the main plot set on a different level. In the
mystery plays the realistic and comic elements brought the more elevated religious themes close to everyday
life, and made them more easily acceptable. Similarly, the subplots in Renaissance English drama gave it a
wider reach, and made it appeal to all sections of society.
When there are two almost independent lines of action in a play, that is, two plots, it is said to
have a ‘double plot’.
1.6.2 Morality Plays
The popularity of cycles of biblical Mystery plays, which could be performed only by amateurs
once a year, led to the emergence of Morality plays which the professional actors could perform. Morality
plays were single plays with imagined plots but they also presented religious moral values, in the morality
plays the central figure represented humanity and was named as Mankind or Everyman, etc., while the
other characters were personifications of virtues and vices etc. trying to win over the protagonist. The
Devil and his assistant Vice often played the role of clowns. This conflict between warring tendencies in
human mind is also seen in Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus, whose protagonist is a representative Renaissance
figure. The pageant of Seven Deadly Sins in this play reflects the personifications of Morality plays. This
play also has on stage the devil and his deputy Mephostophilis. The role of the Old Man in Doctor Faustus
also reflects the pattern of Morality plays.
The type characters in Jonson’s Volpone, who are given Italian names which mean fox, fly, crow,
raven, vulture or are given type names to indicate their specific tendency, reflect personifications of Morality
plays. The same influence of Morality plays is seen in the very name and nature of Malvolio in the subplot
of Twelfth Night. Morality plays were also being performed in England during Marlowe and Shakespeare’s
childhood.
1.7 THE ELIZABETHAN THEATRE
Professional players presenting a play would usually hire the courtyard of an inn. The entry fee
could be collected at the gate and a stage was set up at the other end of the courtyard. The spectators would
stand in the courtyard which was open to the sky. The guests staying in the inn in the rooms on the sides of
the courtyard could bring out from the rooms benches to sit on and also had the benefit of the roof of the
verandahs. When during the Renaissance full-length five-act plays began to be performed, the first theatre,
simply called the Theatre, was built on this very model in 1576 outside the municipal limits of London.
Other theatres that were built subsequently in the Elizabethan Age also had the same structure.
In the Elizabethan theatre the stage was only partly roofed, its front part being open to the sky. The
main area for the spectators was also open to the sky and was called the pit. Here the spectators paying the
lowest entry fee would have to keep standing. For those who paid higher entry fee there were three tiers of
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roofed galleries on three sides with comfortable seats. The plays were performed in daylight, and those who
wanted to watch a play had to take a day off. So the spectators would reach the theatre much before the
beginning of the play. And a play had to begin on a note which would immediately draw the attention of
restlessly waiting spectators.
At the back of the stage there were two doors on the sides for entry and exit of the actors, and in the
middle there was a recess with a curtain which could be drawn to reveal an inner room, etc., as in the
opening scene of Jonson’s Volpone and in some scenes of Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Above these at the
back of the stage there used to be a gallery, with steps going up to it from both sides. In Doctor Faustus when
the Devil and his assistants appear on this gallery, they seem to dominate the theatre. In Volpone, Bonario
jumps from this gallery to save Celia. On the ceiling that covered part of the stage the sun, the moon and the
stars were painted, and a character could refer to them sometimes. However, when in The Tempest Prospero
refers to the position of the sun in the sky at 2 in the afternoon, the actor probably pointed to the actual sun
visible to him and to most members of the audience, since part of the stage and the main area for the
spectators were open to the sky.
There was no curtain at the front of the stage. When there was no actor left on the stage, it marked
the end of a scene; and when an actor appeared on the stage, it marked the beginning of the next scene. In
French drama the scene division is marked differently—there whenever another character appears on the
stage, it marks the beginning a fresh scene; in Volpone the scenes are numbered in this way.
Very few stage properties (i.e., pieces of furniture etc. on the stage) were used in the Elizabethan
theatre. For example, in the opening scene of Twelfth Night set in the court of Duke Orsino, probably only a
chair was provided for the Duke. So scenes could change very quickly. Also, in the absence of stage properties
the opening lines of conversation in a scene had to indicate the locale of the scene.
During the Renaissance, women did not act on the stage, and ail roles of women were played by
boys. This gave an extra dimension to the comments regarding the difference between appearance and
reality that occur frequently in Shakespeare’s plays, for example, in Twelfth Night.
1.8 THE DATES OF THE PLAYS
The dates of the first performance of different plays of the Renaissance period are not known. Often
inferences about the likely year of a play’s first production are based on references to the play in contemporary
writings, which indicate that a particular play must have been performed before that reference. That is why
you often see before the dates of the Renaissance plays the abbreviation ‘c.’ (for ‘circa’, i.e., approximately).
You need not worry about the exact dates of particular plays. In this course you are supposed to understand
the texts of the plays.
1.9 THE ELIZABETHAN AGE AND THE JACOBEAN AGE
The period of Queen Elizabeth’s reign from around 1558 to 1603 is referred to as the Elizabethan
Age, and the reign of King James from 1603 to 1625 as the Jacobean Age. During the last quarter of the
sixteenth century England made considerable advances in different fields, and there was a spirit of optimism
and joy. Consequently, the literature of this period reflects expansion of spirit, and a feeling of adventure
and hope. Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus (1592) and Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night (1600) belong to this period.
However, towards the end of the sixteenth century itself there were beginnings of doubt about the
direction in which English economy and society were moving, and it was increasingly felt that the things
were not quite right. For this reason the view of life in the Jacobean literature is generally more gloomy, and

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the spirit is more critical. While the comedies of the Elizabethan Age are largely romantic and joyful like
Twelfth Night, the comedies of the Jacobean period are darker, more critical and often bitterly satiric like
Jonson’s Voipone. Even Shakespeare’s dramatic romance The Tempest probes evil at length.
1.10 HOW TO READ THE PLAYS
When you take up a course in literature, you are expected to read the texts. Preferably read a standard
edition of each play. Cambridge University Press has published Indian reprints of annotated editions of
Doctor Faustus, Twelfth Night and The Tempest For Shakespeare’s plays the Arden series editions are very
useful: Twelfth Night edited by J.M. Lothian and T.W. Craik, and The Tempest edited by Frank Kermode.
The publisher of the Arden Series, Methuen, has also published very useful annotated standard editions of
Doctor Faustus edited by John D. Jump, and Volpone edited by David Cook. Indian reprints or editions
specially priced for India might be available. Oxford University Press has reprinted in India the annotated
edition of Volpone edited by Arthur Sale. A lightly annotated text of Volpone is also included in Ben Jonson’s
Three Comedies edited by Michael Jamieson (published by Penguin Books). All these standard annotated
editions also have detailed introductions to the respective plays. In the Introductions you should skip the
sections dealing with the date and source of the plays and you should focus only in the sections dealing with
the themes characters and plot structure of the prescribed plays.
If you cannot get a copy of a standard edition and have to depend on a help book, even then make it
a point to read the text. Some help books give full paraphrase on the pages facing the text. But instead of
reading the paraphrase, you should go directly to the text. Where you are unable to understand some line or
lines of the text, consult the paraphrase, but after that come back to the text. After struggling through a few
pages, you will be able to read the text with less difficulty.
Also note that in a play you do not have to understand every word or every line. But you should be
able to understand the changes in a character’s attitude, the main themes etc. Many times you can skip some
lines when from the context you can guess that the matter is not very significant. If you have read the text in
this way, you can answer almost any question on a particular play.
1.11 GLOSSARY
function of the chorus : to comment on the behaviour of the protagonists and on the situation, etc.
In Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, the fool Feste to some extent performs
this function.
plot : In a plot the events of a story are Interconnected In terms of cause and
effect.
double plot : when there are two plots or lines of action running parallel In a play
subplot : the less important line of action than the main plot in a play
unity of action : when a play has only one well-organized line of action or plot
unity of time : when the action of a play is limited to one day, as in Jonson’s Volpone, ,and
Shakespeare’s The Tempest
unity of place : when the events of a play are limited to one place, for example, limited to
one town as in Twelfth Night and Volpone, or a small island as in The
Tempest, or a village etc.

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 aside : words expressing a character’s inner thoughts and feelings which are spoken
aloud by the actor but are not supposed to be heard by the other characters
on the stage
satiric comedy : satirises those weaknesses which are anti-life or are seen as threats to society.
There is usually an implied hope that society can become better if the
negative tendencies ridiculed in the play are checked.
romantic comedy : centres on the theme of love which is seen as a positive element. Usually
there are obstacles in the form of opposition from a parent or guardian, or
hostile circumstances. The difficulties test the love, which is then rewarded
with marriage. Romantic comedies end in marriage, often there being more
than one marriage towards the end of the play.
tragedy : presents intense prolonged suffering of a person with whom we can
empathise and whose suffering is much more than what he or she deserves.
A tragic protagonist is better than average, is not perfect but his/her weakness
of character does not amount to an evil tendency. Such a protagonist suffers
because of some great error of judgement, or because some weakness in
his/her character or temperament (the tragic flaw) makes him/her do
something wrong. Through suffering a tragic figure rises to a higher level
of awareness and affirms human dignity even in great suffering and/or
death.
dramatic romance : probes evil like tragedy, but then transcends the evil as the positive qualities
triumph; the second part of a dramatic romance is somewhat like a romantic
comedy, but the happy ending is less festive.
1.12 QUESTIONS
No specific questions will be set on this lesson, but the concepts and terms explained in this lesson
are relevant for attempting specific questions on different plays in your course. So revise the Glossary
carefully, and where you so desire you may go back to the fuller description earlier in the lesson.
1.13 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS' ANSWER
1.14 SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Nicoll, Allardyce. World Drama. From Aeschylus to Anouilh. London: Harrap, 1949, 2nd ed. 1976.
Contains photographs of the remains of ancient Greek theatres and of masks used in Greek tragedies
and comedies.
2. Aristotle. Poetics. Chapter 13. Describes the main features of a tragedy. The following is a
conveniently available translation of Aristotle’s Poetics. Aristotle. On the Art of Poetry. Translated
by Ingram Bywater. With a Preface by Gilbert Murray. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1920. Indian reprint
by Oxford University Press. Can be consulted on Internet at
3. [Link] or at
4. [Link] (Bvwater)
5. Trapp, J.B. Medieval English Literature (New York: Oxford University Press, 1973). Also included
in The Oxford Anthology of English Literature, Vol. I. General Editors Frank Kermode and John

11
 Hollander (New York: Oxford University Press, 1973). Contains introductions to Mystery Plays
(Miracles) and Morality Plays (pages 363-66 & 366-67), and the text of a Mystery play ‘The Wakefield
Second Shepherds’ Play’ (pp. 368-88) and of a Morality play ‘Everyman’ (pp. 388- 411). Also
includes a brief description of the main literary and historical terms towards the end of the volume.
6. Hollander, John, and Frank Kermode. The Literature of the Renaissance England. (New York: Oxford
University Press, 1973). Also included in The Oxford Anthology of English Literature, Vol. I. General
Editors Frank Kermode and John Hollander (New York: Oxford University Press, 1973). Contains
an introduction to the Renaissance and the annotated texts of Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus
and William Shakespeare’s The Tempest with brief introductions to each play. Also includes a brief
description of the main literary and historical terms towards the end of the volume.
7. For the literary terms any one of the following may be consulted (The first two of these are available
for about Rs. 140 to Rs. 155, and any one of them may be purchased for consultation during all the
four semesters of M.A.):
8. Baldick, Chris. The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. 1990, 2001; 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2008. Available in India for around Rs. 155.
9. Abrams, M.H. A Glossary of Literary Terms. 7th edition or a later edition. Its 9th edition by M.H.
Abrams and Geoffrey Galt Harpham was published by Wadsworth Cengage Learning in 2009 and
some parts of that edition can be seen online at [Link]
qlossarv [Link]. Do not buy any edition earlier than the 7thedition of this book because the earlier
editions do not discuss some of the more recent critical terms which you will need to know for your
Semester IV courses, especially the course on contemporary literary theory. The 10th edition (published
by Wadsworth in 2012) is available in India for about Rs. 199, and the 7th edition for about Rs. 140.
10. Preminger, Alex, et al., eds. Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics. 1965. Enlarged edition.
London: Macmillan, 1975. Revised edition titled The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and
Poetics published in 1993.

*****

12
 LESSON-2
DOCTOR FAUSTUS: THE MAIN ASPECTS

STRUCTURE
2.1 INTRODUCTION
2.2 LEARNING OBJECTIVE
2.3 RENAISSANCE HUMANISM AND ITS DILAMMA
2.3.1 THE MORAL ELEMENT
2.3.2 ELOQUENCE
2.3.3 REASON.
2.3.4 FOCUS ON LIFE ON THIS EARTH
2.3.5 MAN-CENTRED WORLD-VIEW, AND THE EMPOWERMENT OF
THE INDIVIDUAL
2.4 INTRODUCTION TO CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE
2.4.1 A BRIEF BIOGRAPHICAL ACCOUNT
2.4.2 A BRIEF SURVEY OF HIS PLAYS
2.5 INTRODUCTION TO DOCTOR FAUSTUS.
2.5.1 THE SOURCE AND THE DATE
2.5.2 THE TWO VERSIONS
2.5.3 THE COMIC SCENES, THE PROSE PARTS, AND THE SECOND AUTHOR
A, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
2.5.4 A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE MAIN ACTION OF THE PLAY
B, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
2.6 FAUSTUS AS A REPRESENTATIVE RENAISSANCE FIGURE
C, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
2.7 FAUSTUS AS A TRAGIC FIGURE
D, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
2.8 ELEMENTS OF A MORALITY PLAY IN DOCTOR FAUSTUS
E, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
2.9 DOCTOR FAUSTUS AS A CHRISTIAN PLAY
F, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
2.10 SUMMING UP
2.11 GLOSSARY
2.12 QUESTIONS
2.13 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS’ ANSWERS
2.14 SUGGESTED READINGS
13
2.1 INTRODUCTION
This lesson introduces you to some aspects of Renaissance humanism that are prominently reflected
in Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus, and are also seen in the other plays of this course in Renaissance drama.
After that some background information has been given (on which questions are not set in the
examination) about Marlowe’s career and other plays, the likely date of composition of Doctor Faustus, the
alternative texts of the play, and the likelihood of another writer having written the comic scenes under
Marlowe’s supervision.
The remaining sections of this lesson focus on some important aspects of the play on which questions
are often set in the examination—Faustus as a representative Renaissance man and as a tragic hero, features
of Morality plays in Doctor Faustus, and in what sense the play can be described as a Christian play. You are
expected to supplement the points given in these sections of this chapter with examples from the text on the
basis of your reading of the text of the play in the light of the critical analysis given in the next two lessons.
The references to the play Doctor Faustus and quotations from it are from the edition edited by John
D. Jump, described under Suggested Readings at the end of this lesson. The name of the second important
character in the play is given as Mephostophilis in this edition as also in several other scholarly editions, and
that is the spelling used in the lessons on Doctor Faustus. In other contexts this particular devil is often
mentioned as Mephistopheles, and you may use that spelling in your answers if you like; but then use the
same spelling consistently in your answers.
In the quotations from the plays in these lessons, to draw your attention to certain words and phrases
they have been printed in bold type face, but in the printed texts of different plays they appear in normal type
face.
Note that the titles of plays, novels, long poems, and works that appeared as books, as also the titles
of books and journals, are printed in italics and are to be underlined in your answers. So Doctor Faustus (in
italics) or Doctor Faustus (underlined) is the play, but Doctor Faustus (without italics or underlining) is the
character. Make sure that you underline the titles of plays etc. in your answers.
2.2 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
The objective of this lesson is to make you aware of the main themes and key aspects of the play on
which questions are often set and which you need to know in order to understand and appreciate the play.
2.3 RENAISSANCE HUMANISM AND ITS DILEMMA
2.3.1 The moral element
During the Renaissance the term ‘humanists’ referred to the teachers of the language, literature and
ideas of ancient Rome (and later of ancient Greece also), who believed that by teaching ancient classical
literature the students could be given healthy religious, philosophical and spiritual education. The Renaissance
drama often has a strong moral component, partly because of this view of humanists and partly because even
in the earlier medieval period literature was supposed to convey a moral message.
Renaissance humanism refers to the various aspects of the Renaissance humanists’ views regarding
what this education through classical literature should focus on.
2.3.2 Eloquence
The humanists also emphasised the value of eloquent expression that is, speaking and writing so
clearly and effectively that the listeners or readers would be convinced and would feel impelled to put those
14
ideas into practice in actual life also. At school the students were made to write like ancient Roman orators,
so that they may become eloquent in their way of speaking and writing. Because of this reason the Renaissance
English drama has a large number of eloquent speeches where some character presents his or her ideas
persuasively, almost like a well-reasoned argument, and uses comparisons in the nature of similes and
metaphors to clarify the idea being expressed. Other figures of speech like paradox (i.e. seeming contradiction,
e.g. ‘sweet pain’) and hyperbole (or exaggeration) are also used frequently to make the speech more impressive.
Though students were trained in eloquence so that they might use it in a positive way for making
society better, eloquence could also be used to misguide people, and there are many instances of such
negative use of eloquence and reasoning in Renaissance drama, including Doctor Faustus. In fact, when
Faustus wants to repent but is unable to repent, he uses reasoning to justify his hesitation: “But Faustus’
offence can ne’er be pardoned” (Scene 19 [Act 5, scene 2], line 41). Most of the villains of Renaissance
drama are eloquent speakers: in Ben Jonson’s play Volpone (which is in your course), Volpone’s eloquence
almost distracts attention from the perversity of his mind which is revealed through those speeches.
2.3.3 Reason
Reason was seen as the guide to right understanding and judgement. It was hoped that by applying
reason one could see clearly what was morally right and what would be good for society. However, reason
could be misused for self-interest and personal benefit at the cost of others. Renaissance drama often shows
such self-centred characters, who misuse reason to deceive, misguide or harm others for personal gain. It is
the dilemma of Renaissance humanism that reason and eloquence, which were supposed to empower
individuals so that they might be able to make the society better, were often misused by unscrupulous
persons for selfish purposes at the cost of society. While the villains of Renaissance drama (including villain-
heroes such as Volpone) are purely selfish, in Doctor Faustus we see a kind of fluctuation between the desire
to do something ^remarkably good for his country and society on the one hand, and self-glorification on the
other.
The emphasis on the value of reason during the Renaissance contrasted with the emphasis on faith
during the medieval period. The Renaissance humanists’ main aim too was to use reason only for religious,
moral and spiritual instruction; but reason could at times come in conflict with faith. This conflict between
faith and reason is central to the action and theme of the play Doctor Faustus.
2.3.4 Focus on life on this earth
Classical literature dealt primarily with life on this earth, and the focus of Renaissance humanism
too was on the individual as a responsible social being on this earth, who was to make the society on this
earth better and happier with his efforts. Even in the play Doctor Faustus, the focus remains on how Doctor
Faustus conducts himself on this earth before his death—in spite of the presence of the Devil’s deputy
Mephostophilis throughout the play, occasional appearances of the Devil and his other deputies, and constant
references to Faustus’ soul having to go to hell after twenty-four years of magic power.
Focus on life on the earth leads some of the characters in Renaissance drama to value material
things like wealth and physical pleasures including tasty food. We see recurrent glimpses of weaknesses of
this kind in Doctor Faustus too: whenever he thinks of repenting and turning back to God, threats of physical
torture make him backtrack; and he seeks physical pleasure (in the arms of an evil spirit looking like the
Helen of Troy) to drown his frustration.

15
 2.3.5 Man-centred world-view, and the empowerment of the individual
During the medieval period human life was seen in terms of how one could become worthy in the
eyes of God. However, during the Renaissance the focus shifts to what one can contribute on this earth to
make society better and happier. For this purpose the individual was trained in the use of reason and eloquence.
However, as mentioned above, many times this empowerment of the individual was misused by self-centred
persons for personal gain at the cost of others, as we see in the play Volpone, and in the case of villainous
characters Antonio and Sebastian in Shakespeare’s play The Tempest.
It is said that capitalism derives partly from this focus on empowerment of the individual in
Renaissance humanism, partly from the value that came to be attached to money for its own sake during the
Renaissance, and partly from the focus on the individual under Puritanism which too evolved during the
Renaissance. Volpone embodies all these negative aspects, while in Doctor Faustus we have an ambivalence
between the two aspects, concern for his country as well as self- importance:
Yet art thou still but Faustus, and a man.
……………..............................
A sound magician is a demi-god ...
……………...............................
I’ll have them wall all Germany with brass ...
And reign sole king of all our provinces ....
(Scene 1, lines 23, 61, 87, 93)
An Italian writer Machiavelli wrote a book called The Prince in 1513, in which he offered practical
advice to prospective princes regarding how to retain power effectively, without caring about moral values
involved; for example, he says that if one comes to power by removing the ruler from the throne, one should
not imprison the deposed ruler but kill him and also wipe out his family line, because as time passes people
would become disillusioned with the new ruler and then would support the imprisoned deposed ruler or his
descendants. Machiavelli was less often read than read about or talked about, and his name came to represent
unprincipled ruthless pursuit of one’s goals, as in the protagonist of Marlowe’s play The Jew of Malta, who
is introduced by an actor pretending to be Machiavelli himself,
2.4 INTRODUCTION TO CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE
2.4.1 A brief biographical account
Christopher Marlowe was born in 1564, the same year as Shakespeare. His father was a well-to-do
shoemaker. After his schooling at Canterbury he got a scholarship to do his B.A. at Corpus Christi College,
Cambridge. He also completed his M.A. at Cambridge on scholarship, though at first he had to face some
difficulty because of insufficient attendance; the court then wrote to the University that Marlowe had been
performing useful service for the government and so should not be penalised for not having put in the
requisite attendance.
Immediately after completing his M.A. in 1587 he went to London and made his mark with his play
Tamburlaine. The great success of this play impelled him to write its sequel Tamburlaine: Part Two, which
too proved a success. Both parts of Tamburlaine were produced in 1587. After that he wrote three other
outstanding plays: The Jew of Malta, Edward II, and Doctor Faustus. According to some critics he might
have written Doctor Faustus in 1588, soon after the two parts of Tamburlaine, while others feel that it could
not have been written before 1592. Two other plays by him Dido, Queen of Carthage (probably from his
student days) and The Massacre at Paris (a later play) are rather insignificant.
16
 Among his non-dramatic poetic writings the incomplete long poem Hero and Leander and a pastoral
lyric ‘Come Live with Me and Be My Love’ have remarkable literary value and are well known.
Marlowe could easily lose temper and engage in violent conflict, and that led to his sudden death by
stabbing in May 1593.
He was described by several of his contemporaries as an atheist, which during the Renaissance
simply implied that he did not go by traditional religious views about different matters; for example, the
comedy generated in Doctor Faustus when the priests with their traditional chanting for allaying evil spirits
are unable to have any influence on Faustus or on the Devil’s deputy Mephostophilis, would have been
considered atheistic. However, the play Doctor Faustus, emphasising that Faustus’ soul can go to heaven if
he repents, is deeply religious and Christian in spirit. In any case, the characters created by a playwright
have their independent existence in an imaginative work of literature, and they should not be seen in terms
of the writer’s personal views.
2.4.2 A brief survey of his plays
Marlowe gave magnificence and a richly musical quality to blank verse to make it a fit medium for
the protagonists of his plays who aspire to be more than human and seek to achieve the impossible.
Blank verse is described as unrhymed iambic pentameter. In blank verse there is no use of rhyme,
and each line has ten syllables which constitute five iambic feet of two syllables each; in each iambic foot
the first syllable is unstressed and the second stressed, for example:
Was this the face that launched a thousand ships ...?
(Doctor Faustus, Scene 18 [Act 5, scene], line 99)
(Rhyme: When two or more lines of verse end with a similar sound, they are said to rhyme together.
A couplet consists of two lines rhyming together, but in a quatrain the first and third lines rhyme together
and the fourth line rhymes with the second line. A syllable has a vowel sound as its nucleus—a pure vowel
or a diphthong [a diphthong may be roughly described as a complex vowel sound as in the word ‘like’]. A
word has only as many syllables as there are vowel nuclei in it. Blank verse was used for drama in England
first of all in the tragedy Gorboduc, written by Thomas Norton and Thomas Sackville in 1561 on the pattern
of Seneca’s tragedy but with the content drawn, from England’s past.)
Marlowe’ plays celebrate expansion of spirit, high aspirations and energetic pursuit of goals. The
prologue to his first play Tamburlaine claims:
... We’ll lead you to the stately tent of war,
Where you shall hear the Scythian Tamburlaine
Threatening the world with high astounding terms,
And scourging kingdoms with his conquering sword.
This ruthless conqueror is presented as a glorious figure in contrast with his weak opponents,’ and
through him Marlowe celebrates energy and aspiration for their own sake. Tamburlaine is not made to lose
or suffer in spite of his boastful assertions:
I hold the Fates bound fast in iron chains,
And with my hand turn Fortune’s wheel about;
And sooner shall the sun fall from his sphere

17
 Than Tamburlaine be slain or overcome. (Part I: Act 1, scene 2, lines 174-77)
In Tamburlaine, Part II also the protagonist moves from triumph to triumph and in the end dies a
natural death.
At the beginning of his next play The Jew of Malta, Machevill (i.e. Machiavelli) comes to the stage
to introduce the protagonist Barabas, describing him as a Machiavellian. This wealthy Jew is single-minded
in his pursuit of wealth and is ruthless in his ways: when the Christians who hate him persuade his daughter
to become a nun in a convent, he pretends to offer a feast to the entire convent on this occasion but sends
poisoned rice which kills all the nuns including his daughter. His enemies are shown as being morally puny
and calculate. In his ruthless hostility to the Christians of Malta he joins hands with the invading Turks;
however, just when the imprisoned governor of defeated Malta is about to be put to death, the Jew’s patriotism
wakens and he tells the governor of Malta that he will save him by treacherously killing the conquering Turk
prince. The governor then joins hands with the enemy to kill the Jew. Ironically, the Jew remains in control
so long as he is ruthlessly evil, but the moment he tries to be morally good, he is destroyed.
In contrast, the protagonist of Marlowe’s next play Edward II is a relatively weak character who
suffers because of his weaknesses.
2.5 INTRODUCTION TO DOCTOR FAUSTUS
2.5.1 The source and the date
There is no record of when the play Doctor Faustus was first performed. According to one view
Doctor Faustus was written probably soon after Tamburlaine Part II, in 1588, as it is almost opposite in
spirit to the two parts of Tamburlaine. However, most other scholars are of the view that it could not have
been written before 1592.
During the early part of the sixteenth century in Germany there were stories about one Faustus who
was said to have practised magic. Soon his name came to be linked with a number of much older stories
which described black magic practised with the help of the Devil. Then in 1587 an anonymous moral story
‘History of Johan Fausten’ was published in German. In 1592 its English version by a person mentioned
only as ‘P.F.’ on the title page was published as The History of the Damnable Life, and Deserved Death of
Doctor John Faustus. There are a number of additional details in the English version which are echoed in
Marlowe’s play Doctor Faustus, sometimes in a slightly modified form and sometimes in a condensed form.
These echoes indicate that Marlowe must have read the English version before writing Doctor Faustus—
this evidence is the basis of the View that Marlowe wrote this play sometime during 1592-93 just before his
death.
Also, in contrast with the protagonists of Tamburlaine and The Jew of Malta, who are single- minded
in the pursuit of their goals, in the mind of Doctor Faustus there is a conflict between opposite tendencies,
which indicates a more complex vision on the part of the playwright.
2.5.2 The two versions
Doctor Faustus was first published in book form as a quarto in 1604. Then in 1616 another version
of the play in quarto form was published by the same publisher. The text of the 1604 edition is referred to as
‘A’ version of the play and that of 1616 as the ‘B’ version. The second version is considerably longer than
the first version, and it is generally believed that the B-text is based on ‘foul papers’ or working draft of
Marlowe, whereas the A-text is based on an actor’s recollection of the play as it was actually performed. At
places the A-text may be incorporating final revisions and modifications made by Marlowe himself. However,
most modern editions of the play print the B-text and that is the version referred to in the present lessons.
18
 Some editors divide the play into Acts, while others simply number the scenes. In these lessons
continuous scene numbering is used; however, within square brackets alternative Act-wise scene numbering
is also given, since the edition of the text that you consult might have Act-wise scene numbering.
At places the line numbering in these lessons might differ from that in the edition of the play that
you consult. So you may have to look for the quoted lines a little above or below the mentioned line numbers.
Also, as some scenes of A-text are not there in B-text and some scenes are slightly different in the two texts,
you may not find the quoted lines in the edition you consult.
2.5.3 The comic scenes, the prose parts, and the second author
During the Renaissance many times two or more writers collaborated on a play. The Faustus of the
comic scenes in the middle of the play does not show any division in his mind, or moral doubts, etc., that the
more complex Faustus of the beginning and the end of the play shows. Also in the earlier and the later parts
Faustus’s speeches reflect a certain eloquence or magnificence even when he is partly or wholly wrong; but
in the comic parts that eloquence and magnificence are absent. There are also inconsistencies in details
which indicate that the viewpoint of this other writer was conventional in contrast with the original perspective
of Marlowe. In the early part of the play (Scene 3, line 46) Mephostophilis tells Faustus that incantations
have no effect on him and that he came to Faustus of his own accord, whereas in a comic scene (Scene 10
[Act 3, scene 3], lines 32-34) Mephostophilis is annoyed because some foolish persons’ conjuring has
brought him there in a hurry from Constantinople. So it is believed that though the concept of the entire play
was Marlowe’s, he himself wrote only the more poetic beginning and end of the play (up to the middle of
Scene 8 [Act 3, scene 1] excluding Scene 2, and Scenes 18-20 [Act 5] as well as the speeches by the chorus),
while most of the comic parts—which are partly in prose—were written by another writer, probably by
Samuel Rowley.
In contrast with the simple prose of the comic scenes, the prose speeches of Faustus in Scene 19
(Act 5, scene 2) towards the end of the play show dignity, maturity, and complexity of vision appropriate for
a tragic figure, and so are clearly written by Marlowe himself.
Sometimes the play Doctor Faustus is described as a play with a beginning and an end but no
middle, because Faustus appears as a tragic protagonist only in the beginning and the end, and because the
middle part of the play does not contribute to the development of the action of the play.
Self Assessment Question
A. Why is Doctor Faustus described as a play with a beginning and an end but no middle?
2.5.4 A brief summing up the main action of the play
Doctor Faustus is an outstanding scholar who has explored all the branches of knowledge of his
time, and mastered many of them. However, his quest for knowledge and for power and importance which
knowledge can bring is not satisfied. He decides to learn black magic with the help of the Devil and makes
a formal agreement that if he is allowed twenty-four years of magical powers he would willingly suffer in
hell after that forever. Yet, he is not very happy with the amount of knowledge and powers that he gets this
way, and again and again feels like repenting and turning back to God. But each time threats of physical
torture and the joy of physical pleasure keep him from repenting. When the fixed period of twenty-four
years nears its end, Faustus wishes that time should stop or his soul should cease to exist rather than be in
hell for ever after. The play ends with a description of his violent death, The power of the play lies in the
conflict in Faustus’s mind between opposite tendencies, and his anguish towards the end of the play.

19
Self Assessment Question
B. What makes Doctor Faustus a powerful play?
2.6 FAUSTUS AS A REPRESENTATIVE RENAISSANCE FIGURE
In Doctor Faustus’s aspirations, strengths and weaknesses we see many characteristic features of
the Renaissance, and he appears to represent the Renaissance attitudes to life.
One significant feature of the Renaissance was the expansion of spirit and an eagerness to explore
those regions which had not been explored by the Europeans till then. This spirit had impelled Columbus in
1492 to sail westward to find an alternative route to India, and Vasco de Gama in 1498 to explore a route to
India by going round the southern part of Africa. The discovery of the lands till then unknown to Europe
inspired other sailors to go round the earth by sailing westwards: Magellan, a Portuguese, in 1519-22, and
Francis Drake of England in 1577-80. The same spirit had inspired Galileo to use exact observations with
the help of the telescope to prove that the earth moved round the sun. These explorations at times came into
conflict with traditional religious beliefs: Galileo in fact had to retract his observations to save himself from
persecution by the Church; even Columbus had dared to accept the view of astronomers regarding the earth
being round (without caring about contrary religious beliefs in this matter) when he set out on his westward
voyage.
Faustus’s dissatisfaction with the accepted branches of knowledge, and his decision to explore
the unexplored and forbidden regions of knowledge with the help of black magic, reflects the same
Renaissance spirit to extend the frontiers of knowledge and experience. As in the case of many other
explorers and discoverers of the Renaissance, this effort brings Faustus into conflict with the religious
beliefs regarding what is morally appropriate.
Renaissance humanism sought to empower the individual by making him employ reason to judge
what is right, and Faustus uses reasoning again and again to justify his decisions. Humanism also
emphasised the role of eloquence (i.e., effective speaking and writing which can influence people), and
Faustus is eloquent even when he is giving way to some weakness of character or when he refuses to
understand the obvious, for example, his famous eloquent praise of Helen’s beauty almost makes us forget
that Faustus knows that the figure embodying legendary Helen’s beauty is actually a devil as ugly as
Mephostophilis looks at the time of his first appearance on the stage.
Nationalism was emerging as a powerful force during the Renaissance, and Faustus says that he
will use his magical powers to strengthen his country Germany and to bring prosperity to its people. For this
purpose he will force the evil spirits under his control to perform such tasks as follows:
I’ll have them wall all Germany with brass
And make swift Rhine encircle fair Wittenberg;
I’ll have them fill the public schools with silk
Wherewith the students shall be bravely clad;
I’ll levy soldiers with the coin they bring
And chase the Prince of Parma from our land .... (Scene 1, lines 87-92)
However, as discussed above (in section 2.1 ‘Renaissance Humanism and Its Dilemma’), many
times the empowerment of the individual with the purpose of making society better for all, makes the
empowered individual seek self-glorification, and this weakness is seen in Faustus also. The lines quoted
above are followed by the following line:
20
And reign sole king of all our provinces .... (Scene 1, line 93)
A major weakness during the Renaissance (which is also criticised by Ben Jonson in his play Volpone)
was a greater concern with the material side of life—valuing gold or money, and indulgence in physical
pleasures including sensuality. Faustus’s great weakness is his being trapped in the physical side of life.
Whenever he realizes that his great sin can be forgiven by- God if he truly repents, the devils’ threat of
physical torture makes him give up his idea of repenting, and physical pleasure makes him forget
himself totally. And even towards the end of the play the mere semblance of Helen’s physical beauty in an
evil spirit transports him to a kind of ecstasy. This weakness of Faustus also makes him a representative
of the Renaissance temperament.
During the Renaissance, humanism sought to develop in the individuals the faculty of reasoning and
eloquence in order to make them morally and spiritually better. For this reason, even as reason was valued
highly, religious faith remained a very powerful force. The recurrent conflict between reason and faith in
Faustus’s mind also makes him a representative Renaissance figure.
Self Assessment Question
C. In what ways is Doctor Faustus a representative Renaissance figure?
2.7 FAUSTUS AS A TRAGIC FIGURE
A tragic protagonist has some striking qualities that make us feel some empathy for him (or her).
There is something admirable even in Faustus’s readiness to risk everything for the sake of knowledge
beyond the permitted range, with which he wants to make his country strong and prosperous. His zest
for life, his eloquent speeches make him an impressive figure. In Scene 19 (Act 5, scene 2), the dignity he
shows just before his death in his meeting with the scholars, and then his intense anguish when he is alone
make him an outstanding character who easily wins the empathy of the spectators and readers.
However, a tragic protagonist also has some weakness or weaknesses which make him (or her)
commit mistakes or errors of judgement which result in intense anguish for him (or her). In ancient Greek
tragedies often this flaw is hubris or pride that makes the protagonist think that he is superhuman and almost
godlike. Faustus is very proud of his achievements in the field of medicine and mastery of other branches
of knowledge, and he longs to be godlike with the help of black magic: “A sound magician is a demi-god”
(Scene 1, line 61). In his pride he even tells Mephostophilis to learn courage from him: “Learn thou of
Faustus manly fortitude” (Scene 3, line 87).
Another weakness of Faustus is his being trapped in the physical aspect of life—his fear of
physical pain and his desire for physical pleasure. Whenever he realizes the folly of having sold his soul
for twenty-four years of magical powers and wants to repent, threats of physical pain keep him back from
turning to God through repentance, while physical pleasure makes him forget his anguish. This weakness
also blurs his understanding and judgement, when in Scene 18 (Act 5, scene 1) at the suggestion of the
Old Man he decides to repent but retracts under threat of physical torture, and then ungratefully asks
Mephostophilis to “Torment... that base and aged man” (line 84), Mephostophilis replies: “His faith is great;
I cannot touch his soul ...” (line 87). Faustus fails to see that if he makes his own faith as strong as that of the
Old Man, Mephostophilis or the Devil himself cannot do any harm to him either.
Faustus’s love of physical pleasure is made obvious a number of times. In Scene 5 (Act 2, scene 1),
line 11, he says about himself: “The god thou serv’st is thine own appetite ....” When he mentions the
conditions for selling his soul, the first item is twenty-four years of life “in’ all voluptuousness” (Scene 3,

21
line 94). When he asks for a wife, it is not because he wants a life- companion but only because he is
“wanton and lascivious” (Scene 5 [Act 2, scene], line 142). The eloquence of his famous apostrophe to the
physical beauty of Helen almost makes us forget not only that in fact only an evil spirit is embodying this
beauty but also that Faustus himself is fully aware of this fact; and this speech ends with Faustus’s assertion
that only this unreal Helen shall be his “paramour” (Scene 18 [Act 5, scene 1], line 118).
Usually things are under control of the tragic protagonist till that wrong decision or action, but after
the crucial step is taken he/she cannot quite control the events that follow as a consequence of his/her own
mistakes. In the case of Faustus, however, it is made clear that the agreement with the Devil, even though
signed by Faustus with his blood, is not final, and that if he truly repents at any stage, his sin can be forgiven.
So in his case it is more a matter of repeated mistakes which keep him trapped on the wrong path.
The suffering of a tragic protagonist that follows from the tragic mistake(s) or error(s) of judgement
is intense and usually also extended over a period of time. In case of Faustus there is some hesitation even
while signing the agreement. But there are repeated instances of his anguish as he again and again realizes
the futility of having sold his soul and comes close to repenting, only to go back because of fear of physical
pain. His anguish becomes very intense and richly tragic in his soliloquy just before his death:
See, see where Christ’s blood streams in the firmament!
One drop would save my soul, half a drop. Ah, my Christ!
………………………………………..
O soul, be chang’d into little water drops,
And fall into the ocean, ne’er be found.
(Scene 19 [Act5, scene 2], lines 146-7, 185-6)
In suffering the tragic protagonist’s nobler qualities and dignity may come out more fully.
We see this aspect of Faustus very clearly in the second-last scene of the play, in his words to the
scholars and in his intense anguish when he is alone on the stage.
Self Assessment Question
D. In what ways is Doctor Faustus a tragic figure?
2.8 ELEMENTS OF A MORALITY PLAY IN DOCTOR FAUSTUS
In a morality play the central character usually represents mankind, and the main action of the
play presents a conflict in his mind between positive and negative tendencies. This conflict is dramatised
with the help of characters who are personifications of virtues, vices, etc., and try to influence the
protagonist and win him over to their side. The Devil and his assistant Vice often figure in morality
plays—often they come to the stage with bursting crackers attached to their tails and play comic roles. The
morality plays convey a clear moral message: in different countries of Europe, where this form of drama
emerged in the fifteenth century, the moral message used to be in keeping with the teachings of the Bible and
Christian moral values.
In the play Doctor Faustus, the protagonist is a representative Renaissance figure (as explained
above in section 2.4 of this lesson). Doctor Faustus represents both the strengths and weaknesses of the
Renaissance. On the positive side he embodies the aspiring spirit of man which seeks to explore the
unknown regions, and is prepared to risk everything in this search for greater knowledge and power to
make happier the life of people on this earth. In the matter of weaknesses, Faustus is very proud and self-
22
centred, seeking personal glory and power above other things. His pride even makes him blind to the
statements of Mephostophilis about the reality of the suffering of being in hell (Scene 3, lines 70-88). His
other major weakness is his fear of physical pain and desire for physical pleasure (This aspect has been
explained above in section 2.5 of this lesson).
The entire action of the play revolves round the conflict in Faustus’s mind between positive
and negative qualities and tendencies, as happens in morality plays. The most dramatic moments of
the play are those which show this conflict. In the beginning when he cuts his vein to sign the bond selling
his soul in return for twenty-four years of magic powers, his blood congeals to stop him from signing the
contract. Then Mephostophilis brings fire to melt his blood, just as in later scenes he uses the fire of physical
pleasure to make Faustus forget his unhappiness at having turned away from God to the Devil. This struggle
in Faustus’s mind keeps recurring throughout the play, and it is made very clear that he can turn back
to God at any stage through repentance. His anguish at his inability to repent makes the long scene just
before his death very moving and intensely tragic.
In a morality play most of the characters are personifications of virtues and vices, or are type
characters representing certain roles such as Good Counsel. In Doctor Faustus the Good Angel and the
Bad Angel are clearly representations of two aspects of Faustus’s mind and are just like the characters
of morality plays (the Bad Angel is described as Spirit in some stage directions and in some headings of
speeches in the play). The Old Man too is like a typical character of morality plays, almost like Good
Counsel. In the pageant presented as a pastime for Faustus (in Scene 6 [Act 2, scene 2], lines 104-69) the
Seven Deadly Sins are clearly morality play figures. The Devil himself appears on the stage as in
morality plays, though in this play he is not a comic figure. His representative Mephostophilis, who is with
Faustus almost throughout, is also not a comic figure, but he is clearly a representative of hell in the nature
of characters of morality plays. Yet there are some comic scenes where fireworks are used for comic
effect: when Faustus asks for a wife, “a Devil dressed like a woman, with fireworks” appears (Scene 5 [Act
2, scene 1], line 148); towards the end of Scene 10 (Act 3, scene 3) Faustus and Mephostophilis throw
fireworks among the Friars who are invoking curses on them.
The morality play element is also clear in the first appearance of Mephostophilis on the stage
as an “ugly” Devil (Scene 3, lines 24, 27). Faustus’s direction to him to assume the appearance of a friar
shows Faustus’s unwillingness to face the ugly reality of the path he has decided to pursue.
As in morality plays, the entire play is organized round a strong moral theme in line with
Christian beliefs, as explained in the next section of this lesson.
Self Assessment Question
E. To what extent is Doctor Faustus like a morality play?
2.9 DOCTOR FAUSTUS AS A CHRISTIAN PLAY
The religious beliefs on which the action of the play Doctor Faustus is based are Christian beliefs
regarding God and the Devil, damnation, repentance and grace or forgiveness. The view that black magic
can be practised with the help of the Devil, and that anybody joining the Devil becomes alienated from God
(as Faustus insists whenever he thinks that God will never forgive him), is also Christian.
However, what makes the play deeply Christian is the view projected in the play that God is
merciful and would forgive Faustus at any stage of his life if he truly repents—even after he has
willingly signed the bond to suffer in hell for ever in return for twenty-four years of magical powers on the

23
earth. Even minutes before his death he feels Christ’s sacrifice can redeem him and God “stretches out his
arm”; however, even then at his very mention of Christ’s name Lucifer causes him physical pain, and makes
Faustus stop short of turning to Christ and God with full devotion: “Rend not my heart for naming of my
Christ .... O, spare me, Lucifer!” (Scene 19 [Act 5, scene 2], lines 148-9) (The Devil or Satan was known as
Lucifer before he was expelled from heaven along with his fellow rebel angels because of his excessive
pride which had made him revolt against God). From the way the Devil and his associates have to cause
Faustus pain or threaten him with terrible physical torture whenever It seems he might repent, it is clear that
Faustus’s soul can be forgiven by God and saved from hell if he truly repents in spite of his having signed the
bond and having joined the Devil to exercise magical powers. This belief in God’s grace is an important part
of Christianity.
Self Assessment Question
F. What makes this play deeply Christian?
2.10 SUMMING UP
Renaissance humanism sought to empower the individual with the use of reason and eloquence so
that he may act virtuously for the betterment of life of people on this earth. However, many times this
empowerment of the individual gave rise to self-centred pride and distortion of reason to support one’s
biased views. Greater emphasis on life on the earth at times encouraged a more materialistic attitude with
greater involvement with the physical aspects of existence, even though humanism’s objective was moral
and spiritual development. These aspects of humanism are seen in Doctor Faustus also.
Faustus’s aspiration for knowledge beyond the permitted limits and his risking even his soul for that
purpose is admirable in itself. However, he refuses to see the ugly part of his joining the Devil. Also, he
remains trapped in the physical aspect of existence—being frightened by physical pain, and being charmed
by physical pleasure even when he knows it to be illusory (he knows that the Helen who charms him is in
reality only an ugly evil spirit). Whenever he thinks of repenting, the Devils’ threat of tearing him to pieces
makes him backtrack from the thought of repenting. Yet his eloquence and self-confidence are impressive,
and he rises to remarkable dignity just before his death. The conflict in his soul makes him an effective
tragic figure.
Whatever Marlowe’s personal views in his life might have been, this play is truly Christian in a
deeper sense in that it emphasises God’s grace by reiterating again and again that if Faustus truly repents, his
soul can be saved in spite of his agreement with the Devil. It is part of Faustus’s tragedy that he is unable to
repent, sometimes because of the threats of physical pain and other times because his sense of reason persuades
him that God, being just, cannot forgive a sinner like him.
2.11 GLOSSARY
blank verse : unrhymed iambic pentameter. In blank verse there is no use of rhyme, and each
line has ten syllables which constitute five iambic feet of two syllables each; in
each iambic foot the first syllable is unstressed and the second stressed. All the
plays in your course are mainly in blank verse.
rhyme : When two or more lines of verse end with a similar sound, they are said to
rhyme together. A couplet consists of two lines rhyming together. In a quatrain
the first and third lines rhyme together while the fourth line rhymes with the
second line.

24
 syllable : A syllable has a vowel sound as its nucleus—a pure vowel or a diphthong. A
diphthong may be roughly described as a complex vowel sound as in the word
‘like’. A word has only as many syllables as there are vowel nuclei in it. Vowels
are sounds, not letters of alphabet; they are considered in terms of the way a
word is pronounced, e.g. the word ‘straight’ has only one syllable.
figures of speech : Expressions used in order to heighten the effect and not in their literal sense.
The commonly used figures of speech are as follows:
simile : a comparison where one thing is said to be like another, e.g.: ‘That sight will be
as pleasant to me as paradise was to Adam ...’ (Doctor Faustus, Scene 6 [Act 2,
scene 2], lines 108-09).
metaphor : a comparison where in place of the thing to be described that is mentioned with
which it is being compared, e.g. the way the image ‘waxen wings’ is used to
describe Faustus’s high aspirations in line 21 of the opening chorus of Doctor
Faustus. “His waxen wings did mount above his reach ....”
paradox : seeming contradiction, for example, the ‘sweet pain’ or ‘icy fire’ of love.
hyperbole : exaggeration.
2.12 QUESTIONS
1. In what ways is Doctor Faustus a representative Renaissance man?
2. Discuss Doctor Faustus as a tragic protagonist.
3. To what extent is Doctor Faustus like a morality play?
4. Would it be appropriate to describe Doctor Faustus as a Christian play? Give reasons for your
answer.
5. Discuss the theme of the play Doctor Faustus.
6. In what sense can Doctor Faustus be described as a play with a beginning and an end but no middle?
2.13 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS ANSWER
A. Sometimes the play Doctor Faustus is described as a play with a beginning and an end but no middle,
because crucial action of the play takes place only in the beginning and the end, and Faustus appears as
a tragic protagonist only in these parts; in contrast, the middle part of the play does not contribute to the
development of the action of the play and does not show any complexity of vision or maturity in
Faustus, which we see in the beginning and towards the end of the play.
B. The conflict in Faustus’s mind between opposite tendencies, and his anguish towards the end of the
play.
C. The following factors make Doctor Faustus a representative Renaissance figure: his desire to extend
the frontiers of knowledge by exploring the unexplored forbidden regions of knowledge, the conflict
between reason and faith in his mind, his eloquence, his nationalism, as well as his weaknesses such as
self-glorification and his being trapped in the physical side of life (i.e. his fear of physical pain and
desire for physical pleasure).
D. As appropriate for a tragic figure, Faustus has some admirable qualities which make us feel empathy
for him: his readiness to risk everything for the sake of knowledge beyond the permitted range, his
desire to make his country strong and prosperous, his zest for life, his eloquent speeches, and the
25
 dignity he shows just before his death. Yet he is not perfect and has the following weaknesses: (1) he is
very proud of his achievements and capabilities, and longs to be godlike; (2) he fears physical pain and
desires physical pleasure—this weakness blurs his understanding and judgement, and impels him to
continue on the chosen path even when he realises that it is not quite right. The recurrent conflict in his
mind and his intense anguish towards the end make him a complex and powerful tragic figure. His
suffering becomes more tragic because its causes lie within him—it results from his conscious decision
as well as from his weakness of fear of physical pain and desire for physical pleasure.
E. Doctor Faustus is a representative Renaissance figure, and the main action of the play shows a conflict
between positive and negative tendencies of his mind. Several of the characters too are almost
personifications like the characters of morality plays: the Good Angel and the Bad Angel represent two
aspects of Faustus’s mind; the Old Man functions almost like personified Good Counsel; in the pageant
the personified Seven Deadly Sins are clearly morality play figures. The Devil and his deputies appear
on the stage as in morality plays. Also, the entire play is organized round a strong moral theme in line
with Christian beliefs, as in morality plays.
F. The view projected in the play that God is merciful and would forgive Faustus at any stage of his life if
he truly repents.
2.14 SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Marlowe, Christopher. The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus. Ed. John D.
Jump. The Revels Plays series. London: Methuen, 1962. In a very useful introduction to the play on
pages xlv-1viii, Jump brings out the divided nature of Faustus, his admirable qualities co-existing
with his weaknesses, as appropriate in a tragedy. He describes Faustus “unmistakably as a man of the
Renaissance”, and offers valuable analysis of the struggle in Faustus’s mind. Annotations to the play
appear at the foot of each page of the text.
2. — Doctor Faustus. Edited by David Scott Kastan. A Norton Critical Edition. New York: Norton,
2005. Along with a briefly annotated text of the play, this volume contains many critical essays on the
play.
3. — The Complete Plays. Edited with an Introduction and brief annotation by J.B. Steane. Harmonds
worth: Penguin, 1969.
4. Brockbank, J.P. Marlowe: Dr. Faustus. Studies in English Literature. London: Edward Arnold, 1962.
This brief monograph of 54 pages examines the main themes of the play and offers a detailed critical
commentary on the play.
5. Jump, John. Marlowe: Doctor Faustus: A Casebook. London: Macmillan: 1969. Has a useful
comprehensive introduction about the play and reprints critical comments and papers on the play.
6. Leech, Clifford, ed. Marlowe: A Collection of Critical Essays. Twentieth Century Views. Englewwod
Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1964. Indian reprint: New Delhi: Prentice-Hall of India, 1979. Includes
W.W. Greg’s significant paper The Damnation of Faustus’ (1946), a section The Damnation of Faustus’
from J.P. Brockbank’s book mentioned above, and an extract on Faustus as a tragedy from the chapter
The Equilibrium of Tragedy’ in Una Ellis-Fermor’s book The Frontiers of Drama (1945).
7. Levin, Harry. The Overreacher: A Study of Christopher Marlowe. London: Faber and Faber, 1952.

*****
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 LESSON-3
DOCTOR FAUSTUS: CRITICAL ANALYSIS-I

STRUCTURE
3.1 INTRODUCTION
3.2 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
3.3 THE PROLOGUE SPOKEN BY THE CHORUS
A, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
3.4 SCENE 1
3.4.1 FAUSTUS’S SOLILOQUY
3.4.2 THE ANGEL AND SPIRIT
3.4.3 FAUSTUS’S SECOND SOLILOQUY
3.4.4 FAUSTUS’S MEETING WITH HIS FRIENDS VALDES AND CORNELIUS
B, C, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
3.5 SCENE 3
D, E, F, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
3.6 SCENE 4: THE COMIC REMARK OF THE CLOWN A COMMENT ON FAUSTUS’S
WEAKNESS
G, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
3.7 SCENE 5 (ACT 2, SCENE 1)
3.7.1 FAUSTUS’S SOLILOQUY
H, I, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
3.7.2 SIGNING OF THE BOND
J, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
3.7.3 HELL
3.7.4 A WIFE
3.7.5 KNOWLEDGE
3.8 SCENE 6 (ACT 2, SCENE 2)
3.8.1 REGRET, AND THE DESIRE TO REPENT
K, L, M, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
3.8.2 DESIRE FOR KNOWLEDGE; REPENTANCE; AND WITHDRAWAL FROM
REPENTANCE
N, O, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
3.8.3 THE PAGEANT OF THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS
3.9 SUMMING UP
3.10 GLOSSARY
27
 3.11 QUESTIONS
3.12 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS’ ANSWERS
3.13 SUGGESTED READINGS
3.1 INTRODUCTION
This lesson takes you through the earlier part of the play, analysing the, themes, the state of mind of
the protagonist, and other aspects that are crucial to an adequate understanding of this play.
3.2 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
This lesson aims at helping you understand how a play is to be read at M.A. level. It offers critical
analysis of the more significant lines and sums up less important segments to help you understand the play
well so that you may be able to attempt without difficulty any questions that may be set on the play.
3.3 THE PROLOGUE SPOKEN BY THE CHORUS
Before the action of the play begins, one actor playing the role of Chorus introduces the protagonist,
Doctor Faustus. After describing his achievements in the field of theology at the town of Wittenberg, which
won him the degree of ‘doctor’, the Chorus also mentions his weaknesses—pride and a desire to overreach
(that is, trying to go beyond the existing limits of human knowledge and power):
... swollen with cunning of a self-conceit,
His waxen wings did mount above his reach .... (lines 20-21)
‘Conceit’ means ‘pride’. The waxen wings refer to the mythical figure Icarus, for whom his father
Daedalus had made wings of wax. The father warned him not to fly towards the sun, but Icarus was so
thrilled to be able to fly that he flew higher and higher towards the sun; with the heat of the sun his waxen
wings melted and he fell into the sea. In this way, because of Icarus’s lack of restraint or self-control, those
very waxen wings that allowed him to fly brought about his fatal fall also. Similarly Faustus’s aspiration for
forbidden knowledge of “cursed necromancy” or black magic might become the cause of his fall. Faustus’s
lack of restraint is indicated by the words “glutted” and “surfeits”— both words imply excessive indulgence
which brings discomfort or suffering.
Self Assessment Question
A. Which weaknesses of Faustus does the Chorus indicate at the beginning of the play?
3.4 SCENE 1
3.4.1 Faustus’s first soliloquy
Faustus, alone in his study, says he has mastered different branches of knowledge, philosophy,
logic, medicine, law, and divinity (or theology), but none of them satisfies him because of the different
limitations of the various branches of study. He reveals his pride when he talks of how his medical advice
and prescriptions have cured large numbers of people of very serious diseases. His aspiring spirit is revealed
in his unhappiness that his achievements are merely human: “Yet art thou still but Faustus, and a man” (line
23). His longing to be more than human makes him turn to the forbidden field of magic:
These metaphysics [i.e. supernatural pursuits] of magicians
And necromantic books are heavenly ....
O, what a world of profit and delight,
Of power, of honour, of omnipotence,
28
 Is promis’d to the studious artisan!
All things that move between the quiet poles
Shall be at my command ...
... his dominion that exceeds [i.e. excels] in this [i.e. magic]
Stretcheth as far as doth the mind of man:
A sound magician is a demi-god;
Here, tire [i.e. tire yourselves], my brains, to get a deity! (lines 48-62)
Note Faustus’s desire “to get a deity”, that is, to become god-like in power and importance.
According to Christian beliefs black magic could be practised only with the help of the Devil and
anyone’s turning to the Devil was repulsive to God—so the Renaissance spectators would have felt that a
capable person was tuning to the wrong, forbidden path.
3.4.2 The Angel and Spirit
Faustus asks his servant Wagner (who is a student) to request Valdes and Cornelius, who have some
experience of magic and are Faustus’s friends, to meet him. He thinks that a ‘conference’ or discussion with
them will help him master magic more quickly. While he is alone, waiting for his friends, “the Angel and
Spirit” enter. In the speech headings they are described as Good Angel and Bad Angel, respectively. They
are obviously two aspects of Faustus’s mind that are personified like the characters of morality plays. They
appear briefly several times in the play to externalize the conflict in his mind. At this point the Good Angel
tells him to put aside the book of magic because pursuit of magic is blasphemy or disrespect to God. However,
the Bad Angel or Spirit encourages him to pursue magic which can reveal to him all mysteries of nature and
thereby help him become powerful like God: “Be thou on earth as Jove in the sky” (According to ancient
Roman mythology Jove was the chief of gods). In this he is only articulating what Faustus too had expressed
in his preceding soliloquy. The Good Angel’s advice externalizes a hesitation in Faustus’s mind which he
does not express at this stage, but which is shown a little later by his blood congealing to stop him from
signing the legal agreement in Scene 5 (Act 2, scene 1), lines 62 & 64-5.
(Often a good angel is referred to as simply an angel, while an evil spirit is referred to as a bad angel
or simply as a spirit. According to Christianity the evil spirits or devils are fallen angels who supported the
archangel Lucifer in his revolt against God and were expelled from Heaven as punishment. As Mephostophilis
explains to Faustus in Scene 3, lines 78-82, hell is a state of extreme unhappiness at being cut off from God’s
grace, “Being depriv’d of everlasting bliss”. Lucifer, who was the brightest angel in heaven before his
expulsion, lost his brightness after the fall, and came to be known as Satan or the Devil; Mephostophilis
refers to this in Scene 5 (Act 2, scene 1), lines 157-8, when he offers to provide Faustus company of a
woman “as beautiful / As was bright Lucifer before his fall.”)
3.4.3 Faustus’s second soliloquy
As the Angels leave, Faustus feels “glutted’ with the thoughts of what this power of magic can bring
him. He mentions knowledge first of all (line 79), but he is thrilled mainly with the thoughts of material
wealth (e.g. “gold” [line 81]) and worldly power that magic can bring him. He does give expression to a
spirit of nationalism when he talks of making Germany safe, strong and prosperous, and totally free, but this
is immediately followed by a dream of personal power and glory:

29
 I’ll have them [the spirits] wall all Germany with brass
And make swift Rhine circle fair Wittenberg;
I’ll have them fill the public schools with silk
Wherewith the students shall be bravely clad;
I’ll levy soldiers with the coin they bring
And chase the Prince of Parma from our land
And reign sole king of all our provinces .... (lines 87-93)
3.4.4 Faustus’s meeting with Valdes and Cornelius
When Faustus’s friends Valdes and Cornelius, who have some experience of magic, come to meet
him, he gives expression to his pride at the way his skill in religious arguments had won him admiration of
all. And when his friends tell him what the spirits controlled by magic can bring them, they focus on physical
safety (“Like lions shall they guard us ...”), material wealth, and physical pleasure: The spirits will appear
before them
Sometimes like women or unwedded maids,
Showing more beauty in their airy brows
Than in the white breasts of the queen of love [i.e. Venus], (lines 126-28)
Note that this physical beauty shall be insubstantial (“airy”) because actually only the evil spirits
will assume this pretence of beauty. So these lines become an indirect comment on how it is wrong to be
obsessed with physical beauty which has no inherent worth.
Self Assessment Questions
B. Why does Faustus turn to necromancy or black magic?
C. In what way does Faustus reveal his patriotism?
3.5 SCENE 3
At the beginning of Scene 3 there is thunder to indicate that something disturbing and having wider
implications is about to happen. Then in the gallery at the back of the stage “Enter Lucifer and four Devils”—
as if hell were presiding over the scene, as Una Ellis-Fermor observes. In fact this scene not only describes
in detail the nature of hell but also why Lucifer and his fellow devils (or fallen angels) fell from heaven—
because of “aspiring pride” (line 70), which is motivating Faustus on to the path he has chosen.
Obviously Lucifer and his companions have come there because Faustus has chosen to turn away
from God to Lucifer and they want to oversee his joining their side. Without being aware of the presence of
Lucifer and other devils in the gallery, Faustus invokes them with his incantations. And then as he invokes
Mephostophilis, “a Devil” appears before him on the stage, looking like an ugly dragon. The dramatic
purpose of this ugly appearance is to make Faustus aware of the ugliness of the companions he is choosing.
This also shows that though an evil spirit may assume the matchless beauty of the legendary Helen, he
would in reality be as ugly as this dragon is. Faustus quickly finds an easy way to avoid seeing the ugly
reality; he orders this devil to assume a more pleasant appearance;
Thou art too ugly to attend on me.
Go, and return an old Franciscan friar,
That holy shape becomes a devil best, (line 26-28)
30
 There is incidental satire here on the hypocrisy of many so-called men of religion (Some such
persons are also satirized in Chaucer’s ‘Prologue to The Canterbury Taleg which is in your course in the
Poetry paper).
This scene upsets many of the conventional ideas about the effect of incantations on spirits. Though
Faustus feels happy that his invocation has forced Mephostophilis to appear before him (“How pliant is this
Mephostophilis, / Full of obedience and humility!” [lines 31-32]), Mephostophilis disillusions him; “No, I
came hither of my own accord” (line 46). He explains that whenever somebody distorts the name of God
and turns away from holy books and Christ, the devils “fly, in hope to get his glorious soul” (line 51).
When Faustus asks him “How comes it” that Lucifer, who was “an angel once”, “is prince of devils”,
Mephostophilis replies:
O, by aspiring pride and insolence,
For which God threw him from the face of heaven, (lines 70-71)
Aspiring pride is the weakness of Faustus also; however, the lingering hesitation in his mind
shows that he has not completely rejected God, and till the end of his life there is a possibility of his
being forgiven by God if he repents in the true sense. It is Faustus’s tragedy that he is not able to
repent—sometimes because of the fear of threatened physical torture; sometimes because of his reasoning
that God, being just, cannot forgive his terrible sin of joining the Devil; and sometimes due to sheer weakness
of mind.
Faustus’s queries about damnation and hell, and Mephostophilis’s answers are significant for the
theme of the play:
Fau. And what are you that live with Lucifer?
Meph. Unhappy spirits that fell with Lucifer,
Conspir’d against our God with Lucifer,
And are forever damn’d with Lucifer.
Fau. Where are you damn’d?
Meph. In hell.
Fau. How comes it then that thou art out of hell?
Meph. Why, this is hell, nor am I out of it.
Think’st thou that I, who saw the face of God
And tasted the eternal joys of heaven,
Am not tormented with ten thousand hells
In being depriv’d of everlasting bliss?
O Faustus, leave these frivolous demands,
Which strike a terror to my soul.(lines 72-84)
Though Mephostophilis himself tells Faustus how unhappy he feels at being cut off for ever from
the “everlasting bliss” of heaven and “the face of God”, Faustus in his arrogance and inexperience tells
Mephostophilis:
Learn thou of Faustus manly fortitude

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 And scorn those joys thou never shalt possess, (lines 87-88)
Mephostophilis had told Faustus earlier that he will not do anything for him without his master
Lucifer’s permission; so Faustus now asks him to go and tell Lucifer how he (Faustus) has incurred God’s
wrath by turning away from Him and
Say he [Faustus] surrenders up to him [Lucifer] his soul
So he will spare him four-and-twenty years,
Letting him live in all voluptuousness,
Having thee ever to attend on me,
To give me whatsoever I ask,
To tell me whatsoever I demand,
To slay mine enemies and aid my friends,
And always be obedient to my will, (lines 92-99)
Note that he is selling his soul primarily for physical pleasures (“voluptuousness” refers to pleasure
of senses) and for power over the devil Mephostophilis; he mentions knowledge also but other material and
worldly things are more prominent in his list. This shows that he is tied to the physical aspect even at this
moment when he has not yet signed the bond. (Later the bond becomes a justification for the devils’ threats
of physical torture whenever he tries to repent and turn back to God, which would nullify the written bond.)
After Mephostophilis leaves, Faustus glories in thoughts of becoming the “great emperor of the world” with
his help (line 106), joining Africa and Spain with “a bridge thorough the moving air” “And both contributory
to my crown” (lines 107-11).
Self Assessment Questions
D. How does Mephostophilis look when he first appears before Faustus? What shape does he have
subsequently?
E. How does Mephostophilis describe hell?
F. What are the things that Faustus wants in return for surrendering his soul to Lucifer? What else does
he dream of achieving?
3.6 SCENE 4: THE COMIC REMARK OF THE CLOWN A COMMENT ON FAUSTUS’S
WEAKNESS
This comic scene provides a comment on the main weakness of Faustus, his being trapped in the
physical aspect of existence.
Faustus’s servant Wagner, who is also a student, has got hold of a book of magic to invoke devils
and feels important like Faustus himself. He bosses over the clown who is named as Robin in the speech
headings. Making fun of the Clown’s poverty, Wagner says he is “so hungry ... he would give his soul away
to the devil for a shoulder of mutton, though it were blood-raw” (lines 8-10). To this the Clown replies: “Not
so, neither. I had need to have it well roasted, and good sauce to it, if I pay so dear...” (lines 11-12). The point
is that the Clown has no hesitation in selling his soul for a piece of meat, but he wants that food to be tasty—
well cooked and seasoned with sauce. Faustus too, though much wiser than this stupid clown, is similarly
selling his soul for physical pleasure. In Renaissance drama many times we have seemingly stupid characters
of the subplot function like a parody of the more impressive characters of the main plot to bring out the folly

32
or failings of the protagonists of the main plot. In Ben Jonson’s play Volpone the foolish Sir Pol of the
subplot similarly becomes a parody of the clever Volpone of the main plot who ultimately proves as foolish
as Sir Pol.
Self Assessment Question
g. In what way does the Clown’s remark about his readiness to sell his soul for a well cooked shoulder
of mutton, with sauce, comment on Faustus?
3.7 SCENE 5 (ACT 2, SCENE 1)
3.7.1 Faustus’s soliloquy
When Faustus appears on the stage again, he already has doubts about the path of black magic
which he had so confidently chosen two scenes earlier: Faustus uses reason (i.e. the faculty of reasoning)
to argue that his sin is so great that God cannot forgive him and love him even if he repents now, while the
other part of his mind still has faith in God’s kindness and makes him hesitate. For this reason Faustus has
to tell himself:
Now, Faustus, must
Thou needs be damn’d, and canst thou not be sav’d.
What boots it [i.e. what is the use of it] then to think of God or heaven?
Away with such vain fancies, and despair....
Now go not backward; no, Faustus, be resolute .... (lines 1-4, 6)
Something in his mind tells him: “Abjure [i.e. give up] this magic, turn to God again!’’ (line 8); and
Faustus decides for a moment: “Ay, and Faustus will turn to God again” (line 9). However, immediately his
reasoning and his awareness of his own weakness stop him from turning back to God:
To God? He loves thee not;
The god thou serv’st is thine own appetite ... (lines 10-11)
And since he can satisfy his ‘appetites’ with the help of the Devil, he again decides to be a worshipper
of the Devil: “To him I’ll build an altar and a church ...” (line 12). Though in the next line he also says that
to please the Devil he will “offer lukewarm blood of newborn babies”, in the action of the play he is nowhere
shown as being brutal. Many times he is frivolous, but is never evil. The word ‘appetite’ is used for physical
desires, and Faustus clearly sees how he is more concerned with the physical aspects of life even though a
part of his mind is morally aware that his way of life is not quite right.
The conflict in his mind is again externalized with the help of the Good Angel and the Bad Angel
personifying his contrary thoughts. When Faustus talks of “Contrition, prayer, repentance”, the Good Angel
assures him “they are means to bring thee unto heaven” (lines 17-18). However, the Bad Angel says to him:
“No, Faustus, think of honour and of wealth” (line 22). And the mention of wealth makes him turn back to
the Devil:
Wealth! ...
When Mephostophilis shall stand by me,
What power can hurt me? Faustus, thou art safe:
Cast no more doubts! (lines 23, 25-27)

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Self Assessment Questions
H. Which god does Faustus serve, according to his own statement?
I. Which word makes Faustus turn back to the Devil?
3.7.2 Signing of the bond
As Faustus calls Mephostophilis, he enters and tells Faustus that Lucifer has permitted him to “wait
on Faustus whilst he lives” in return for his soul, but Faustus will have to “bequeath it [his soul] solemnly /
And write a deed of gift with thine own blood” (lines 32-33, 35-36). When Faustus asks him what good his
soul will do to Lucifer, Mephostophilis replies: “Enlarge his kingdom” (line 40). In reply to his next question,
Mephostophilis replies that the fallen spirits or devils suffer pain “As great as have the human souls of men”
(line 44).
As Faustus makes a cut in his arm to get blood for writing out “the deed [i.e. legal agreement] of
gift” of his soul to Lucifer, his blood trickles a little, but as he starts writing the blood stops flowing
(“congeals”—line 62), as if his very being is revolting against his surrendering of his soul (as Faustus
himself observes in line 65). Mephostophilis immediately says: “I’ll fetch thee fire to dissolve it straight”
(line 63). Fire is here symbolic of lust and physical pleasures, which again and again make Faustus turn back
to the Devil whenever he feels frustrated or anguished at having sold his soul and wants to turn to God
through repentance. While alone on the stage, Faustus employs reason to justify his decision:
‘Faustus gives to thee his soul’: O, there it [blood] stay’d [stopped flowing].
Why shouldst thou not? Is not thy soul thine own? (lines 66-67)
As the fire brought by Mephostophilis makes the blood flow again, Faustus quickly writes the deed
in legal language of the kind still used in India. In an ‘aside’ (i.e. thoughts uttered aloud for the audience but
not supposed to be heard by the other characters on the stage) Mephostophilis says: “What will I not do to
obtain his soul!” (line 73).
After writing out the legal deed of gift, Faustus says: “Consummatum est” (line 74). These words in
Latin, which mean ‘It is finished’, were the last words of Christ on the cross as he sacrificed his life for
mankind to bring them back to God. So for the Christian spectators Faustus’s uttering of these last words of
Christ would not only seem a sacrilege but also reflect extreme pride on the part of Faustus.
As soon as Faustus signs the deed confidently, his inner doubt is reflected in the form of the words
“Homo fuge” (i.e. ‘Fly, man’) that he sees on his arm where he had made a cut to get blood for writing out
the deed of gift of his soul:
Homo fuge! Whither should I fly?
If unto God, he’ll throw me down to hell.—
My senses are deceiv’d, here’s nothing writ.—
O yes, I see it plain; even here is writ,
Homo fuge! Yet shall not Faustus fly. (lines 77-81)
Mephostophilis knows that this hesitation in a part of Faustus’s mind may make him turn back to
God, so to keep him on the side of the Devil he decides “to fetch him somewhat to delight his mind” (line
82) to distract him. And a number of devils come, “giving crowns and rich apparel [i.e. clothes] to Faustus.”
These symbols of power and wealth appeal to Faustus’s weakness; and, forgetting all inner doubts, he
goes on to read aloud the deed of gift, which mentions the conditions of gift: “that Faustus may be a spirit
34
in form and substance, ... that Mephostophilis shall be his servant and at his command ... shall do for him
and bring him whatsoever; ... shall be in his chamber or house invisible; ... shall appear ... at all times in
what form or shape soever he [Faustus] p/easd’; if none of these conditions is violated then after twenty-
four years Lucifer, and his minister Mephostophilis shall have “full power to... carry... John Faustus, body
and soul, flesh, blood ...into their habitation wheresoever (lines 95-111).
Self Assessment Question
J. Why does Mephostophilis think of providing Faustus some delight after he has signed the deed?
3.7.3 Hell
Immediately after that, Faustus asks Mephostophilis about hell and where it is situated.
Mephostophilis replies:
Meph. ... Hell hath no limits, nor is circumscrib’d
In one self place, but where we [the fallen angels] are is hell,
And where hell is, there must we ever be;
All places shall be hell that is not heaven.
Faus. I think hell’s a fable.
Meph. Ay, think so still, till experience change thy mind.
Faus. ... Think’st thou that Faustus is so fond [i.e. foolish] to imagine That after this life there is any
pain?
No, these are trifles and mere old wives’ [i.e. old women’s] tales. Meph. But I am an instance to
prove the contrary,
For I tell you I am damn’d and now in hell.
Faus. Nay, if this be hell, I’ll willingly be damn’d:
What, sleeping, eating, walking, and disputing! (lines 122-40)
At this stage Faustus is not prepared to understand that hell is a state of mind or soul; later whenever
he thinks of this, he feels anguished at having turned to the Devil and thinks of going back to God through
repentance
3.7.4 A wife
Suddenly leaving the topic of hell, Faustus asks Mephostophilis to let him have a wife, not because
he wants a life-partner but simply because he feels “wanton and lascivious”, that is, lustful (lines 141-42).
Mephostophilis then brings on stage “a Devil dressed like a woman, with fireworks” (line 148) which shows
the nature of Faustus’s lust almost as a typical comic character of morality plays. Mephostophilis then
advises Faustus not to go in for the ceremony of marriage but to enjoy the company of “fairest courtesans”
(i.e. sophisticated prostitutes) (lines 151-53).
3.7.5 Knowledge
Then Mephostophilis gives Faustus a book of magic, and explains to him how to use it to get gold,
create storms and lightening etc., or to have at his command armed soldiers. When Faustus expresses his
desire to know in detail about the movements and situations of different planets, and about “all plants, herbs,
and trees that grow upon the earth”, Mephostophilis points out that all that information is also there in that
book. Faustus’s desire to know better the heavenly bodies and the earth constitutes the nobler aspect of his
decision to go in for the forbidden knowledge; however, this positive aspect comes last of all, after lust, and
after the mention of the wealth and power that he can now have.

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3.8 SCENE 6 (ACT 2, SCENE2)
3.8.1 Regret, and the desire to repent
Faustus already feels unhappy at having cut himself off from heaven, and Mephostophilis tells him:
“’Twas thine own seeking” (line 4). A tragedy is more effective when the protagonist suffers because of his
or her own wrong decision(s) and weakness(es). Here it is being emphasized that Faustus’s joining the Devil
was his own conscious decision, and he himself is responsible for his consequent anguish. It is also reiterated
in this scene as well as in the preceding scene and in later scenes towards the end of the play that Faustus can
repent and turn back to God at any stage—it is only his weaknesses that make him withdraw from repenting
again and again.
Here we also have an interesting instance of reasoning used to prove contrary stands. Mephostophilis
says heaven “is not half as fair / As thou or any man”: man is “more excellent” than heaven because heaven
was “made for man” (lines 5-9). However, the same argument is used by Faustus to turn back to heaven, and
he decides to repent:
If heaven was made for man, ’twas made for me:
I will renounce [i.e. give up] this magic and repent, (lines 10-11)
Immediately the two angels appear like the figures of a morality play to externalize his thoughts.
The Bad Angel gives voice to Faustus’s own doubt about the possibility of his ever being forgiven by God:
“Thou art a spirit [in the sense of having become like a devil by joining the Devil]; God cannot pity thee”
(line 13). Faustus insists: “Be I a devil, yet God may pity me; / Yea, God will pity me if I repent” (lines 15-
16). Yet as the Angels leave, Faustus admits:
My heart Is harden’d, I cannot repent, (line 18)
Faustus mentions how he frequently feels like committing suicide in despair, and he would have
killed himself long before this, “Had not sweet pleasure conquer’d deep despair” (line 25). With the help
of magic he has been able to listen to great legendary poets and singers of ancient times such as Homer and
Amphion. So he concludes:
Why should I die, then, or basely despair?
I am resolv’d Faustus shall not repent, (lines 31-32)
Self Assessment Questions
K. Who is responsible for Faustus’s anguish?
L. Why is Faustus unable to repent?
M. Why does he not commit suicide in despair?
3.8.2 Desire for knowledge; repentance; and withdrawal from repentance
Faustus then turns to questions about the structure of the universe and the movements of planets. To
some of the answers of Mephostophilis, Faustus impatiently says that even his servant Wagner knows as
much. However, as Mephostophilis resolves some doubts regarding the structure of the universe, Faustus
asks him “who made the world” (line 69). Mephostophilis refuses to answer any questions regarding God’s
role, and says to Faustus: “Thou art damn’d; think thou of hell” (line 75). However, Faustus is not convinced
that his damnation is final and tells himself: “Think, Faustus, upon God, that made the world” (line
76). Yet there is a doubt in his mind: “Is’t not too late?” (line 80). Again the two Angels appear, and the
Good Angel assures him: “Never too late, if Faustus will repent” (line 82). Then the Bad Angel mentions
36
the fear of physical pain, which plays as important a role as the charm of physical pleasure in stopping
Faustus from repenting at different times: “If thou repent, devils will tear thee in pieces” (line 83). The
Good Angel then gives voice to faith that is still there in a part of Faustus’s mind: “Repent, and they shall
never raze [i.e. bruise] your skin” (line 84). Convinced by this faith, Faustus prays:
O Christ, my saviour, my saviour,
Help to save distressed Faustus’ soul, (lines 85-6)
The possibility of Faustus’s repenting and thus being saved from hell, makes Lucifer anxious, and he
rushes to the stage with Beelzebub, his “companion prince in hell”, to prevent Faustus from repenting. First he
uses the logic Faustus himself sometimes expresses: “Christ cannot save thy soul, for he is just” (line 87).
Since this relates to a matter of faith, and it is possible that Faustus may get influenced by faith in Christ’s
mercy and love for the repentant soul, so Lucifer now appeals to Faustus’s sense of honour: “Thou call’st on
God contrary to thy promise” (line 94). This has the effect that Lucifer desires, and Faustus “vows never to
look to heaven, / Never to name God or to pray to him” (lines 98-9). Lucifer is pleased that Faustus has agreed
to show himself “an obedient servant” of hell, and rewards him with “some pastime”: “Sit down, and thou
shalt behold [i.e. see] the Seven Deadly Sins in their own proper shapes and likeness” (lines 102-7).
Faustus is so thrilled at this, he says: “That sight will be as pleasant to me as paradise was to Adam
the first day of his creation” (lines 108-9). There is something disturbing in the way he equates the sight of
the deadly sins with paradise or heaven: this is not a mere hyperbole (exaggeration), it indicates confusion
of values in Faustus’s mind.
Self Assessment Question
N. How does Lucifer succeed in bringing Faustus back to his side?
O. How does Lucifer reward Faustus for being his obedient servant?
3.8.3 The pageant of the Seven Deadly Sins
According to Christianity there are seven deadly sins: pride, covetousness (i.e. greed), lechery or
lust, wrath or anger, gluttony (i.e. excessive eating and drinking), envy, and sloth (the sin of sloth implies not
only physical laziness but also laziness of mind). In Faustus’s character we see the first three of these sins.
Lucifer was guilty of the first sin, pride, which led to his fall.
In morality plays personifications of the seven deadly sins often figured as comic characters. In
Doctor Faustus here, as the personified Seven Deadly Sins, led by a Piper, enter, Lucifer’s companion
Beelzebub asks Faustus to “question them of their names and dispositions [i.e. temperaments].” This and the
exchange of remarks that Faustus has with some of the Sins make this episode lively and somewhat like
drama, almost in the nature of satiric comedy. The speeches uttered by the respective Sins are appropriate to
their qualities not only in content but also in the manner of delivery, which also makes this episode delightful
and dramatic.
As Lucifer sends the Sins and the Piper back to hell (“Away, to hell, away!”), Faustus expresses his
joy: “O, how this sight doth delight my soul!”; and Lucifer says to him: “in hell is all manner of delight”
(lines 170-71). Hell offers delights, not happiness and peace of mind associated with heaven; and delights
fascinate Faustus again and again in this play and are instrumental in keeping him on the side of hell, in spite
of his repeated realization that the path chosen by him is wrong.

37
3.9 SUMMING UP
Faustus is dissatisfied with the accepted branches of learning, some of which he has mastered. He
feels that magic, which he may learn with the help of the Devil, can give him unlimited powers. With the
help of magic he can make his country safe, strong and prosperous, and satisfy his desire for knowledge
beyond that provided by the. permitted branches of study. However, it is essentially his desire for power,
wealth and personal glory that motivates him to go in for the forbidden magic with the help of the Devil. He
invokes the Devil and his deputy Mephostophilis. He signs a legal deed with his blood, giving Lucifer full
power over his soul after twenty-four years in return for powers of magic and the condition that Mephostophilis
will serve him and carry out all his commands during these twenty-four years.
There is hesitation in Faustus’s mind before signing the bond and even after signing it. It is cigar
that the deed signed by Faustus has no finality and can be nullified at any stage if Faustus repents and turns
to God. So Mephostophilis not only uses fire to make Faustus’s blood flow to help him write the deed when
his blood congeals as if to stop him from selling his soul; even after signing the deed whenever Faustus’s
mind wavers or thinks of repenting, Mephostophilis distracts his mind with delightful sights of power and
wealth or with physical pleasures. And later when at times Faustus almost determines to repent, threats of
physical pain and torture are used to keep him on the side of hell.
Faustus’s desire for worldly power, wealth, and physical pleasure is repeatedly brought out as his
main weakness. He uses reason also to convince himself that God cannot love a sinner like him, and that
becomes an important factor in his failure to turn back to God even when he feels he has made a mistake in
joining the Devil.
Soon Faustus begins to realize that he has made a mistake in deciding to give his soul away to
Lucifer, even as he admits that it was his own conscious decision. He feels that he can still turn back to God
if he truly repents, but finds that his heart is so hardened that he cannot repent. As Faustus appeals to Christ,
the saviour, to save his anguished soul, Lucifer realizes the possibility of his turning back to God, and to stop
him he appeals to his sense of honour by saying that he (Faustus) is going back on his promise. This works,
and Faustus promises never to pray to God. Pleased Lucifer then rewards him with a show of personified
Seven Deadly Sins, which delights Faustus and makes him forget his regret for the time being. (Towards the
end of the play, though, he again turns to God and Christ—again unsuccessfully because even then he is
unable to repent.)
3.10 GLOSSARY
The Prologue:
conceit : pride necromancy: black magic
Scene 1:
soliloquy : The words uttered by a character when he (or she) is all alone on the stage. In contrast,
an aside is the thoughts of a character spoken aloud for the benefit of the audience but
which are not supposed to be heard by the other characters present on the stage.
Scene 3:
fortitude : moral strength; calm courage and self-control in the face of difficulties, dangers or
pain

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Scene 5:
damned : condemned to suffer in hell for ever
what boots it... to think: what is the use of thinking
deed : a signed agreement, especially one transferring ownership or legal rights congeal: to
become thick or solid
3.11 QUESTIONS
(a) Questions requiring short answers in about 100 words each:
1. Describe the episode of Faustus’s signing of the deed.
2. How does Mephostophilis describe hell?
3. Comment on any one of the following:
(a) His waxen wings did mount above his reach.
(b) A sound magician is a demi-god;
Here, tire, my brains, to get a deity!
(c) Learn thou of Faustus manly fortitude.
(d) Not so neither. I had need to have it well roasted, and good sauce to it, if I pay so dear.
(e) The god thou serv’st is thine own appetite.
(f) Homo fuge!Yet shall not Faustus fly.
(g) Be I a devil, yet God may pity me;
Yea, God will pity me if I repent.
(h) My heart is harden’d, I cannot repent.
(i) Never too late, if Faustus will repent.
4. Comment on the dramatic function of the pageant of the Seven Deadly Sins.
(b) Questions requiring full-length answers:
1. In what ways is the conflict in Faustus s mind revealed? Why is he unable to repent and turn back
to God?
Note: Also see the questions given at the end of Lesson 2.
3.12 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION’S ANSWERS
Note: In a course in literature you may answer a question in different ways—what is required is
only that the relevant main points should be included in your answer. The answers given below (and at the
end of other lessons) are meant to refresh your understanding of the points discussed in the lesson. You may
phrase the answers differently.
A. Pride, desire to overreach, and lack of restraint.
B. He wishes to be more than human, with superhuman powers which he thinks he can have with the
help of black magic.
C. He says he will use his magic powers to make Germany safe, strong and prosperous and totally free of
foreign control.

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D. Mephostophilis first appears as an ugly dragon. At Faustus’s direction he assumes the appearance of
a friar.
E. According to Mephostophilis hell is a state of mind, a constant feeling of great unhappiness at being
cut off from God and “everlasting bliss”. Hell is wherever such a person happns to be.
F. He wants that for twenty-four years he may live a life of physical pleasures and always have
Mephostophilis to attend on him to give him whatever he may desire, tell him what he wants to know,
kill his enemies, help his friends and always obey him. He dreams of becoming the emperor of the
world.
G. Faustus is similarly wrong in selling his soul mainly for physical pleasure (“voluptuousness”).
H. His own appetite.
I. Wealth.
J. Mephostophilis knows that the formal deed or agreement has no finality, and it is possible for Faustus
to turn back to God at any stage. To ensure that he does not turn back to God, Mephostophilis has to
use the delights of wealth etc. or impressive shows (e.g. the pageant of the Seven Deadly Sins in the
next scene) to distract his mind. When there is greater likelihood of his repenting and turning to God,
Mephostophilis and Lucifer use threats of physical torture and pain.
K. Faustus himself.
L. He feels his heart is so hardened in sin that he cannot repent.
M. The unusual pleasures that magic has brought him overcome his despair.
N. By reminding him of his promise (made earlier in the form of a legal deed).
O. By providing him some pastime in the form of the pageant of the Seven Deadly Sins.
3.13 SUGGESTED READINGS
1. See the list given at the end of Lesson 2.

*****

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 LESSON-4
DOCTOR FAUSTUS: CRITICAL ANALYSIS-II

STRUCTURE
4.1 INTRODUCTION
4.2 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
4.3 THE CHORUS BEFORE SCENE 8 (ACT 3, SCENE 1), AND THE BEGINNING
OF THAT SCENE
A, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
4.4 DOCTOR FAUSTUS AS A PLAY WITHOUT A MIDDLE
B, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
4.5 SCENES 8-10 AND THE CHORUS AFTER SCENE 10 (ACT 3)
4.5.1 THE BACKGROUND OF THE BRUNO EPISODE
4.5.2 FAUSTUS’S LOVE OF DELIGHT AND PLEASURE
4.5.3 THE POPE’S ARROGANCE JUSTIFIES FAUSTUS’S PLAN TO
RESCUE BRUNO
4.5.4 SCENE 9 (ACT 3 SCENE 2): THE FEAST
4.5.5 SCENE 10 (ACT 3 SCENE 3)
4.5.6 THE CHORUS AFTER SCENE 10 (ACT 3 SCENE 3)
4.6 SCENES 11-17 (ACT 4)
4.6.1 SCENE 11 (ACT 4, SCENE 1)
4.6.2 SCENE 12 (ACT 4, SCENE 2)
C, D, E, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
4.6.3 SCENES 13-14 (ACT 4, SCENES 3-4)
4.6.4 SCENES 15-16 (ACT 4, SCENE 5-6)
F, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
4.6.5 SCENE 17 (ACT 4, SCENE 7)
G, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
4.7 SCENE 18 (ACT 5, SCENE 1)
4.7.1 DRAMATIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE SCENES 18-19 (ACT 5,
SCENES 1-2)
4.7.2 WAGNER’S SPEECH
4.7.3 FAUSTUS AND THE SCHOLARS, AND THE FIRST APPEARANCE
OF HELEN
4.7.4 FAUSTUS AND THE OLD MAN
H, I, J, K, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
4.7.5 FAUSTUS AND HELEN
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 L, M, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
4.8 SCENE 19 (ACT 5, SCENE 2)
4.8.1 LUCIFER, BEELZEBUB, AND MEPHOSTOPHILIS PRESIDING
OVER THE SCENE
4.8.2 FAUSTUS AND THE SCHOLARS: FAUSTUS’S DIGNITY
N,O, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
4.8.3 THE LAST APPEARANCE OF THE TWO ANGELS
4.8.4 FAUSTUS’S LAST SPEECH
P, Q, R, S, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
4.9 SCENE 20 (ACT 5, SCENE 3) AND THE FINAL CHORUS
4.10 SUMMING UP
4.11 GLOSSARY
4.12 QUESTIONS
4.13 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION’S ANSWERS
4.14 SUGGESTED READINGS
4.1 INTRODUCTION
This lesson takes you through the remaining part of the play, analysing the state of mind of the
protagonist at different stages, and bringing out the powerful tragedy, especially in the intense scenes towards
the end of the play.
4.2 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
The earlier part of this lesson (Sections 4.1 to 4.4) brings out how limited Faustus’s achievement of
glory and power happen to be. The remaining part of the lesson aims at helping you appreciate the continuing
conflict in the mind of Faustus, and his dignity and anguish as he faces the full consequences of the path he
has chosen. It focuses on Faustus as a tragic hero.
4.3 THE CHORUS BEFORE SCENE 8 (ACT 3, SCENE 1), AND THE BEGINNING OF THAT SCENE
After a brief comic scene in prose, in which the Clown Robin tells Dick that with the help of magic
they can have wines of the best quality at the tavern “and we’ll not pay one penny for it”, the Chorus enters.
At this dramatic centre of the play the Chorus describes how, with the help of dragons controlled
with his magic powers, in eight days Faustus was able to see not only different zones of the earth but also the
planets, the stars, the moon, and different parts of space. This reveals Faustus as a representative Renaissance
man eager to know fully about the universe, and presents a positive aspect of his decision to go beyond the
permitted limits for the sake of fuller knowledge. Poetic description of the vastness of the explored regions
expands the vision of the play. (A similar effect is achieved at the beginning of the next scene, with Faustus’s
rich description of various parts of France and Italy and Mephostophilis’s vivid account of the magnificent
structures of Rome, which thus come alive for the spectator or reader.)
After this the Chorus introduces us to the context of the next scene, in stating that in his closer
exploration of different lands and kingdoms of the earth, Faustus “will first arrive at Rome / To see the Pope
and manner of his court / And take some part of holy Peter’s feast, / The which this day is highly solemniz’d”
(lines 22-25).

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Self Assessment Question
A. What does the Chorus tell us about Faustus’s achievement?
4.4 DOCTOR FAUSTUS AS A PLAY WITHOUT A MIDDLE
From the point where Faustus intervenes in the matter of the Pope and Bruno up to the end of Scene
17 (i.e. end of Act 4), there is no complexity or duality in his mind of the kind that we see in the earlier
scenes and again in Scenes 18-19 (Act 5). For example, in Scene 5 (Act 2, scene 1) while signing his soul
away to the Devil his blood stops flowing and he sees on his arm the words “Homo Fuge”. Even after
signing the contract, in Scene 6 (Act 2, scene 2) he again and again feels that he has made a mistake and
thinks of turning back to God by repenting. This kind of conflict in the mind is not seen in Faustus in Scene
8-17 (Acts 3 and 4)—In Scene 15 (Act 4, scene 5), lines 21-26, he briefly expresses despair that his “fatal
time” is drawing near, but he dispels that despair “with a quiet sleep” without expressing any regret at the
choice he had made and without thinking of repentance and turning back to God. As such even that momentary
despair does not indicate any duality or complexity in his mind.
The kind of tricks he plays during this time are pleasing because his victims are arrogant, such as the
Pope here and the contemptuous Benvolio in Scene 12 (Act 4, scene 2), or cunning, such as the Horse-
courser trying to get a good horse cheap by pretending to be “a very poor man” (Scene 15 [Act 4, scene 5).
However, while playing tricks, or presenting before the German Emperor the appearances of Alexander
and his beloved (in Scene 12 [Act 4, scene 2]), or obtaining grapes in winter for the Duchess of Vanholt (in
Scene 16 [Act 4, scene 6]), there is no growth in Faustus’s character, nor does he make any gain in
knowledge of the kind mentioned in the beginning of Scene 8 and in the speech of the Chorus just before
that scene.
In drama, especially in a tragedy, a character grows or changes in the process of what he does or
experiences. In Doctor Faustus there is no such growth or development in the protagonist in Scenes 8-17
(Acts 3-4). However, in Scenes 18-19 (Act 5) we again see conflict in his mind, and great dignity as he faces
the consequences of the decision taken by him in the beginning of the play. This powerful ending seems to
grow directly from Scenes 1-6 (Acts 1-2). So it has been remarked that this play has a beginning and an
ending but no middle.
Scenes 8-17 (Acts 3-4) merely show that Faustus has largely frittered away the opportunity he had
obtained by selling his soul, even though in the beginning he had asserted that magic would help him with
expansion of knowledge, betterment of his country, and glory for himself.
Self Assessment Question
B. In what sense is Doctor Faustus a play without a middle?
4.5 SCENES 8-10 AND THE CHORUS AFTER SCENE 10 (ACT 3)
4.5.1 The background of the Bruno episode
The Renaissance was also the period of Reformation. A number of religious reformers were critical
of the corruption that had come into the Church organization headed by the Pope at Rome. The first reformer
to challenge the practice of selling pardons by the Church was Martin Luther, a priest and professor of
theology at Wittenberg in Germany—the same place where Faustus is said to have pursued his quest for
knowledge. A number of kings in different countries supported the Reformation primarily because they did
not like that the Pope should have authority to appoint priests in their kingdoms. Those countries that broke
away from the Church headed by the Pope game to be known as Protestants, Germany and England both
were Protestants, and so when Faustus upsets the plans of the Pope in these scenes, Marlowe’s audience in
England would have felt a certain pleasure in the discomfiture of the Pope.
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 Even before Germany formally broke away from the Roman Catholic Church headed by the Pope,
there used to be tussles for controlling the Church organization. In the twelfth century the Pope came in
conflict with the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick who was king of Germany and had appointed another
Pope. During Frederick’s attacks on different states in Italy his son was captured, and thus he was forced to
submit to the Pope opposing him. As John D. Jump notes, Marlowe could have read about it in John Foxe’s
Acts and Monuments; in this play he shifts the episode to Faustus’s time in the sixteenth century. The
cunning way in which Faustus and Mephostophilis rescue the parallel Pope appointed by the Emperor from
the Pope’s custody would have pleased the English audience because of the hostility felt by many Protestants
against the Pope—partly because Roman Catholic countries such as Spain were hostile to England; in fact
in 1588 the Spanish Armada had moved towards England to defeat England,, though that Armada was
destroyed with the help of fire-ships (also mentioned in Doctor Faustus) assisted by winds favourable to
England.
4.5.2 Faustus’s love of delight and pleasure
Mephostophilis’s suggestion that Faustus should see the Pope and partake of the feast makes Faustus
happy and he calls this devil “sweet’’:
Sweet Mephostophilis, thou pleasest me:
Whilst I am here on earth let me be cloy’d
With all things that delight the heart of man.
My four-and-twenty years of liberty
I’ll spend in pleasure and in dalliance ....
(Scene 8 [Act 3, scene 1], lines 58-62)
Already we see Faustus becoming more concerned with delight, pleasure, and dalliance or
irresponsible fun. This marks a certain decline in Faustus’s character, though he regains dignity in Scenes
18-19 (Act 5, scenes 1-2).
4.5.3 The Pope’s arrogance justifies Faustus’s plan to rescue Bruno
Faustus and Mephostophilis watch the Pope’s extreme arrogance as he makes the captured parallel
Pope, Bruno, kneel before him, and, calling him his footstool, steps on his back to sit on his throne. Bruno’s
dignity and the Pope’s excessive pride and meanness in a way justify the Pope’s later discomfiture at the
hands of Faustus and Mephostophilis. There is dramatic irony in the Pope’s criticism of the German Emperor
who had elected Bruno as the Pope:
He grows too proud in his authority,
Lifting his lofty head above the clouds .... (lines 132-33)
These words apply even more to the Pope himself who is speaking these words about his opponent.
When a character’s words appear to have more meaning than, or a meaning different from, what he or she
intended, it is an instance of dramatic irony. Sometimes later events lend dramatic irony to a character’s
words when they turn out to be true in a sense different from that intended. The Pope’s excessive pride of his
position is seen in his following words:
Is not all power on earth bestow’d on us?
And therefore though we would we cannot err. (lines 151-52)

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 When the Pope asks the Cardinals to hold formal consultation to decide the punishment to be given
to Bruno and they go offstage, Faustus and Mephostophilis make them fall asleep, and after assuming the
appearance of Cardinals come to the Pope. They speak the language the Pope would have liked and tell him
that it has been decided that Bruno be burnt alive for heresy (i.e., for having been against the accepted
religious stand). The Pope is pleased, and after asking them to take Bruno in their charge he blesses them.
There is humour as the Pope is blessing a disguised devil, Mephostophilis, who remarks: “was never devil
thus blest before” (line 195).
4.5.4 Scene 9 (Act 3 scene 2): The feast
In order to have “some merriment” to “delight his mind” Faustus asks Mephostophilis to put some
magic charm on him so that he “may walk invisible to all / And do whate’er I please, unseen of any” (lines
9-13).
As the feast begins, as soon as the Pope picks up a delicacy to eat or wine to drink, Faustus snatches
it out of his hand. Assuming that some evil spirit is there, the Pope crosses himself again and again. There is
humour as the traditional idea of keeping away evil spirits does not work and “Faustus hits him a box of the
ear” (line 92). Crying in pain, the Pope leaves. Then the Friars use traditional chanting for expelling evil
spirits, but Faustus and Mephostophilis “beat the Friars, and fling fireworks among them” (line 112), thereby
equating the Friars with comic evil figures of morality plays.
4.5.5 Scene 10 (Act 3 scene 3)
Scene 10 shows the Clown Robin, accompanied by Dick, invoking Mephostophilis to avoid making
payment for the cup he has stolen from the tavern (i.e., public house or inn where liquor is sold) and for
which the Vintner (i.e., inn-keeper who sells wine) is asking them. Mephostophilis appears, the Vintner goes
away; but to punish Dick and Robin who have forced him to rush there from Constantinople, Mephostophilis
turns them into an ape and a dog respectively.
Note that though in this scene Mephostophilis is annoyed that “these villains’ charms” have brought
him from Constantinople, in his first meeting with Faustus (in Scene 3) he had made it clear that incantations
etc. have no effect on him and that he had come to Faustus of his “own accord”. This discrepancy shows that
this middle part of the play was written by somebody other than Marlowe.
4.5.6 The Chorus after Scene 10 (Act 3 scene 3)
The Chorus now provides a transition of the action from the papal court at Rome to the court of the
German Emperor. After describing that Faustus has returned home to admiration and wonder at “his journey
through the world and air” and his first-hand knowledge of astronomical matters, the Chorus announces:
“Now is his fame spread to every land: / Amongst the rest the Emperor is one, Carolus [Charles] the Fifth, at
whose palace now / Faustus is feasted “mongst his noblemen.” The Chorus leaves after mentioning that the
spectators shall themselves “see performed” Faustus’s “trial of his art” at the Emperor’s court.
4.6 SCENES 11-17 (ACT 4)
4.6.1 Scene 11 (Act 4, scene 1)
In Scene 11 (Act 4, scene 1) two courtiers, Martino and Frederick, talk about Bruno having swiftly
come back from Rome “on a fury’s back”, and that Faustus intends to show the Emperor all his ancestors
and also “The royal shapes and warlike semblances / Of Alexander and his beauteous paramour” (lines 15-
16). They invite another courtier Benvolio to “come and see this sport” (line 37); however, he says he will
watch the performance from his window.
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 4.6.2 Scene 12 (Act 4, scene 2)
In the next scene, set in the Emperor’s court, at the Emperor’s request Faustus presents a show
wherein semblances of Alexander and Darius enter from opposite doors of the stage, fight, Darius is thrown
down and killed by Alexander, after which Alexander’s Paramour meets him and places Darius’s crown on
his head. The Emperor is so carried away by the magnificent show that when the performers salute him, he
forgets his position as Emperor and moves forward to embrace the actor- spirits, “which Faustus seeing
suddenly stays [i.e., stops] him”, saying:
These are but shadows, not substantial, (line 55)
It is significant that this same Faustus is so carried away by the insubstantial semblance of Helen in
Scene 18 (Act 5, scene 1) that he says to her semblance: “Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss.” That
later episode shows Faustus’s desperate holding on to physical pleasure to drown his inner anguish even
while a part of his mind is aware that the beauty of Helen that charms him is only an insubstantial shadow.
Before Faustus presents this show, Benvolio expresses disbelief in Faustus’s power to make Alexander and
his Paramour appear; so as a punishment Faustus now puts a stag’s horns on Benvolio’s head and draws the
Emperor’s attention to the “strange beast”. As Benvolio shows anger, Faustus says he had done it only for
the Emperor’s delight, and removes the horns.
Self Assessment Questions
C. What figures does Faustus show to the Emperor?
D. What does he say to the Emperor about these figures?
E. What does Faustus do to Benvolio to punish him?
4.6.3 Scenes 13-14 (Act 4, scenes 3-4)
In Scene 13 Benvolio, accompanied by soldiers, seeks revenge. Faustus’s false head is cut off, but
his real head appears, which frightens them with the thought that he is a devil. At Faustus’s signal several
armed devils appear in an army formation and “set upon the soldiers and drive them out.”
In the next scene Benvolio and his friends Frederick and Martino appear with their hands and faces bloody
and smeared with mud and dirt, and with horns on their heads. They decide to withdraw to a castle near the
woods to hide their shame.
4.6.4 Scenes 15-16 (Act 4, scene 5-6)
In Scene 15 Faustus sells a horse for forty dollars to a Horse-courser who pretends to be “a very
poor man”; Faustus warns him not to ride it into water. As the Horse-courser leaves happily, Faustus for a
moment thinks of his own death:
What art thou, Faustus, but a man condemn’d to die?
Thy fatal time draws to a final end .... (lines 21-22)
However, immediately he dispels the despair with the remark:
Confound [i.e. disperse] these passions with a quiet sleep, (line 24)
“He sits to sleep”, and just then the Horse-courser re-enters, “wet”. He explains that as he ignored
Faustus’s warning and rode the horse into water, “thinking some hidden mystery had been in the horse, I had
nothing under me but a little straw ....” Feeling cheated, he asks for his forty dollars back. To wake up
Faustus he pulls his leg which comes off in his hand. Frightened, he runs away, but Faustus has his leg again,
just like the trick of the false head two scenes earlier.
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 The next scene is quite insignificant. The Clown Robin and his companion Dick look for drinks
without having to pay and meet the Horse-courser who describes his dealings with Faustus, and a Carter
who describes the loss he suffered because of Faustus: once when he was carrying a load of hay, Faustus
asked him how much he should pay him for eating as much hay as he could. The Carter asked for three
farthings, thinking that a man could not eat much hay. However after making that payment Faustus ate up the
entire cartload of hay. This is a strange decline of Faustus: did he sell his soul for being able to play such
pranks?
Self Assessment Question
F. How does Faustus dispel his despair in this scene?
4.6.5 Scene 17 (Act 4, scene 7)
At the beginning of Scene 17 (Act 4, scene 7) the Duke of Vanholt praises Faustus for “erecting that
enchanted castle in the air” offstage. Faustus asks the pregnant Duchess what thing she might like to have,
and she says: “were it now summer, as it is January, a dead time of the winter, I would request no better meat
than a dish of ripe grapes” (lines 16-18). Faustus orders Mephostophilis, who soon returns with the grapes.
At the Duke’s surprise Faustus explains like a scholar: “the year is divided into two circles [hemispheres]
over the whole world, so that, when it is winter with us, in the contrary circle it is likewise summer with
them .... From whence, by means of a swift spirit ... I had these grapes brought...” (lines 27-32).
Just then the Clowns knock at the gate, insisting on talking to Faustus. At Faustus’s suggestion the
Duke allows them to enter. The Hostess of the inn, where Robin and Dick had been drinking but have not
paid for their drinks, also comes there. At Faustus’s direction she serves drinks to everybody, but when she
asks who will make payment, Faustus “charms her dumb”. Before that he makes the Carter, Dick, the Horse-
courser, and Robin also dumb as soon as each one of them starts questioning him. This magic trick is
amusing but highly unworthy of the Faustus of the beginning and the end of the play.
Self Assessment Question
G. What does Faustus get for the Duchess of Vanholt?
4.7 SCENE 18 (ACT 5, SCENE 1)
4.7.1 Dramatic significance of the Scenes 18-19 (Act 5, scenes 1-2)
(1) This scene and the next are very important for any discussion of the play as a tragedy. (2) They
are also very significant for an analysis of the complexity in Faustus’s character as they richly reveal the
duality in his character. His realization of his mistake and his decision to repent reflect his more sensible and
balanced side, but his nobler aspects are undermined when, because of fear of physical pain threatened by
Mephostophilis (“I’ll in piecemeal tear thy flesh”), he withdraws from repentance and turns to evil (asking
Mephostophilis to “torment” the good Old Man who had given him good advice out of selfless love). Even
as he desires physical pleasure in the “sweet embraces” of a devil looking like “heavenly Helen”, he says it
is to “extinguish” thoughts of turning back to God—which indicates a remnant of good sense being eclipsed
by his weakness. As his own steps guided by his weakness lead to his intense suffering, he becomes a tragic
figure. His stature as a tragic hero becomes more impressive because of the dignity with which he faces the
final consequence of his decisions. (3) These scenes are also relevant for an examination of the Christian
elements in the play, for they reveal powerfully that God stands for love and would forgive Faustus in spite
of his agreement with the Devil if he truly repents. This is made clear in the Old Man’s gentle words to
Faustus, and in Faustus’s own realisation and decision to repent, as also in his final cry that a drop of Christ’s
blood could save his soul.
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 Scene 18 (Act 5, scene 1) begins with “Thunder and lightning”, to suggest that something very
significant and disturbing is about to take place, “Enter Devils with covered dishes. Mephostophilis leads
them into Faustus’ study. Then enter Wagner.”
4.7.2 Wagner’s speech
Almost like the Chorus, Faustus’s servant Wagner gives information about an action carried out
before this scene and introduces the action of the scene—all this in the manner of dramatic action as he is
puzzled about seeming contrariness in the things Faustus is doing. The fact that he has “made his will” and
given Wagner “his wealth, / His house”, etc. makes Wagner think that his “master means to die shortly”; so
he cannot understand why Faustus is feasting and drinking freely as if it were a festive time.
4.7.3 Faustus and the scholars, and the first appearance of Helen
At the request of the scholars, Faustus, with the help of Mephostophilis, makes the semblance of
legendary Helen appear: “she passeth over the stage” (line 27).
4.7.4 Faustus and the Old Man
Just then an Old Man appears as the voice of faith and sanity, and asks “gentle Faustus” to “leave
this damned art, / This magic, that will charm thy soul to hell” (lines 38-39). His words bring out how it is
‘human’ to seek to extend the frontiers of knowledge, and Faustus’s decision to learn magic at any cost is
understandable—what is wrong is his remaining confined to the physical aspect of pleasures at the cost of
his soul:
Though thou hast now offended like a man,
Do not pesever [i.e. persevere or continue] in it like a devil, (lines 41-42)
The Old Man points out that Faustus’s soul can still be saved; the only danger is that Faustus’s becoming
accustomed to the sinful path may make it difficult for him to repent when there is still time, that is, so long
as he is alive:
Yet, yet, thou hast an amiable [i.e. pleasant] soul,
If sin by custom grow not into nature:
Then, Faustus, will repentance come too late .... (lines 43-45)
(At several places in the play we see that Faustus realizes his mistake and decides to give up magic
and repent, but his inner weakness of spirit stops him, especially his desire for pleasure and fear of pain.)
The Old Man’s gentle words of love reflect the Christian idea that God and Christ stand for love and
forgiveness for those who are true of heart and repent sincerely:
... gentle son, I speak ... in tender love
And pity of thy future misery;
And so have hope that this my kind rebuke,
Checking thy body, may amend thy soul, (lines 50-54)
Faustus realizes his mistake but feels that now he cannot be saved:
Where art thou, Faustus? wretch, what hast thou done?
Damn’d art thou, Faustus, damn’d; despair and die! (lines 55-56)

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 Mephostophilis gives him a dagger (because according to Christianity anybody committing suicide
goes to hell and Mephostophilis wants to ensure that Faustus should not go back to God). As “Faustus goes
to use the dagger” in despair, the Old Man stops him:
O, stay, good Faustus, stay thy desperate steps!
I see an angel hovers o’er thy head
And with a vial full of precious grace
Offers to pour the same into thy soul:
Then call for mercy, and avoid despair, (lines 60-64)
Faustus is moved by the words of the Old Man and says to him: “O friend, I feel / Thy words to
comfort my distressed soul” (lines 65-66). He asks the Old Man to leave him alone for a while “to ponder on
my sins” (line 67). The Old Man leaves “with grief of heart, / Fearing the enemy of thy hapless soul” (lines
68-69). The Old Man’s fears are justified because whenever Faustus thinks of repenting, Mephostophilis or
Lucifer makes him give up that decision either with threat of physical pain or by appealing to his honour for
fufilment of the signed agreement; and each time he gives up the thought of repenting, he is rewarded with
pleasure—the same happens in this scene also, but on a more intense level.
Alone on the stage, Faustus gives expression to all the mixed feelings in his mind:
Accursed Faustus, where is mercy now?
I do repent, and yet I do despair;
Hell strives with grace for conquest in my breast, (lines 70-72)
In the first line ‘mercy’ stands for God’s mercy, of which Faustus despairs because he thinks God
cannot forgive him. In the third line ‘hell’ and ‘grace’ stand not only for the threats of the devils and the
forgiving kindness of God, but also for the baser and nobler aspects of Faustus himself which pull him in
contrary directions.
Mephostophilis realises the possibility of Faustus repenting and thus getting out of their clutches;
so while calling him a “traitor” for going back on his promise to Lucifer (to be loyal to hell), he uses the
threat of physical pain which always makes Faustus submit:
Revolt [from the idea of repenting], or I’ll in piecemeal tear thy flesh.
(line 76)
The threat works, and Faustus not only backtracks from the thought of repenting, in his zeal to show
loyalty to hell he becomes almost devilish in asking Mephostophilis to torture the kind loving Old Man
while identifying himself with hell: “Torment... that base and aged man /.../ With greatest torment that our
hell affords” (lines 84, 86).
Mephostophilis’s reply is significant:
His faith is great; I cannot touch his soul;
But what I may afflict his body with I will attempt, which is but little worth, (lines 87-89)
Faustus fails to see that if he makes his faith as firm as that of the Old Man, physical pain will
become irrelevant in his own case too as it is for the Old Man.

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Self Assessment Questions
H. What advice does the Old Man give to Faustus?
I. Why does the Old Man want to check Faustus’s “body”, i.e. his fear of physical pain and desire for
physical pleasure?
J. What threat does Mephostophilis use to stop Faustus from repenting?
K. Why torment is of no use in the case of the Old man, according to Mephostophilis?
4.7.5 Faustus and Helen
As Faustus is trapped in the physical aspect of existence, he tries to drown in physical pleasure his
anguish at the mistake he has made, and requests Mephostophilis to let him “have unto my paramour / That
heavenly Helen which I saw of late [in the presence of scholars], / Whose sweet embraces may extinguish
clear / Those thoughts that do dissuade me from my vow ... to Lucifer” (lines 90-96). It must be remembered
that that first appearance of Helen was only an illusion, because Faustus had warned the scholars to maintain
silence (line 27) when Helen appeared. Also, in Scene 12 (Act 4, scene 2) he had told the Emperor that the
figures of Alexander and his Paramour that they saw were “but shadows, not substantial”. He is aware that
the Helen whose physical company he wants to enjoy will actually be a devil looking like what Helen was
when alive. (It can be seen as an indirect suggestion that physical beauty is only an appearance without
substance.) Yet so strong is his attachment to the physical aspects that when the semblance of Helens enters
the stage again, Faustus becomes ecstatic and utters eloquent poetry:
Was this the face that launch’d a thousand ships
And burnt the topless rowers of Ilium [i.e. Troy]? (lines 99-100)
Forgetting God and heaven, he seeks immortality in the company of Helen:
Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss.
Her lips suck forth my soul: see where it flies! (lines 101-02)
The second line here can be seen as metaphoric of his losing all sense of the spiritual at the sight of
physical beauty. There is also some distortion of values when he describes her physical beauty as more
charming than the beauties of nature and brighter than Jupiter (the chief of gods according to ancient Roman
mythology) (lines 112-17).
This conscious turning away from God to the semblance of physical beauty makes the Old Man feel
that now there is no hope of Faustus’s salvation:
Accursed Faustus, miserable man,
That from thy soul exclud’st the grace of heaven .... (lines 119-20)
As the devils start tormenting the Old Man (at Faustus’s demand mentioned earlier), he feels it is a
trial of his faith, and is happy that physical death will take his soul to God:
My faith, vile hell, shall triumph over thee. ...
Hence, hell! for hence I fly unto my God. (lines 124, 127)
Self Assessment Questions
L. Why does Faustus ask for the company of Helen?
M. How does Faustus describe the joy that Helen’s company will provide him?

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4.8 SCENE 19 (ACT 5, SCENE 2)
4.8.1 Lucifer, Beelzebub, and Mephostophilis presiding over the scene
This scene also begins with thunder to indicate that some significant action is going to take place.
Then Lucifer, Beelzebub, and Mephostophilis enter in the gallery at the back of the stage and seem to
preside over the scene. According to one belief, the actions of Lucifer or Satan or the Devil are part of God’s
design. In this scene the moral message is put in the mouth of devils.
Lucifer mentions that sin seals souls as “black sons of hell’’, among whom Faustus is “chief (lines
3-4). Mephostophilis observes about him:
His store of pleasures must be sauc’d with pain, (line 16)
Lucifer states that the time has come for them to claim the soul of Faustus (lines 4-7), while
Mephostophilis, performing the role of chorus, introduces the action of the scene and describes the state of
Faustus’s mind:
Fond wordling, now his heart-blood dries with grief,
His conscience kills it, and his labouring brain
Begets a world of idle fantasies
To overreach the devil; but all in vain .... (lines 12-15)
4.8.2 Faustus and the scholars: Faustus’s dignity
As Faustus meets some scholars and the 1st Scholar remarks that his “looks are changed”, he mentions
that he “now must die eternally” because of “A surfeit of deadly sin” (lines 29, 37). When the 2nd Scholar
asks him to “look up to heaven and remember God’s mercy is infinite”, Faustus replies: “But Faustus’s
offence can ne’er be pardoned” (lines 39-41). This sense of his sin being unpardonable has anguished
Faustus repeatedly in the play and is one of the factors keeping him from tuning back to God with repentance.
When the 3rd scholar advises him to “call on God”, Faustus says, blaming himself:
On God, whom Faustus has abjured? On God, whom Faustus has blasphemed? Ah, my God, I would
weep, but the devil draws in my tears. Gush forth blood, instead of tears, yea, life and soul! (lines 54-58)
He tells them that when he tries to hold up his hands in prayer to God, Lucifer and Mephostophilis
hold them down: ‘Ah, gentlemen, I gave them my soul for cunning” (lines 61-62). As the scholars exclaim,
“God forbid!”, Faustus says:
God forbade it, indeed; but Faustus has done it. For the vain pleasure of four-and-twenty years
hath Faustus lost eternal joy and felicity. I writ them a bill with mine own blood: the date is expired, this is
the time, and he will fetch me. (lines 64-68)
When the 1st Scholar asks him why he did not tell them earlier and says that priests could have
prayed for him, he replies: “the devil threatened to tear me in pieces if I named God ...” (lines 71- 72).
In this dialogue with the scholars, which is in the form of intense prose, Faustus recapitulates his
wrong decision and his weaknesses, but there is a certain calm dignity in the way he accepts his mistakes
and faces the consequence: In his final words to the scholars there is deep despair and bitter remorse, but
they are expressed with restraint and dignity: “Gentlemen, farewell. If I live till morning, I’ll visit you; if
not, Faustus is gone to hell” (lines 84-85).

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Self Assessment Questions
N. What does Faustus say he has gained and what lost by selling his soul?
O. Why did Faustus not seek any help of priests to get out of this situation, as suggested by the scholars?
4.8.3 The last appearance of the two angels
When Faustus is alone, the two angels once again enter from opposite sides of the stage. The Good
Angel points out that Faustus is to suffer because “thou didst love the world”, and that if he had turned to
God, “Hell or the devil had had no power on thee” (lines 101, 108-09). The Bad Angel pronounces the moral
lesson: “He that loves pleasure must for pleasure fall” (line 130).
4.8.4 Faustus’s last speech
Faustus’s last speech when he is all alone on the stage is charged with intense feeling. Even in the
midst of great anguish and a desperate desire that his soul should cease to exist altogether to avoid suffering
in hell for ever, there is indication that Faustus can still be saved if he could only repent.
As Faustus has “but one bare hour to live”, he prays to “ever-moving spheres of heaven” to “stand
still”, “That time may cease, and midnight never come” (lines 134, 136-37):
... or let this hour be but
A year, a month, a week, a natural day,
That Faustus may repent and save his soul, (line 139-41)
He decides to turn to God, but just when he has a hope that his turning to Christ with faith and
repentance may give him the benefit of Christ’s sacrifice and save his soul, he feels physical pain in the heart
caused by Lucifer to stop him from repenting:
O, I’ll leap up to my God! Who pulls me down?
See, see where Christ’s blood streams in the firmament [i.e. sky]!
One drop would save my soul, half a drop. Ah, my Christ!—
Rend not my heart for naming of my Christ;
Yet will I call on him. O, spare me, Lucifer!— (lines 145-49)
His inability to repent because he cannot bear physical pain caused by Lucifer to stop him from
turning to God and Christ, makes him feel that God is angry at his weakness and is looking at him with
“ireful brows” (lines 150-51).
Desperate, he wishes to disappear into the earth, but feels “it will not harbour me” (lines 155- 56).
He would like to be turned into “a foggy mist” and become part of a clcud so that with rain parts of his body
may fall to earth but soul “ascend to heaven” (lines 159-63). Then he prays that even if he cannot be
forgiven, “Impose some end to my incessant pain; / Let Faustus live in hell a thousand years, / A hundred
thousand, and at last be sav’d” (lines 168-70). He wishes that he should not have been a human being with
a soul:
Why wert thou not a creature wanting soul?
Or why is this immortal that thou hast? (lines 172-73)
In a moment of weakness he curses his parents for having given him birth, but he immediately
realises that he himself has been responsible for his present situation:
No, Faustus, curse thyself, curse Lucifer
That hath depriv’d thee of the joys of heaven, (lines 181-82)

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 A little earlier, before the last appearance of the two angels, Mephostophilis had said to Faustus:
’Twas I that, when thou wert I’ the way to heaven,
Damn’d up thy passage; when thou took’st the book
To view the scriptures, then I turn’d the leaves
And led thine eye. (lines 93-96)
However, it is Faustus’s own weakness (his worldly desires and fear of physical pain) which makes
it possible for Mephostophilis and Lucifer to influence him when they can do nothing to the soul of the Old
Man whose faith is “great”.
As the clock strikes twelve Faustus’s anguish reaches its climax, and he wishes:
Now, body, turn to air,
Thunder and lightning.
O soul, be chang’d into little water drops,
And fall into the ocean, ne’er be found, (lines 183-86)
Just as his choosing the forbidden path in his quest for knowledge is presented as a rather human
choice, so also his frantic desire to somehow become totally non-existent is all too human. This humanizing
of Faustus helps the audience empathise with him and so makes his intense suffering powerfully tragic.
As Faustus goes out with Mephostophilis, Lucifer and Beelzebub also leave.
Self Assessment Questions
P. Why does Faustus want that the last hour of his life should be expanded at least to a day?
Q. What does he say about Christ’s blood?
R. Whom does Faustus say he should curse for his present misery?
S. How does he want his soul to be changed?
4.9 SCENE 20 (ACT 5, SCENE 3) AND THE FINAL CHORUS
In the last scene of the play the horrible death of Faustus is reported by the Scholars as they talk
about “fearful shrieks and cries” they heard during the night and “Faustus’s limbs, /All torn asunder by the
hand of death” (lines 4, 6-7). Portrayal of death onstage would have not only been difficult, but would have
also made the scene sensational, whereas its description evokes the feeling of terrible sadness.
At the end of the play the Chorus comes to the stage again to comment on Faustus’s career and to
point out the moral:
Cut is the branch that might have grown full straight,
And burned is Apollo’s laurel bough
That sometime grew within this learned man. (lines 1-3)
Apollo was the god of learning and Faustus’s brilliance held great promise, but his choice of the
wrong forbidden path distorted the growth of knowledge in his mind and resulted in his unhappy end.
Though the play as a whole and the Old Man’s words more specifically indicate that Faustus’s choice is
understandable as human error, the Chorus more simplistically states the moral lesson as follows: “the wise”
should only “wonder at unlawful things, / Whose deepness doth entice such forward wits / To practise more
than heavenly power permits” (lines 5-8).
This moral note links this play with the tradition of morality plays but ignores the powerful tragic
elements which reach their culmination in Scene 19 (Act 5, scene 2).
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4.10 SUMMING UP
With the help of magic gained through the agreement with the devil, Faustus is able to see different
zones of the earth and explore in space the planets, stars, the moon, etc., in eight days. After that he goes to
Rome, and after watching its splendour, he reaches the Pope’s palace on the occasion of Saint Peter’s feast.
From here onwards, in Scenes 8-17 (Acts 3 and 4) there is no complexity or growth in Faustus’s character,
and we see him playing tricks like a conjurer, as if a person without the values based in faith tends to become
superficial.
He and Mephostophilis appear before the Pope in disguise as friars, and manage to get Bruno
released who had been appointed Pope by the German Emperor but had been captured and made a prisoner
by the other Pope. Then, becoming invisible, they spoil the Pope’s feast.
Back home in Germany, honoured by the Emperor and others, Faustus shows them the figures of
Alexander and his Paramour as well as Darius. He makes a stag’s horns appear on the head of a courtier
Benvolio who expresses contempt for his magical powers. On another occasion he shows the Duke of
Vanholt a castle in the air and obtains for the Duchess ripe grapes in the middle of winter. The other tricks he
plays are merely funny and show no hint of the understanding, spirit of adventure, maturity and dignity that
we see in the earlier and later parts of the play.
In Scene 18 (Act 5, scene 1), as the Old Man appears on the stage, there is again in Faustus a
realization of his mistake and a desire to repent. However, fear of physical pain, as Mephostophilis threatens
to tear him to pieces, makes him give up the idea of turning back to God by repenting. To drown his inner
anguish and to suppress his desire to repent, he asks Mephostophilis to provide him the company of the
“heavenly Helen”. When a devil looking like Helen appears on the stage, Faustus becomes so ecstatic, he
asks this semblance of Helen to make him “immortal with a kiss’’—This shows that he remains confined to
the surface of physical pleasure even while being aware that it is illusory, because when he made Alexander
and his Paramour appear before the German Emperor, he (Faustus) told him that they were “but shadows,
not substantial”; so he knows that this Helen is unreal.
Scene 19 (Act 5, scene 2) shows him accepting his end with dignity as he talks to some Scholars,
admitting that his unhappy end is the result of his own conscious decision: “For the vain pleasure of four-
and-twenty years hath Faustus lost eternal joy and felicity.” As the time of his being taken to hell (in fulfillment
of his contract with the devil) draws near, Faustus prays that this last hour may be extended at least to a day
to allow him time to repent and turn back to God. Even as he tries to pray to God, he feels physical pain in
his heart caused by Lucifer to prevent him from repenting. As the clock strikes twelve, he goes off the stage
with Mephostophilis, and in the last scene his horrible death is reported. The Chorus comments on how a
promising course of life was destroyed in the case of Faustus.
4.11 GLOSSARY
Note: In the quotations from the play, where necessary, the meanings of some words have been
explained in square brackets within the quoted parts.
dramatic irony : When a character’s words are true or later prove true in a sense different from
what he or she thinks they mean while speaking them. Sometimes this wider or
different application of words may be clear only to the audience (or reader), but
sometimes one or more characters on the stage, other than the speaker, may also be
aware how the spoken words appear true in a sense different from what the speaker
means.
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4.12 QUESTIONS
(a) Questions requiring short answers in about 100 words each:
1. Comment on any one of the following:
(a) Though thou hast now offended like a man,
Do not pesever in it like a devil.
(b) ... this my kind rebuke,
Checking thy body, may amend thy soul.
(c) I do repent, and yet I do despair;
Hell strives with grace for conquest in my breast.
(d) His faith is great; I cannot touch his soul....
(e) God forbade it, indeed; but Faustus has done it. For the vain pleasure of four-and- twenty years hath
Faustus lost eternal joy and felicity.
(f) ... or let this hour be but
A year, a month, a week, a natural day,
That Faustus may repent and save his soul.
(g) See, see where Christ’s blood streams in the firmament!
One drop would save my soul, half a drop. Ah, my Christ!
(h) Now, body, turn to air...
O soul, be chang’d into little water drops,
And fall into the ocean, ne’er be found.
2. In what sense is Doctor Faustus a play without a middle?
3. Comment on the dramatic significance of the role of the Old Man.
4. Discuss the dramatic significance of Faustus’s address to Helen.
5. Bring out the dramatic significance of the last scene before Faustus’s death.
(b) Questions requiring full-length answers:
1. Analyse in detail the complexity of Faustus’s mind and examine various stages of his life portrayed
in the play. To what extent is he a tragic figure? (In what aspects does he appear to be a convincing
human being? Which features and statements make him an impressive figure? What are his
weaknesses? Why does he sign the bond with the devil? Why does he want to repent? Why is he
unable to repent? To what extent is he himself responsible for his decisions at different stages? Do
you feel empathy for him [that is, do you feel for him] in his suffering?—See Sections 2.4 to 2.7 of
Lesson 2, the entire Lesson 3, and sub-section 4.3.2 and Sections 4.5 to 4.6 of Lesson 4.)
Note: Also see the questions given at the end of Lesson 2.
4.13 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS’ ANSWERS
A. The Chorus describes that with the help of his magic powers Faustus was able to see different
zones of the earth and explore the planets, the stars, the moon, etc. in space in eight days.

55
 B. In the beginning of the play Faustus is a complex character with conflict in his mind. Even after
signing the agreement he keeps thinking of repenting and turning back to God. Towards the end of
the play in Scenes 18-19 (Act 5) we again see conflict in his mind, and great dignity as he faces the
consequences of the decision taken by him in the beginning of the play. This powerful ending
seems to grow directly from Scenes 1-6 (Acts 1-2). In the intervening scenes (Acts 3-4) there is no
duality or doubt in Faustus’s mind, and no growth in his character. The middle part of the play
hardly contributes anything to the action or theme of the play. So Doctor Faustus may be described
as a play without a middle.
C. Faustus shows him the figures of Alexander, Darius and Alexander’s paramour.
D. They are only shadows, and are not substantial.
E. He puts a stag’s horns on Benvolio’s head.
F. With a quiet sleep.
G. Ripe grapes in the middle of winter.
H. He advises Faustus not to continue on his wrong path but to repent and to pray to God for mercy.
I. To amend his soul.
J. He threatens Faustus that he will tear him to pieces.
K. The Old Man’s faith is very strong, and so Mephostophilis cannot touch his soul.
L. To forget his regret at having sold his soul to Lucifer, and to suppress his strong feeling that he
should repent and turn back to God.
M. He says it will make him “immortal”.
N. He gained “vain pleasure” (vain in both senses—useless and proud) for twenty-four years, but lost
eternal happiness of being with God.
O. Because the devil threatened to tear him to pieces.
P. So that he may be able to repent and save his soul.
Q. He says that one drop of Christ’s blood (i.e. the slightest faith in Christ’s sacrifice, shown by true
repentance and heart-felt prayer to Christ) can save his soul even now.
R. Himself and Lucifer.
S. He wants his soul to be changed into little water drops which may fall into the ocean so that his
soul may never be found by the Devil.
4.14 Suggested Readings
1. See the list given at the end of Lesson 2.

*****

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 Unit-II
LESSON-5
TWELFTH NIGHT: THE MAIN ASPECTS

STRUCTURE
5.1 INTRODUCTION
5.2 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
5.3 INTRODUCTION TO SHAKESPEARE AND HIS PLAYS
5.3.1 INTRODUCTION TO SHAKESPEARE
5.3.2 HIS EARLIER PLAYS
5.3.3 THE GREAT ROMANTIC COMEDIES
A, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
5.3.4 THE GREAT TRAGEDIES
5.3.5 THE TRAGICOMEDIES AND DRAMATIC ROMANCES
5.4 INTRODUCTION TO THE PLAY TWELFTH NIGHT: AN OUTLINE OF
THE ACTION
5.4.1 THE TWO PLOTS
5.4.2 THE MAIN PLOT
5.4.3 THE SUBPLOT
5.5 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TITLE AND SUBTITLE OF THE PLAY
5.5.1 THE FESTIVE SPIRIT AND CHEERFUL ATMOSPHERE OF
TWELFTH NIGHT
B, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
5.5.2 HIGHLY AMUSING COMPLICATION IN THE MAIN PLOT
5.5.3 FESTIVE ATTITUDE OF THE CHARACTERS IN THE SUBPLOT
5.5.4 ABSENCE OF EVIL, SUFFERING, AND ANXIETY
5.5.5 THE SUBTITLE: ‘WHAT YOU WILL’
C, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
5.5.6 THE ‘SUNNIEST’ COMEDY OF SHAKESPEARE
5.6 TWELFTH NIGHT AS A ROMANTIC COMEDY
5.6.1 A WORLD OF MAKE-BELIEVE, DISTANT FROM EVERYDAY
REALITY
5.6.2 THE ROLE OF MUSIC IN SUSTAINING THIS ROMANTIC
WORLD
5.6.3 LOVE AS THE CENTRAL THEME
5.6.4 TREATMENT OF THE THEME OF LOVE
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 D, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
5.6.5 HEROINES AS THE CENTRAL FIGURES IN SHAKESPEARE’S
ROMANTIC COMEDIES
E, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
5.6.6 OTHER EXCEPTIONALLY VIRTUOUS CHARACTERS
5.7 THE DRAMATIC FUNCTION OF DISGUISE
5.8 THE DRAMATIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE SUBPLOT
5.9 MALVOLIO AS A CHARACTER FROM JONSONIAN COMEDY OF
HUMOURS
F,G, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
5.10 THE ROLE OF FESTE
H, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
5.11 SUMMING UP
5.12 GLOSSARY
5.13 QUESTIONS
5.14 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS’ ANSWERS
5.15 SUGGESTED READINGS
5.1 INTRODUCTION
This lesson introduces you to Shakespeare’s plays and characteristic features of Shakespeare’s
romantic comedies, and describes significant aspects of the last of his great comedies, Twelfth Night, which
was first performed probably in 1601.
In these lessons when a quotation is given from the text of the play or a reference is made to a part
of the text, the Act number, scene number and line numbers are usually given after the quotation or reference
as follows, within brackets, so that you may be able to locate the relevant lines in your copy of the play: first
the Act number is given, then after a full stop the scene number is given, and after another full stop the line
number or numbers are mentioned, e.g. 1.5.89-90 means Act 1, scene 5, lines 89-90. In the books you
consult the Act number would probably be indicated in capital Roman numerals and scene number in small
Roman numerals, e.g. l.v.89-90; however, in these lessons Indo-Arabic numerals have been used for Act and
scene numbers for convenience of reading.
The meanings of less common words have been indicated in square brackets within the quotations.
Other relevant terms have been explained when they are mentioned first. To draw attention to certain words
in the quoted parts, those words have been put in bold face.
5.2 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
This lesson aims at helping you understand the important features of Twelfth Night, which you
should keep in mind when you read the text of the play with the help of the critical analysis given in the next
two lessons.

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5.3 INTRODUCTION TO SHAKESPEARE AND HIS PLAYS
5.3.1 Introduction to Shakespeare
William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was born at Stratford-upon-Avon and most probably attended
the grammar school there, which would have made him familiar with the works of ancient Roman writers in
Latin. At the age of 18 he got married to Anne Hathaway who was eight years older than him. Some years
later he came to London and joined a theatre company as an actor and writer of plays (this company came to
be known as Lord Chamberlain’s Men from 1594, and as the King’s Men from 1603 when James I became
the king of England and patron of this company). When the lease of the theatre owned by this company
(which was simply called the Theatre) was about to expire, the company pulled it down and from its timber
built another theatre called the Globe. Most of Shakespeare’s great plays, including Twelfth Night, were
performed at the Globe. In 1613, during a performance of Shakespeare’s last play Henry VIII (in which
another writer John Fletcher probably collaborated with him), this theatre caught fire and got burnt down.
Shakespeare also wrote two long poems, Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece, and a sonnet sequence
consisting of 154 sonnets.
Shakespeare is believed to have gone back to his native place Stratford-upon-Avon after the success
of The Tempest (1611), and in that play Prospero’s decision to break his magic wand is seen as a reflection
of Shakespeare’s announcement of his retirement from the theatre. He died in 1616. During his lifetime
some of his plays had been published separately in quarto form. Seven years after his death, in 1623 appeared
his Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies as one volume compiled by two of his fellow actors, John Heminges
and Henry Condell. This volume is usually referred to as the First Folio of his plays.
5.3.2 His earlier plays
At first Shakespeare might have revised other writers’ plays that were taken up by his theatre company
for performance. However, by 1588 or so he was writing plays himself and had made his mark by 1592. His
first comedy, The Comedy of Errors, was partly based on ancient Roman playwright Plautus’s comedy
Menaechmi about twin brothers Separated in childhood and neither knowing that the other is alive: one day
one of them happens to visit the place where the other is living, and this leads to a lot of humour because of
mistaken identities. Shakespeare added to it another set of twins working as servants to the first set of twins,
which multiplies the errors of mistaken identity. In Twelfth Night also we have some humour arising from
mistaken identity of twins, as the heroine Voila, to disguise herself as a boy with the name Cesario, dresses
herself in the way her brother Sebastian used to dress, and Olivia, who falls in love with Cesario, gets
married to Sebastian by mistake. Shakespeare’s first tragedy Titus Andronicus too was based on the model of
ancient Roman writer Seneca’s plays. As history plays were popular at the time, he wrote a number of
history plays early in his career, including Richard III (where the central character is a villain-hero), Richard
II, Henry IV Parts I and II, and Henry V. Among his other early plays are a lively romantic comedy A
Midsummer Night’s Dream (c. 1595), and The Merchant of Venice, which, while presenting the then prevalent
attitude to Jews, yet humanizes the Jewish character Shylock and gives him some justification for his cruelty.
Early in his career his excellence as a dramatist is seen in the unity of atmosphere, increasing
psychological realism in the portrayal of characters, and rich poetry that effectively evokes different shades
of emotions and thought.

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 5.3.3 The great romantic comedies
Towards the end of the sixteenth century, during 1598-1601, Shakespeare wrote Much Ado About
Nothing, As You Like it, and Twelfth Night, which are seen as the best of his happy romantic comedies. These
comedies are set in a romantic world of wish-fulfillment, at some distance from everyday reality; and evil is
not allowed to become a serious threat to happiness. Music plays an important role in sustaining the world
of romance in these plays. The central theme of these comedies is love—love at first sight, which just
happens or doesn’t happen, which is irrational and yet is an enriching emotion. These comedies end in
multiple marriages marking fulfillment of love. The central figures of these comedies are heroines who
combine in them the best of emotions and intelligence, apart from being beautiful; they are balanced
personalities and provide the norm or standard of right behaviour, against which others are judged. Apart
from the protagonists, these comedies show unusual virtue in some other characters also, for example, in
Twelfth Night Antonio risks his own life to ensure the safety of his friend Sebastian.
Self Assessment Question
A. What are the main features of Shakespeare’s romantic comedies?
5.3.4 The great tragedies
From the beginning of the seventeenth century, Shakespeare’s plays probe evil more fully, in his
great tragedies and in the tragicomedies and dramatic romances.
Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth, written during 1601-07, are considered to be his greatest
tragedies. Also significant as tragedies are his earlier Julius Caesar and later Antony and Cleopatra. These
tragedies are named after the central figures who are mainly men, in contrast with his romantic comedies
centred on heroines. His tragic protagonists occupy a position of importance and power in society. They are
given some positive qualities which make us empathise with them but each of them has some flaw in
character (tragic flaw) which proves fatal in the given circumstances. This flaw leads the protagonist to
some serious mistake or mistakes which result in intense suffering to himself and at times also to those dear
to him—this suffering is far more than what his flaw or mistake deserves: in the words of King Lear, who is
the protagonist of the play named after him, each one of them is “more sinn’d against than sinning”. Yet even
in their suffering they rise in dignity, as suffering takes them to a higher level of awareness and understanding.
We see some features of tragic heroes in the mistakes and suffering of Prospero in Shakespeare’s dramatic
romance The Tempest.
5.3.5 The tragicomedies and dramatic romances
Some of the plays that Shakespeare wrote in the early years of the seventeenth century, such as
Measure for Measure (1604), are not festive but probe sinister aspects of evil; they combine features of
tragedies and comedies and are referred to as tragicomedies. Sometimes his last plays, such as The Winter’s
Tale and The Tempest (1611) are also so labelled, but it is more appropriate to describe them as dramatic
romances because in them positive elements associated with comedy finally overcome and neutralise the
darker tragedy-like elements of the earlier part of the play.
5.4 INTRODUCTION TO THE PLAY TWELFTH NIGHT: AN OUTLINE OF THE ACTION
5.4.1 The two plots
There are two plots or lines of action in the play. In the main plot we have highly cultured and
refined characters from the upper strata of society, and the theme is love, with a very unusual and amusing
complication.
60
 In the subplot the characters have less important positions in society and they are concerned mainly
with having fun—whether in feasting and drinking, singing and dancing, or in playing a practical joke on
Malvolio who insults them.
5.4.2 The main plot
In the opening scene of the play the ruling Duke of Illyria talks of the restlessness of his mind
because of his love for Countess Olivia, who says she will remain in mourning for seven years for her
brother (who died about a year ago) and will not meet any man during this period.
In the second scene, shipwrecked Viola reaches the shore of Illyria with the assistance of a good
Captain, and hopes that her brother, who was in the ship with her, might also be safe. As a practical person
she decides to serve Orsino in disguise.
In the fourth scene Viola, who has disguised herself as a boy with the name Cesario, has already
been employed by Orsino, and is now assigned the task of winning Olivia’s heart for Orsino. Even as she
sincerely accepts the assignment, in an aside she expresses her love for Orsino and confidence that ultimately
she will marry him: “Whoe’er I woo, myself would be his wife.”
In the next scene she meets Olivia and describes Orsino’s love for her so effectively that Olivia falls
in love with this messenger Cesario, not being aware that ‘he’ is a woman in the disguise of a boy. Through
her steward Malvolio she cleverly sends a ring for Cesario and invites ‘him’ to come again.
Just then (in Act 2, scene 1) Viola’s twin brother Sebastian, dressed exactly like Cesario, reaches
Illyria, and his very appearance gives a hint to the audience of the likely solution of the very unusual love
triangle that has developed—Orsino in love with Olivia, who has fallen in love with Cesario, who is actually
Viola and is in love with Orsino. Sebastian is accompanied by a very good and caring sea-captain, Antonio,
who gives Sebastian all his money and later risks his own life to save Sebastian from harm.
In the next meeting with Cesario, Olivia expresses her love for ‘him’, who replies that no woman
‘save I alone’ can ever control ‘his’ (her) heart.
Here the subplot intersects with the main plot. In order to have fun, Sir Toby Belch asks the cowardly
Sir Andrew Aguecheek to challenge Cesario to a duel to impress Olivia. When Viola- Cesario and Aguecheek
draw their swords, Antonio, who is worried about Sebastian’s safety in this strange place, reaches there. He
mistakes Cesario for Sebastian, and draws his sword to defend his friend. Just then Orsino’s soldiers come
there and arrest Antonio because on a past occasion he had offended Illyria. Taking Cesario to be Sebastian,
Antonio asks him to return to him some of the money he had given him, so that by paying a heavy fine he can
be free. Cesario naturally says that ‘he’ never got any money from him and offers to share with him whatever
little money ‘he’ has. At this Antonio expresses anguish that Sebastian, who looked to be very virtuous, has
proved to be evil.
On the other hand, the Clown, Feste, sent by Olivia to ask Cesario to come again, happens to meet
Sebastian, and takes him to be Cesario. Aguecheek, encouraged by Sir Toby to attack Cesario, whose dealing
with ‘his’ friend seemed mean, attacks Sebastetian and gets hurt. As Toby intervenes, Olivia enters, and
scolds Toby. She also mistakes Sebastian for Cesario, and when he responds positively to her requests, she
is so happy at this change in attitude that she hurriedly gets married to him, thinking that she is marrying
Cesario.
Orsino, sensing that Olivia continues to be indifferent to his messages of love because she has fallen
in love with his messenger, comes to her house in anger and says that to punish her cruelty to him he will kill
61
her darling Cesario. He admits that Cesario is innocent like a lamb and that he loves ‘him’ dearly: Till
sacrifice the lamb that I do love As Cesario (Viola) says ‘he’ (she) will willingly die a thousand deaths for
Orsino’s happiness, Olivia says: “Cesario, husband, stay!” When Cesario denies having married her, Olivia
calls the priest to “reveal” their marriage which they had earlier planned to keep secret for some time. Just
then Sebastian enters and soon the confusion of mistaken identities is cleared, and it is revealed that Cesario
is disguised Viola. Orsino assures Olivia that though she got married to Sebastian by mistake, he is a worthy
husband: “right noble is his blood.” Then he asks Cesario-Viola about his/her repeated affirmation of love
for him: “Thou hast said to me a thousand times / Thou never should’st love woman like to me.” When Viola
assures him that she really means that, he offers to marry her: “here is my hand; you shall from this time be/
Your master’s mistress.” As Shakespeare’s romantic comedies end with multiple marriages, it is reported
that Maria and Sir Toby of the subplot too have got married.
5.4.3 The subplot
In the subplot we have different members of Olivia’s household—her waiting-gentlewoman Maria,
steward Malvolio, the Clown Feste and Fabian (who are her employees), her kinsman (or relative) Sir Toby
Belch—and Sir Toby’s friend Sir Andrew Aguecheek. With the exception of Malvolio, they sing, dance, and
enjoy feasting and drinking. Malvolio shows contempt for Feste, and criticizes the singing of Sir Toby and
his companions: “My masters, are you mad? ... to gabble like tinkers ...?” (2.3.87-89). His angry manner
makes them plan a mild comic revenge on him to embarrass him.
Maria, whose handwriting is like that of Olivia, writes a letter addressed to no one in particular, and
not signed either, and drops it where Malvolio would see it. As Maria has observed, Malvolio thinks so
highly of himself that he is convinced that anyone who meets him is bound to love him. So when he sees the
letter he convinces himself that it is from Olivia to him. Then he starts following the directions given in the
letter, and therefore appears before Olivia strangely dressed and smiling for no reason. Feste and others
pretend that Malvolio is behaving oddly because some evil spirit has entered him, and to ‘cure’ him they put
him in a dark room where the Fool, Feste, pretending to be a priest Sir Topas, playfully teases him. Malvolio
writes a letter of protest to Olivia, which she receives towards the end of the play. She sees that Malvolio’s
letter does not indicate madness, and has him brought before her. When Malvolio learns that the anonymous
letter had been written by Maria as part of their plan to repay him for his insulting attitude, he angrily
announces: “I’ll be revenged on the whole pack of you!” (5.1.377). Because his comic punishment has been
fully deserved, his anger does not disturb the festive spirit of the play.
5.5 THE TITLE AND SUBTITLE OF THE PLAY
5.5.1 The festive spirit and cheerful atmosphere of Twelfth Night
Twelfth Night refers to the twelfth night after Christmas, i.e. 6th January. Festivities of Christmas
continue for twelve days after Christmas. As Twelfth Night is the last night of festivities, people want to
make the most of it, and for this reason it is the most festive, marked by dancing, feasting, merrymaking, and
entertainment. The title of the play Twelfth Night refers to the highly festive and cheerful atmosphere of
Twelfth Night, and implies that this play is full of joy and free from shadows of sadness like Twelfth Night.
(On the Twelfth Day after Christmas a festival is held in memory of the Epiphany, that is, when
baby Jesus’s divine essence was made manifest [or clear] to three wise men from the east, who are usually
referred to as the Magi. However, the play has nothing to do with that revelation of the divine.)

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Self Assessment Question
B. What does the title of Twelfth Night refer to in the context of the play?
5.5.2 Highly amusing complication in the main plot
The action of the main plot becomes highly amusing when the disguise of Viola as a boy, Cesario,
makes Olivia fall in love with ‘him’/her, while Viola herself loves Orsino who loves Olivia. Because the
complication in the plot is caused by the disguise, this ensures that the play remains cheerful in spite of this
highly unusual and superficial complication of their loves.
Also, as soon as Olivia falls in love with Cesario and this unusual and funny complication of sove
triangle develops, Sebastian, dressed like Cesario, appears on the stage, and that indicates to the audience a
probable solution of the complication. So we can sit back and enjoy the fun arising from this comic
complication.
Throughout the play, Viola’s calm confidence, and lively manner also reassure the spectators and
readers that all will be well. In fact, even before she meets Olivia with Orsino’s message of love, her confident
aside, “Whoe’er I woo, myself would be his wife”, gives clear indication of the likelihood of a happy
solution.
5.5.3 Festive attitude of the characters in the subplot
The characters in the subplot celebrate life with feasting, drinking and dancing. When Malvolio
criticises their merrymaking, he appears anti-life, and the prank played on him by way of mild punishment
adds to festivity.
5.5.4 Absence of evil, suffering, and anxiety
It is significant that in Shakespeare’s two romantic comedies which preceded Twelfth Night—Much
Ado About Nothing and As You Like it—there is noticeable role of evil in the action of the plays. In Much
Ado About Nothing a villain’s plots come close to destroying the happiness of an innocent virtuous young
woman, and in As You Like it in two families the brothers not only deprive their brothers of their due but also
plan to kill them. Of course, the general atmosphere of those plays is so lighthearted that the spectators or
readers do not feel much anxiety. However, in Twelfth Night there is no such evil plotting or planning.
The trick played on Malvolio in the subplot is in the nature of a holiday prank, and does not cause
him any harm. In fact, in the context of his attitude to those who play this trick on him, this mild punishment
of Malvolio only adds to humour and cheerful atmosphere of the play.
In the main plot, in the opening scene of the play there is a mention of the death of Olivia’s brother,
but when we see her in Act 1, scene 5, she is quite cheerful and appreciates the joke of the clown Feste when
he says that she is a fool to mourn that her brother has gone to heaven. Similarly, in the second scene Viola
shows some anxiety about the safety of her brother who could not be rescued after their ship was destroyed
in the storm, yet she immediately dispels this anxiety by expressing the hope that, like her, he too may have
survived by chance. And in the beginning of Act 2 we see him on the stage. So even the mention of death or
of possibility of death is not allowed to cast any shadow of sadness on the cheerful atmosphere of the play.
Act 5 and the ending of the play: In Act 5 Duke Orsino does threaten to kill Cesario (“I’ll sacrifice
the lamb that I do love”—line 128) to cause pain to Countess Olivia who has rejected his love, but this threat
is immediately nullified, partly by Cesario (i.e. disguised Viola)’s cheerful response, and mainly by the
discovery that Olivia has got married to Cesario’s look-alike Sebastian and that Cesario, whom Orsino loves
dearly, is actually a woman, Viola, who also loves him. As such, the fleeting shadow of the threat to kill does
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not significantly affect the festive atmosphere of the play. (Incidentally, this threat is seen as evidence that
Shakespeare could not sustain the lighthearted cheerfulness till the end of the play. The clown Feste’s last
song, with which the play concludes, also expresses mixed feelings because its refrain “For the rain it
raineth everyday” reminds the spectators and readers that sunny warmth of joy and festivity that they have
seen in this play is unusual in life, where rain symbolising suffering or pain is much more common. It
appears that Shakespeare’s mind was already turning away from happy comedies to a probing of weaknesses
and evil that brought about suffering, because after this play he wrote tragedies, dark comedies and dramatic
romances which explore evil and suffering at length.)
5.5.5 The subtitle: ‘What You Will’
The word ‘Will’ in the subtitle implies ‘wish’. So the subtitle indicates that in this play you have a
happy world of wish-fulfillment, where everything happens as you would wish it to be. The title of As You
Like it (the romantic comedy that .Shakespeare wrote immediately before Twelfth Night) similarly indicates
a happy world of make-believe where everything ultimately leads to a happy conclusion, the way you would
like it to be.
Self Assessment Question
C. What does the subtitle of the play Twelfth Night indicate?
5.5.6 The ‘sunniest’ comedy of Shakespeare
In Twelfth Night the prevailing spirit in both the main plot and the subplot is highly festive and
joyful. There is no shadow of grief or evil, and even the threat of Duke Orsiono to kill Cesario (in Act 5) is
immediately neutralized with happy developments. So the over-all atmosphere of the play is more cheerful
than in Shakespeare’s preceding romantic comedies which include characters plotting evil, though in those
plays also the over-all atmosphere is happy and evil gets neutralised. (In Much Ado About Nothing the
scheming villain is exposed and runs away, while in As You Like It those who go to the Forest of Arden to kill
their brothers, undergo change of heart and willingly give their brothers their due.) Since Twelfth Night
presents a happier world free from clouds of evil planning, it is described as “the sunniest and last of
Shakespeare’s happy comedies—‘last of his happy comedies’ because after this cheerful comedy, he wrote
only tragedies, tragicomedies and dramatic romances which probe evil at length and present a relatively
darker view of the world.
5.6. TWELFTH NIGHT AS A ROMANTIC COMEDY
5.6.1 A world of make-believe, distant from everyday reality
Shakespeare sets his romantic comedies in an imaginary world of make-believe at some distance
from familiar everyday reality, where in spite of problems and complications, ultimately everything turns
out to be happy, the way we would like it to be. Twelfth Night is set in Illyria. There was an actual ancient
country named Illyria, along the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, where at present we have Slovenia and
Croatia, etc. However, the Illyria of Twelfth Night is a fictionalised small dukedom, and the name Illyria was
chosen by Shakespeare because it evoked the image of a far- off land, where a happy world of wish-fulfillment
would be more believable.
5.6.2 The role of music in sustaining this romantic world
Music plays an important role in sustaining this imaginary happy world. Twelfth Night begins with
music, ends with a song, and there are a number of songs in between. All the songs are sung by the Fool (or
Clown) Feste, and heighten the gaiety and cheerfulness of the play. Love is the central theme of the main
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plot of the play, and three of the songs deal with the theme of love playfully in different ways, reinforcing the
lighthearted joyful atmosphere of the play. In the subplot a number of characters including Feste also sing
catches, which too add to the carefree happy spirit of the play.
5.6.3 Love as the central theme
Shakespeare’s romantic comedies have love as the central theme. In the main plot of Twelfth Night
the entire action moves round the theme of love. Duke Orsino engages Viola disguised as Cesario to carry
his messages of love to Olivia. Though Viola falls in love with the Duke at first sight and decides to marry
him, she performs the assigned duty very sincerely and so effectively that Olivia falls in love with this
messenger. After indirect and direct expressions of her love to unresponsive Cesario, when Olivia happens
to mistake Sebastian for Cesario, and is pleasantly surprised to find him responsive, in a hurry she gets
married to him. Her marriage makes it possible for Orsino to direct his love to Viola when it is revealed that
she is a young woman in disguise.
In the subplot also the trick played on Maivolio turns on his assumption that Olivia loves him.
Feste’s songs deal with the theme of love in a lighthearted manner. It is for the sake of love that Aguecheek
gets persuaded by Sir Toby to challenge Cesario; and that results not only in humour but also in events that
lead to resolution of the highly amusing love triangle of the main plot.
5.6.4 Treatment of the Theme of Love
Shakespeare’s romantic comedies present love as irrational, which happens at first sight or does not
happen at all. Olivia tells Cesario that Orsino has all the good qualities, yet she cannot love him (1.5.261-
67). Viola falls in love with Orsino at first sight (1.4.42), even though she knows that he loves Olivia and has
in fact engaged her to convince Olivia to marry him. And when Orsino says he would kill Cesario (who is
Viola in a boy’s disguise), she says that for his peace of mind she “willingly ... a thousand deaths would die”
(5.1.130-31).
In spite of being irrational, in Shakespeare’s romantic comedies love is also presented as a positive
force which enriches life.
Self Assessment Question
D. What view of love does Twelfth Night indicate?
5.6.5 Heroines as the central figures in Shakespeare’s romantic comedies
Shakespeare’s tragedies are centred on male figures and are named after them (e.g. Julius Caesar,
Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth), two of his tragedies having women in equally important roles
and having two names in the title (Romeo and Juliet and Antony and Cleopatra). However, his romantic
comedies are centred round heroines (Rosalind in As You Like It, and Viola in Twelfth Night), and no male
character comes near them in importance in the action and theme of the play. As H.B. Charlton points out, in
these comedies not only do the heroines figure in most of the scenes, “They are heroines in the sense that
they provide the efficient force which resolves the dilemma of the play into happiness.” Viola has the poise
and balance of personality along with vitality and initiative, which move the play forward and contribute to
a happy resolution.
As Charlton observes about the heroines of Shakespeare’s romantic comedies, “In his women, hand
and heart and brain are fused in a vital and practicable union ....” This balance of emotions and intelligence
along with physical dignity makes the heroines the norm against which others are judged, and to the
extent the others fall short of that balanced behavior, they are mildly satirised or exposed to ridicule. In
Twelfth Night Viola’s feeling of love for Orsino is no less strong than that of Olivia for Cesario (i.e. disguised

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Viola) or of Orsino for Olivia. However, Viola’s behaviour remains calm and controlled, and she is able to
marry the man she loves. In contrast, Olivia is too impatient in her love for Cesario and therefore in a hurry
gets married by mistake to Sebestian who looks like Cesario. Orsino is more in love with the idea of being
in love and remains content with sending messages of love to Olivia till he realizes that Olivia has fallen in
love with his messenger, Cesario. It is only then that he visits Olivia for the first time, only to learn that she
has in the meanwhile got married to another person. In the subplot Malvolio is convinced that Olivia loves
him, but in all his thoughts expressed to himself there is no indication of either love or respect for Olivia; so
his punishment appears fully deserved and in keeping with the spirit of comedy.
Self Assessment Question
E. In what sense does Viola function as the norm in Twelfth Night?
5.6.6 Other exceptionally virtuous characters
In Shakespeare’s romantic comedies some less important characters too are exceptionally virtuous,
for example, in Twelfth Night the Captain of the wrecked ship who helps Viola and another sea- captain
Antonio who even risks his life for the safety of Sebastian.
5.7 THE DRAMATIC FUNCTION OF DISGUISE
Just as in Twelfth Night Viola assumes the disguise of a boy for safety in an unfamiliar land, so also
does the heroine Rosalind in As You Like It when she decides to go to the Forest of Arden. On the Elizabethan
stage the roles of women were acted by young boys. However, it was not merely for the convenience of such
boy actors that frequently a young woman’s role is carried on for the major part of the play in a boy’s
disguise. It was believed during the Renaissance that each person had in her or him certain qualities of the
opposite sex (e.g. Sebastian talking of being “so near the manners of my mother” [2.1.39]); and the disguise
of a boy helped a young woman explore those other aspects of her personality which usually remained
submerged in the role assigned to women by tradition. It also gave her greater freedom to play a more active
role in the play: Viola could not have talked so freely and in so lively a manner to Olivia if she had met her
as a woman.
Viola’s disguise not only contributes to a lot of humour and lively interaction, her disguise also
makes possible the highly comic complication in the main plot when Olivia falls in love with her. And
because Olivia is in love with a disguised girl, the atmosphere of the play remains festive, without any
possibility of anxiety in the minds of spectators and readers. In this way Viola’s disguise contributes to
making the play the sunniest of Shakespeare’s comedies.
The consequences of the use of disguise also provide occasions for exploring the theme of illusion
versus reality, for example, when Viola finds that Olivia has fallen in love with her deceptive outer appearance
of a boy (2.2.28-29), and when Antonio, mistaking Cesario for Sebastian, crticises his outward beauty
which, he feels, hides a deformed mind (3.4.374-79).
5.8 THE DRAMATIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE SUBPLOT
The characters of the subplot are more earthbound, and their concern is not love but enjoyment of
life through singing, dancing, feasting, drinking, playing practical jokes, etc. In this way the view of life
presented in the subplot supplements the romantic exploration of the theme of love in the main plot, and
makes the play a more comprehensive portrayal of varied aspects of life.
5.9 MALVOLIO AS A CHARACTER FROM JONSONIAN COMEDY OF HUMOURS
Shakespeare had acted in Jonson’s satiric comedy Every Man in His Humour (1598), and so he must
have been aware of Jonson’s concept of the comedy of humours. Certain elements in the subplot of Twelfth
Night, and especially the character Malvolio, appear like those in Jonson’s comedies of humours.
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 Jonson applied the theory of bodily humours to the human mind metaphorically, and said that when
some tendency of the mind becomes so overpowering that it comes to dominate and colour a person’s
feelings, reasoning and judgement, that person is mentally sick. In his satiric comedies he exposes to
ridicule such mentally imbalanced characters who are controlled by excessive self-centred appetites and
are unable to see things which would be obvious to a normal person. In this context Olivia’s comment
on Malvolio in Act 1, scene 5, is revealing.
O, you are sick of self-love, Malvolio, and taste everything with a distempered [i.e. diseased]
appetite. (1.5.89-90)
She pinpoints his weakness—excessive self-love—and describes it as a sickness which has made
his attitude to everything diseased. She goes on to point out that because of this distortion of attitude Malvolio
takes the Clown Feste’s lighthearted criticism as serious insult, like “cannon- bullets” (or cannon balls),
while a more open-minded and large-hearted person would take them lightly as “bird-bolts” (short, blunt
arrows used for shooting birds, which may cause a little pain to human beings but will not kill them): “To be
generous, guiltless, and of free disposition [i.e. open- minded], is to take those things for bird-bolts that that
you deem cannon-bullets” (1.5.90-93). Malvolio’s arrogance and excessive pride in his own qualities is also
seen in the way he talks to Sir Toby and others when they are singing catches at night: “My masters, are you
mad?” (2.3.87).
Maria also highlights this weakness of Malvolio when she and other characters from the subplot,
whom Malvolio has insulted, plan a comic revenge on him:
... the best persuaded of himself, so crammed (as he thinks) with excellencies, that it is his grounds
of faith that all that look on him love him: and on that vice in him will my revenge find notable cause to
work.
(2.3.149-53)
It is precisely because Malvolio thinks very highly of himself that even before he sees the letter
written by Maria, he imagines that Olivia would marry him, and he daydreams about how he will use his
authority as Count Malvolio to show Sir Toby his place. And it is because of his excessively high opinion of
himself that he assumes that the unsigned letter addressed to no one in particular is Olivia’s letter to him, and
so makes a fool of himself by behaving in accordance with the directions in the letter. This makes Olivia
think that he is mentally disturbed and her direction that Sir Toby and others should take care of him allows
them to put him in a dark room, pretending that he is possessed by an evil spirit and that they are trying to
make him normal.
A significant contrast between Shakespeare’s comedies and Jonson’s comedies of humours is that,
unlike Jonson, Shakespeare generally shows a certain warmth even for the characters whom he satirises, for
example, the foolish and cowardly Sir Andrew Aguecheek in Twelfth Night gets appreciation for his wit
when, in reply to Sir Toby’s remark “Does not our life consist of the four elements?”, he says: “Faith, so they
say, but I think it rather consists of eating and drinking” (2.3.9- 12). In Jonson’s comedies there is no such
sympathy for the stairised characters. And Malvolio also gets no sympathy as he is not given any saving
grace, but is made disgusting in the way he refers to Olivia: in Act 1, scene 5, lines 86-88, he indirectly
describes her as the Clown Feste’s “zany” (i.e. poor imitator or assistant) when she appreciates Feste’s joke;
and in Act 3, scene 4, line 74, after Olivia gives direction that Malvolio should be taken care of in his state
of mental disturbance, he says in his soliloquy that he has “limed” her (lime is a glue used for catching
birds).
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 Also, while Shakespeare’s comedies usually end with reconciliation and general festivity, Malvolio
remains excluded from the happy ending. His bitterness at the end is somewhat like the state of mind of
the greedy self-centred characters in Jonson’s play Volpone when they are punished towards the end of the
play.
In Jonson’s comedies of humours different characters are given names indicating their main
weakness or obsession. In Volpone the characters are given names of animals, birds of prey, etc.: the
protagonist Volpone’s name is the Italian word for ‘fox’, that of his assistant Mosca means ‘fly’, while the
names of other characters, Voltore, Corbaccio and Corvino, mean ‘vulture’, ‘raven’ and ‘crow’ respectively.
Similarly Malvolio’s name means one who wishes ill for others (‘mal’ means ‘bad’ or ‘evil’, while ‘volio’
echoes ‘volition’ or ‘wish’). In fact the other characters in the subplot of Twelfth Night are also given names
or surnames indicating their main quality or weakness. Sir Toby Belch is fond of drinking and feasting,
because of which he is often belching in the play. Sir Andrew Aguecheek’s face is flushed because of
drinking. Maria’s name echoes merriment and suggests her cheerful nature. The Fool’s name Feste implies
a festive or joyful temperament. In these ways the subplot of Twelfth Night is somewhat like a Jonsonian
comedy of humours.
Self Assessment Questions
F. What is meant by ‘humour’ in the context of ‘comedy of humours’?
G. How does Olivia describe Malvolio’s weakness?
5.10 THE ROLE OF FESTE
Feste is a professional Fool or Clown or jester employed by Countess Olivia. The dress of the Fool
used to be made of patches of different colours, and is referred to as ‘motley’ in Twelfth Night also, for
example, in Act 1, scene 5, lines 54-55, Feste says to Olivia: “... I wear not motley in my brain.” He means
that though his dress is motley as appropriate for a professional fool, he is not foolish in his understanding
of things. The fool also used to wear a cap with bells, and his face used to be painted in a funny manner, as
you might have seen in case of circus jokers.
It was the duty of a professional fool to provide entertainment by creating jokes out of every situation
or remark even if did not offer much possibility of a witty remark. So his job required an alert mind. As Viola
says in her appreciation of Feste:
This fellow is wise enough to play the fool,
And to do that well, craves [i.e. requires] a kind of wit:
He must observe their mood on whom he jests [i.e. makes jokes],
The quality [i.e. status] of persons, and the time,
And like the haggard [i.e. an untrained hawk], check at every feather [i.e. bird]
That comes before his eye. This is a practice [i.e. profession]
As full of labour [i.e. hard work] as a wise man’s art:
For folly that he wisely shows is fit [i.e. appropriate];
But wise men, folly-fall’n, quite taint their wit. (3.1.61-69)
The professional fool could make fun of the weakness of his employer or of the ruler, for example,
in Act 1 scene 5 Feste tells Olivia that she is being foolish in mourning excessively the death of her brother,
and in Act 2 scene 4 lines 73-79 he crticises the fickle or changeable nature of Duke Orsino: “... the tailor
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make thy doublet [i.e. coat] of changeable taffeta [i.e. shot silk which seems to have different colours as light
falls on it at different angles], for thy mind is a very opal [a semi-precious stone which changes colour with
changes in light].” The Fool could make fun of anybody without fear because he could not be given death
sentence even if the ruler was offended by his mockery. These aspects of the Fool are also celebrated in a
song sung by the three clowns employed by Volpone, in Act 1 scene 2, lines 66-81, in the play Volpone. Two
other remarkable fools in Shakespeare are Touchstone in the romantic comedy As You Like It written just
before Twelfth Night, and the unnamed Fool in the tragedy King Lear written some years later.
Feste also contributes significantly to the festive spirit of the play with his lively lighthearted songs
dealing with the theme of love playfully from different perspectives.
Self Assessment Question
H. What does ‘motley’ mean?
5.11 SUMMING UP
Twelfth Night, like other romantic comedies of Shakespeare, is set in a world of make-believe where
everything happens as we would wish it to be (as the subtitle ‘What You Will’ implies). The title of the play
indicates the festive spirit of Twelfth Night, the last night of festivities on the occasion of Christmas which
extend up to 6th January. This play is the sunniest of his romantic comedies because evil is kept out of it and
even the mention of death casts no shadow on the prevailing cheerful spirit of the play, in the main plot as
well as in the subplot. Music and songs play an important role in reinforcing the cheerful and happy atmosphere
of the play.
The festive spirit is heightened by the highly amusing complication resulting from Viola’s disguise
of a boy with the name Cesario, as Olivia falls in love with this Cesario who brings her Orsino’s message of
love, even as Viola-Cesario has herself fallen in love with Orsino at first sight As Viola’s twin brother,
Sebastian, dressed exactly like Cesario, appears on the stage as soon as Olivia falls in love with Cesario, a
probable solution to the highly unusual love triangle is suggested, and that also keeps the atmosphere cheerful.
The heroine of Twelfth Night, Viola, represents a perfect balance of emotions and intellect, and her
poise and restraint make her the norm against which others’ behaviour is judged and they are mildly ridiculed
to the extent they fall short of this norm. Orsino being too relaxed, and Olivia being over-impatient, ultimately
marry persons other than those they originally wanted to marry, whereas Viola is able to marry the man she
loved.
The theme of the main plot is love. Love is presented as irrational: it just happens at first sight or
doesn’t happen at all. Yet it is celebrated as a positive element that enriches life.
The theme of the subplot is enjoyment of life with singing, dancing, feasting, drinking, and practical
jokes. The more earthy subplot thus complements the romantic spirit of the main plot, and makes the portrayal
of life in the play more comprehensive.
Malvolio is almost like the characters of Jonson’s comedies of humours. He is “sick of self- love”,
and in his arrogance insults others; but his extremely high opinion of himself helps them have a sweet
revenge on him.
Feste as the professional fool not only makes fun of the follies of Olivia (excess of mourning) and
Orsino (changeable temperament), but also contributes to the festive spirit of the play with his lively songs
which reflect varied attitudes to love.

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5.12 GLOSSARY
Note: In the quotations from the play, where necessary, the meanings of some words have been
explained in square brackets within the quoted parts.
For the meaning of Twelfth Night’, the main features of Shakespeare’s romantic comedies, and the
terms ‘comedy of humours’ and the ‘Fool’, see sections 5.3.1, 5.4, 5.7 and 5.8 above respectively.
5.13 QUESTIONS
1. Discuss the significance of the title and subtitle of the play Twelfth Night.
2. Examine Twelfth Night as a romantic comedy.
3. Discuss the treatment of the theme of love in Twelfth Night.
4. Examine the role of Viola in the action and theme of the play Twelfth Night. What is the dramatic
function of her disguise?
5. Comment on the dramatic function of the subplot in Twelfth Night.
6. In what sense is Malvolio a character lifted out of Jonsonian comedy of humours?
7. Examine the role of Feste in Twelfth Night.
8. Comment on the references to the theme of appearance versus reality in Twelfth Night.
5.14 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS’ ANSWERS
A. Shakespeare’s romantic comedies are set in an imaginary world of wish-fulfilment, at some distance
from everyday reality; and evil is not allowed to become a serious threat to happiness. Music plays
an important role in sustaining the world of romance in these plays. The central theme of these
comedies is love—love at first sight, which just happens or doesn’t happen, which is irrational and
yet is an enriching emotion. These comedies end in multiple marriages marking fulfilment of love.
The central figures of these comedies are heroines who combine in them the best of emotions and
intelligence, apart from being beautiful; they are balanced personalities and provide the norm or
standard of right behaviour, against which others are judged. Apart from the protagonists, these
comedies show unusual virtue in some other characters also.
B. The title refers to the highly festive and cheerful atmosphere of Twelfth Night, the last night of
festivities on the occasion of Christmas.
C. The subtitle indicates that this play presents a happy world of wish-fulfillment, where everything
happens as you would wish it to be.
D. Love is irrational, and happens at first sight or does not happen at all. Yet it is a positive force that
enriches life.
E. In Viola emotions and intellect are balanced and she has restraint along with liveliness. Others are
exposed to mild ridicule as they fall short of this norm of poise and balance embodied in Viola.
F. In the context of ‘comedy of humours’, ‘humour’ indicates mental sickness or imbalance when
some tendency of the mind becomes so overpowering that it comes to dominate and colour a
person’s feelings, reasoning and judgement. Usually such characters are controlled by excessive
self-centred appetites and are unable to see things which would be obvious to a normal person.
G. That he is sick of self-love and has a diseased attitude to different matters.
H. The dress of the professional fool or clown which is made of patches of different colours.
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5.15 SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Shakespeare, William. Twelfth Night: Or, What You Will. Edited by J.M. Lothian and T.W. Craik.
The Arden Shakespeare. London: Methuen, 1975. Indian ed. New Delhi: B.l Publications, 1977. All
references to the play in these lessons are to this edition. In the introduction to this edition, pages
xxxiii-xxv regarding the title of the play, Section 4 ‘The Criticism of Twelfth Night’on pages l-lxi,
and Section 5 ‘Critical Analysis by Acts and Scenes’ on pages Ixi-lxxix, are very useful for your
purpose.
2. —-. Twelfth Night. Ed. Elizabeth Story Donno. New Cambridge Shakespeare. South Asian ed. New
Delhi: Foundation Books, 1997.
3. —-. Twelfth Night. Ed. Jean Bradey. Nelson New Shakespeare. London: Nelson, 1970.
4. Barber, C.L. Shakespeare’s Festive Comedy. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1959, chapter
10 (pages 240-61).
5. Brown, John Russell. Shakespeare and his Comedies. London: Methuen, 1957; 2nd ed. 1962, pages
162-82.
6. Charlton, H.B. Shakespearian Comedy. London: Methuen, 1938. The last chapter, ‘The
Consummation’, discusses the main features of Shakespeare’s great romantic comedies, Much Ado
About Nothing, As You Like It, and Twelfth Night. See pages 277-97 for main features of Twelfth
Night as a characteristic Shakespearian romantic comedy. An extract from this chapter of Charlton’s
book is reprinted in Laurence Lerner’s book mentioned below, on pages 332-44 of the book. A
shorter extract is reprinted on pages 72-77 in the Casebook edited by D.J. Palmer, mentioned below.
7. Leggatt, Alexander. Shakespeare’s Comedy of Love. London: Methuen, 1974, pages 221-54.
8. Lerner, Laurence. Shakespeare’s Comedies: An Anthology of Modern Criticism.- Harmondsworth:
Penguin Books, 1967. This book reprints some critical comments on Twelfth Night on pages 267-
75, gives Suggestions for Further Reading on page 283, and reprints on pages 332-44 relevant
extracts from H.B. Charlton’s book mentioned above, and some extracts on comedy in general on
pages 305-25.
9. Palmer, D.J. Shakespeare: Twelfth Night: A Casebook. London: Macmillan, 1972. Has a useful
introduction and reprints selected criticism on the play. You may find the following sections of
interest: comments by William Hazlitt (on pages 29-36), A.C. Bradley’s ‘Feste the Jester’ on pages
63-71, extract about Shakespeare’s heroines on pages 72-77 from H.B. Charlton’s book mentioned
above, Joseph H. Summers’s ’The Masks of Twelfth Night (pp. 86-97), and John Hollander’s The
Role of Music in Twelfth Night (pp. 98-111).
10. Sen Gupta, S.C. Shakespearian Comedy. Calcutta: Oxford University Press, 1950, rpt. (with
corrections) 1972.
*****

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 LESSON-6
TWELFTH NIGHT: CRITICAL ANALYSIS-1

STRUCTURE
6.1 INTRODUCTION
6.2 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
6.3 THE DRAMATIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE OPENING SCENE
6.4 ACT 1 SCENES 2 & 3: THE REMAINING PART OF THE EXPOSITION
6.4.1 ACT 1 SCENE 2: VIOLA’S RESTRAINT, CONFIDENCE, AND
PRACTICAL ATTITUDE
6.4.2 ACT 1 SCENE 3: FESTIVE CELEBRATION OF LIFE IN THE
SUBPLOT
6.5 ACT 1 SCENE 4 : THE BEGINNING OF THE ACTION
6.6 ACT 1 SCENE 5: OLIVIA AND CESARIO-VIOLA: THE BEGINNING OF THE
COMPLICATION
6.6.1 FESTE
6.6.2 MALVOLIO
A, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
6.6.3 OLIVIA AND CESARIO-VIOLA
B, C, D, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
6.7 ACT 2, SCENES 1 & 2: SEBASTIAN’S ENTRY AS A HINT OF THE PROBABLE
RESOLUTION OF THE COMPLICATION
6.7.1 SEBASTIAN AND ANTONIO: ACT 2 SCENE 1, AND ACT 3 SCENES
3&4
6.7.2 ACT 2 SCENE 2
6.8 ACT 2, SCENE 3: THE SUBPLOT: MALVOLIO’S ARROGANCE AND THE
OTHERS’ PLAN OF COMIC REVENGE
6.9 SUMMING UP
6.10 GLOSSARY
6.11 QUESTIONS
6.12 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION’S ANSWERS
6.13 SUGGESTED READINGS
6.1 INTRODUCTION
This lesson takes you through the earlier part of the play, bringing out the significance of different
utterances and actions in the context of the themes and plot structure of the play. It also brings out the nature
of different characters and the roles they perform in the play. It also discusses the relationship of the subplot
with the main plot.

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6.2 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
This lesson aims at helping you understand how certain utterances and actions of different characters
reveal their attitudes to life and contribute to the over-all thematic and dramatic structure of the play. This
lesson should also help you appreciate how a festive atmosphere is built up in the play.
6.3 THE DRAMATIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE OPENING SCENE
In Shakespeare’s time the plays were performed during the day in natural daylight. So those who
wanted to watch a play had to take a day off from work, and they would usually reach the theatre much
before the play was to begin; and they would be talking, gossiping, etc. In order to draw their attention and
focus it on the play, his plays begin with a striking note which would immediately arrest the audience’s
attention. The opening scene also introduces most of the main characters of the play—they appear on the
stage or are referred to. In Twelfth Night and The Tempest only some of the characters are introduced in the
opening scene, while the remaining important characters come to the stage or are mentioned in the second
scene. The opening scene of Shakespeare’s plays often also introduces the theme of the play and evokes the
atmosphere of the play.
Twelfth Night opens with music which immediately arrests the attention of the audience. Music
and songs play an important role at different stages in the play, to sustain the romantic world of make-
believe and to reinforce the festive spirit of the play.
Orsino, Duke of Illyria, who is one of the important characters in the play, enters as the play opens
and in the very first line of the play he mentions the theme of the main plot, love: “If music be the food
of love, play on ....”
In the opening scene Orsino mentions his love for Countess Olivia, another important character of
the main plot. And it is his love for Olivia which makes him employ Cesario (i.e. Viola in disguise) as his
messenger to Olivia (in Act 1, scene 4), and all the remaining action of the main plot results from that. So the
opening scene of Twelfth Night also introduces the motivating factor for the action of the main plot.
In Orsino’s words that follow the opening line, we get a glimpse of his nature: we see his restlessness,
his changeable nature, and his delight in talking about love rather than being eager to meet the lady to
express his love to her himself.
He likes the music played, and asks the musicians to play that tune again; but the second time it does
not seem as pleasing to him. He comments that for a person in love everything becomes insignificant “Even
in a minute!” (lines 9-14).
When Curio, a lord attending on Duke Orsino, suggests that to divert his mind he should go hunting
The hart” (that is, the stag), Orsino’s reply wittily plays upon the similar pronunciation’of hart’ and heart’.
This kind of play upon similarly pronounced words with different meanings is described as a pun.
Orsino also refers to the classical myth of Acteon and Artemis or Diana: Artemis (in ancient Greek mythology)
or Diana (in ancient Roman mythology) was the virgin goddess of hunting and was usually identified with
the moon. While on a hunting expedition, Acteon heard some sounds of women in a thick part of the forest,
and as he went closer through the bushes to find out who they were, he happened to see the goddess bathing,
and as a curse was turned into a stag. Then his own dogs, who earlier used to obey him, ran after him and tore
him to pieces. This myth is symbolic of failure to control desires, which results in one’s suffering or destruction.
Almost equating Olivia with the virgin goddess, Orsino says:

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 O, when mine eyes did see Olivia first,
Methought she purg’d the air of pestilence [i.e. serious diseases];
That instant was I turn’d into a hart,
And my desires, like fell [i.e. savage] and cruel hounds,
E’er since pursue me. (linesl9-23)
Here we also have the theme of love at first sight.
Valentine, whom Orsino had sent with his message of love to Olivia, enters and reports that he could
not even see Olivia, as she has decided to mourn her brother’s death for seven years: during this period she
would remain veiled and would not meet any man. This excessive mourning sounds odd; however, when we
see her in scene 5, she appears quite normal and cheerful; so probably this mention of seven years’ mourning
is just to avoid receiving Orsino’s messages. Orsino too is not upset, and feels happy that a woman who
loves her brother so much would love her life companion much more. Nothing is allowed to overshadow the
cheerfulness and optimism in this festive play.
Orsino’s delight in “love-thoughts” is clearly mentioned in the concluding line of the opening
scene. In contrast with his attitude, is Olivia’s who insistently expresses her love to Cesario from the moment
she falls in love with ‘him’. In comparison with the contrary extremes of the attitudes of Orsino and Olivia,
Viola’s restraint and poise stand out as the norm or standard of right attitude.
6.4 ACT 1 SCENES 2 & 3: THE REMAINING PART OF THE EXPOSITION
The exposition is that part of a play which reveals the situation on the basis of which the action of
the play develops. Usually the first few scenes of a play perform this function. In Shakespeare’s plays some
action also keeps happening in the scenes which introduce the characters and give us information about the
situation. (The other two main parts of a play are the complication in the plot and its resolution.)
6.4.1 Act 1 Scene 2: Viola’s restraint, confidence, and practical attitude
Viola, the most important character of the play, enters the stage in scene 2, accompanied by the
Captain of a ship and some sailors. Viola’s very first words are a practical question: “What country, friends,
is this?” As the Captain replies, “This is Illyria, lady,” Viola thinks of her brother, and after only a moment’s
sadness at the possibility of his having been drowned in the shipwreck (from which she has been rescued in
a boat), she expresses the hope, “Perchance he is not drowned ...” (line 5). This shows her balanced and
optimistic nature. The Captain, who is presented as a very sincere person, assures her that when they last
saw her brother he was alive and well, firmly holding on to a mast (made of wood) that had broken free from
the wrecked ship (lines 11-17).
Viola’s further questions about the country in which she has landed show her practical nature. She
asks, “Who governs here? ... What is his name?” And when the Capatain mentions Orsino’s name, she says
she had heard about him from her father: “He was a bachelor then” (lines 24-29). This leads on to the
Captain’s description of Orsino’s love for Olivia, “A virtuous maid”, whose father died about a year ago, and
whose brother also died shortly afterwards: “for whose dear love / (They say) she hath abjur’d the company
/ And sight of men” (lines 36-41). She says she would like to serve this lady, and on learning that it is
impossible to meet her even, she immediately decides to serve the Duke, Orsino, in disguise—this prepares
the ground for Scene 4.
Viola is not unduly worried about what may happen in future, and says: “What else may hap, to time
I will commit” (line 60).
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 There is also a reference to the theme of appearance versus reality as Viola expresses her faith in the
Captain’s sincerity, even as she is aware that appearances can be deceptive: “nature with a beauteous wall /
Doth oft close in pollution ...” (lines 48-51).
6.4.2 Act 1 Scene 3: Festive celebration of life in the subplot
Scene 3 introduces the festive merrymaking spirit of the subplot, and three characters of the subplot
appear on the stage—Sir Toby Belch who is a relative of Olivia and is staying on in her house, Maria who is
a gentlewoman waiting on Olivia, and Sir Andrew Aguecheek, a foolish knight who has been persuaded by
Sir Toby that he can marry Olivia and has been spending money for Sir Toby’s drinking and feasting. The
two other significant characters of the subplot, Feste and Malvolio, who represent two contrary attitudes to
life, appear in Scene 5.
In the very opening speech of this scene Sir Toby criticises Olivia’s excessive mourning as being
anti-life, and to that extent he appears as embodying a positive attitude to life:
What a plague means my niece to take the death of her brother thus? I am sure care’s an enemy to
life [care in the sense of worry or anxiety],
(lines 1-3)
(During the Renaissance the word ‘niece’ merely indicated a younger female relative and did not
have the specific meaning it has at present. Olivia refers to Sir Toby as her ‘cousin’ and that word too was
not as specific then as it is today.)
Sir Toby does not care about restraint expected in a guest’s behaviour, and insists on drinking
heavily:”... I’ll drink to her [i.e. to Olivia’s health, wishing her good health with every glass of drink he picks
up] as long as there is a passage in my throat and drink in Illyria ...” (lines 38-40).
Maria’s attitude is quite relaxed, and she also represents a pro-life attitude.
Sir Andrew Aguecheek also mentions his fondness for festive celebrations and merrymaking: “I
delight in masques [dance dramas in which the participants wear masks] and revels [i.e. noisy merrymaking
or festivity with dances, etc.] sometimes altogether [i.e. continuously]” (lines 111-12). Sir Toby encourages
him to dance, and he goes out dancing.
In their different ways, all these characters (and the Clown Feste) from the subplot believe in
merriment and enjoyment of life—whether it is in the form of witty remarks or practical jokes, or dancing
and singing, or drinking and feasting.
6.5 ACT 1 SCENE 4: THE BEGINNING OF THE ACTION
In Scene 4, Viola, disguised as a boy with the assumed name Cesario, has been employed with the
Duke for three days and has already won his confidence. Orsino asks ‘him’ to go to Olivia, insist on meeting
her personally, and act out his (Orsino’s) suffering while conveying the message. There is dramatic irony in
Orsino’s statement, “She will attend it better in thy youth” (line 27), because in the next scene Olivia listens
to Cesario so well that she falls in love with this messenger rather than being moved by the message. There
is also irony when Orsino notes that in Cesario “all is semblative a woman’s part [‘part’ in the sense of
‘qualities’, with a pun on ‘role’ in a play]” (line 34), but he does not sense that Cesario is a woman in
disguise.
There is interesting dramatic irony in the following parting words of Orsino to Cesario:
... Prosper well in this,
And thou shalt live as freely as thy lord,
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 To call his fortunes [i.e. wealth, etc.] thine, (lines 38-40)
As the action of the play develops, these words prove true in a very different sense from that intended
by Orsino. Cesario succeeds in impressing Olivia so well that she falls in love with ‘him’, and in her eagerness
to marry ‘him’, gets married by mistake to ‘his’ twin brother Sebastian. Then Orsino is forced to turn his
love away from Olivia, and as he learns that Cesario, whom he loves and who loves him, is actually a woman
in disguise, he decides to marry her, which makes “his fortunes” hers.
The simple matter of Orsino’s love for Olivia gets complicated when in an aside Viola expresses her love
for Orsino (which too is obviously love at first sight, for Viola first saw Orsino only three days ago [line 3]):
I’ll do my best
To woo your lady: [Aside] yet, a barful strife!
Whoe’er I woo, myself would be his wife, (lines 40-42)
In the scenes that follow, we see Viola earnestly trying to persuade Olivia to marry her, and it is
because of this sincerity that Olivia falls in love with Cesario, the disguise of a boy assumed by Viola. And
it is because Olivia falls in love with ‘him’ and in a hurry gets married to Cesario’s look-alike Sebastian, that
Viola’s love finds fulfillment in marriage. The calm confidence of Viola in this aside early in the play is
remarkable, and this confidence and poise remain with her throughout the play.
Note that the last two lines of this scene, which are quoted above, rhyme together, that is, end with
a similar sound: ‘strife, ‘wife. In the main part of each scene which is in verse Shakespeare generally does
not use rhyme; but to conclude a scene he often uses rhyme to mark the ending of the scene; sometimes
this use of rhyme at the end of the scene also emphasises a point, as here. (For a description of ‘blank verse’
and ‘rhyme’ see the Glossary of Lesson 2 or the beginning of subsection 2.2.2 of that lesson.)
6.6 Act 1 Scene 5: Olivia and Cesario-Viola: The Beginning of the Complication
In this scene for the first time Olivia, Feste and Malvolio appear on the stage. We see different
aspects of Olivia’s liveliness, ready wit and perceptiveness (i.e. the ability to understand and see through
things) in her interaction with Feste, Malvolio and Cesario-Viola.
6.6.1 Feste
Maria tells the Clown, Feste, about Olivia’s annoyance at his having been absent from the house
without permission: “my lady will hang thee for thy absence” (lines 3-4). However, carefree Feste remains
undisturbed and makes a joke of the warning. When Olivia herself appears and Feste greets, her, she shows
her displeasure by saying to her attendants, “Take the fool away” (line 36). Showing ready wit, he turns that
into a joke to criticise her excessive mourning for her brother, and immediately says to the attendants: “Do
you not hear, fellows? Take away the lady” (line 37). He explains to Olivia, “... I wear not motley in my
brain,” that is, he is not foolish in his mind even though he wears the motley (dress made of patches of
different colours) as the assigned dress of a Clown or Fool. And with her permission he goes on to prove,
with the help of questions and answers, that she is a fool in her extended mourning:
Clown. Good madonna [i.e. ‘my lady’], why mourn’st thou?
Olivia. Good fool, for my brother’s death.
Clown. I think his soul is in hell, madonna.
Olivia. I know his soul is in heaven, fool.
Clown. The more fool, madonna, for your brother’s soul,, being in heaven. Take away the fool,
gentlemen, (lines 64-70)
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 Though Olivia is wearing black clothes symbolic of mourning, she is not sad, and the liveliness
of her heart is seen in her appreciation of the Fool’s clever argument. This cheerfulness of her temperament
becomes more evident in her conversation with Cesario later in this scene.
6.6.2 Malvolio
Olivia remarks to her steward Malvolio that Feste’s fooling, that is, his ability to entertain with his
wit, is improving. However, Malvolio, who in keeping with his name thinks poorly of everybody except
himself, says that Feste is becoming more foolish, and in his arrogance he criticises Olivia for feeling
amused at Feste’s dull jokes: “I protest [i.e. declare] I take these wise men, that crow [i.e. laugh loudly] so at
these set kind of fools [i.e. who cannot quickly make a fresh joke on an occasion but repeat crammed jokes],
no better than the fools’ zanies [i.e. assistants or imitators]” (lines 86-88).
Then Olivia very perceptively points out to Malvolio his main weakness, in words which make
him appear like a typical character from Jonsonian comedy of humours (as already explained in section 5.7
of Lesson 5): “O, you are sick of self-love, Malvolio, and taste with a distempered appetite [i.e. unable to
taste or appreciate different things rightly because of illness]” (lines 89-90).
Olivia emphasises: “There is no slander [i.e. false statement causing damage to reputation] in an
allowed fool [i.e. a professional clown], though he do nothing but rail [i.e. find faults]” (lines 93-94). At this
Feste shows gratitude to her for having spoken for the professional fools like him.
Self Assessment Question
A. How does Olivia describe Malvoiio’s main weakness?
6.6.3 Olivia and Cesario-Viola
When Olivia learns that “a fair young man” with several attendants is at the gate and wants to speak
to her, she understands that he must have brought a message from Orsino. She asks Malvolio to send him
away with any excuse, but when Malvolio reports that all excuses have failed to dissuade the visitor who is
insisting on meeting her, she feels interested in knowing how he looks: “Of what personage [i.e. personality]
and years is he?” Malvolio replies: “Not yet old enough for a man, nor young enough for a boy .... He is very
well-favoured [i.e. good-looking], and he speaks very shrewishly [i.e. sharply]. One would think his mother’s
milk were scarce out of him” (lines 157-64). The proverbial statement in the last sentence indicates that
some traces of womanly qualities may be there in a man, and vice versa—Of course, we are amused by
accuracy of the observation as here a girl, Viola, is playing the role of a man. Olivia decides to meet this
messenger of Orsino and asks that Maria should be with her during the meeting.
When Viola enters we see another aspect of her personality—pert liveliness. As she sees two ladies
before her, she asks which when of them is the lady of the house, because she does not want to waste her
speech on the wrong person: “for besides that it is excellently well-penned, I have taken great pains to con
it [i.e. to learn it by heart]” (lines 174-75). Here Viola is making fun of much love poetry of the time wherein
the beauty of a lady was idealised with set comparisons. A little later Olivia also makes a joke of such
artificial description of beauty, when she tells Cesario-Viola that she will record in her will “every particle
and utensil” of her beauty: “as item, two lips indifferent red; item, two grey eyes, with lids to them; item, one
neck, one chin, and so forth” (lines 248-52).
However, when Olivia asks ‘him’, “Whence [i.e. from where] came you, sir?”, Viola, playing the
schoolchild who has been cramming answers and is unable to answer even a simple question that has not
been crammed, says: “I can say little more than I have studied, and that question’s out of my part” (lines 178-
80). When Olivia responds to this comic answer by asking ‘him’, “Are you a comedian?”, Viola replies:
“No, my profound heart: and yet... lam not that I play” (lines 183-185).
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 The spectators are amused because they know that Viola is indeed not the man Cesario whose role
she is playing; however, this statement also has wider reverberations of the theme of appearance versus
reality that is touched upon several times in the play and is relevant to comic complication and mistaken
identities in the action of the play.
As Olivia asks this visitor to skip the crammed poem in praise of her beauty, and to come to the
important part of the message, Viola wants to speak about it in privacy. When others leave, Viola says to
Olivia: “Good madam, let me see your face” (line 233). Olivia removes her veil, which indicates that her
reported decision to remain veiled for seven years was just an excuse to avoid receiving Orsino’s messengers.
Nowhere do we see her obsessed with grief at the death of her brother which occurred almost a year ago.
Viola sincerely praises her beauty:
’Tis beauty truly blent, whose red and white
Nature’s own sweet and cunning [i.e. skilful] hand laid on. (lines 242-43)
She goes on with the plea (that we see in many sonnets of that time) that she should get married so
that her beauty may live on in her children:
Lady, you are the cruell’st she alive
If you will lead these graces to the grave
And leave the world no copy, (lines 244-46)
Viola goes on to describe in all sincerity Orsino’s great love for Olivia which deserves to be rewarded
with marriage:
My lord and master loves you: O, such love
Could be but recompens’d, though you were crown’d
Nonpareil of beauty! [i.e. unequalled in beauty by anyone else] (lines 256-58)
In her reply Olivia mentions that Orsino has all the good qualities that a woman may look for in a
husband, but love is not controlled by reason—it just happens or doesn’t happen, and it hasn’t happened in
her case as far as Orsino is concerned; so no amount of persuasion can make her love him:
Your lord does know my mind, I cannot love him.
Yet I suppose him virtuous, know him noble,
Of great estate, of fresh and stainless youth;
In voices well divulg’d [i.e. well spoken of], free [i.e. generous], learn’d, and valiant [i.e. brave],
And in dimension, and the shape of nature [i.e. in physical appearance]
A gracious [i.e. graceful] person. But yet I cannot love him:
He might have took his answer long ago. (lines 261-67)
When Viola-Cesario insists that if ‘he’ loved Olivia as intensely as Orsino does, ‘he’ would not
understand her inability to love him. Olivia asks ‘him’ what ‘he’ would do, and on hearing about ‘his’
insistent way of wooing her, Olivia admits, “You might do much,” and asks ‘him’, “What is your
parentage?”(lines 280-81)—which indicates to the audience that she has already fallen in love with disguised
Viola and is thinking of marrying ‘him’—and that makes a very interesting and amusing complication in this
love story: Orsino loves Olivia who has now fallen in love with Cesario-Viola who has already fallen in love
with Orsino. We get an indication of a probable solution in the very next scene when Viola’s twin brother

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Sebastian, dressed exactly like Cesario, appears on the stage. The amusing complication and the hint of its
likely solution coming close together, ensure that the atmosphere of the play remains lighthearted and festive.
Olivia indirectly invites Cesario to come again: “Get you to your lord: /I cannot love him: let him send no
more, / Unless, perchance, you come to me again, / To tell me how he takes it” (lines 283-86). As Viola-
Cesario leaves, Olivia thinks of ‘his’ reply about parentage, “I am a gentleman,” and feels that ‘his’ way of
talking, physical appearance and bearing, temperament, etc. all indicate ‘his’ dignified position:
Methinks I feel this youth’s perfections
With an invisible and subtle stealth
To creep in at mine eyes. Well, let it be. (lines 300-02)
Olivia calmly accepts the fact that she has fallen in love with Cesario, and immediately sends ‘him’
a ring through Malvolio, pretending that the ring was left behind by that messenger of the Count. She leaves
the outcome of love to fate, without being unduly anxious:
Fate, show thy force; ourselves we do not owe [i.e. own, or have control over].
What is decreed [i.e. ordered (by fate)], must be: and be this so.
(lines 314-15)
Viola similarly puts her faith in time as the force that would resolve the complication when, from
the ring brought by Malvolio, she discovers that Olivia has fallen in love with her “outside” appearance of
a man:
O time, thou must untangle this, not I,
It is too hard a knot for me to untie. (2.2.39-40)
In the subplot Maria’s behvaiour also reflects calm confidence, and this is one of the significant
qualities of women characters in Twelfth Night that lead the action forward and take it to its conclusion.
Self Assessment Questions
B. Does Viola sincerely try to convince Olivia of Orsino’s love?
C. Does Olivia mention any flaw in Orsino because of which she cannot love him?
D. Why can’t Olivia love Orsino?
6.7 ACT 2, SCENES 1 & 2: SEBASTIAN’S ENTRY AS A HINT OF THE PROBABLE RESOLUTION
OF THE COMPLICATION
6.7.1 Sebastian and Antonio: Act 2 scene 1, and Act 3 scenes 3 & 4
Just when Olivia’s falling in love with Cesario gives rise to the highly unreal and richly comic
complication of the love story, there appears on the stage (in Act 2, scenel) the twin brother of Viola,
Sebastian, dressed exactly like the disguise she has assumed as Cesario—and this gives a hint of the way the
complication of the highly unusual love triangle might get resolved; and we also expect some comic situations
to arise from mistaken identities.
Sebastian mentions that they are twins— “myself and a sister, both born in an hour”, “she much
resembled me” (2.1.18-19 & 24-25)—though he thinks she got drowned in the shipwreck from which he
was rescued by another sea-captain Antonio, who comes to the stage with him, and is revealed as very
sincere. Regarding the identical appearance of Cesario (Viola) and Sebastian, Viola says in Act 3 scene 4,
when Antonio mistakes her for Sebastian and is pained at the supposed Sebastian’s refusal to recognize him
and to return even a part of the money he had given him (in Act 3 scene 3):
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 He nam’d Sebastian. I my brother know
Yet living in my glass [i.e., mirror]; even such as so
In favour [i.e. looks, physical appearance] was my brother, and he went
Still [i.e. always] in this fashion [i.e. manner of dress, etc.], colour, ornament,
For him I imitate. (3.4.389-93)
Both Sebastian and Antonio are shown as having very noble natures. Sebastian tells Antonio about
his actual identity, and requests him not to come with him, because he fears that his own bad luck may make
Antonio also suffer if he accompanies him. When Sebastian tells him that he is going to the Count Orsino’s
court” and leaves, Antonio says: “I have many enemies in Orsino’s court, / Else would I very shortly see thee
there” (2.1.44-45). However, the very next moment his sense of friendship makes him ignore the risk to his
own safety:
But come what may, I do adore thee so,
That danger shall seem sport, and I will go. (2.1.46-47)
He joins Sebastian in Act 3 scene 3 and tells him he was anxious “what might befall your travel, /
Being skilless in these parts [i.e. unfamiliar with this area]” (3.3.8-9). Sebastian is overcome with gratitude
for this love and friendly concern. When he suggests that they should visit the famous memorials etc. of that
town, Antonio explains that it is not safe for him: “I do not without danger walk these streets.” Once in a sea-
fight against Duke Orsino’s ships he had caused such harm that if he is caught, he will have to pay heavily
(3.3.25-28).
Still being concerned about Sebastian’s comfort and convenience, he mentions the inn where they
would stay (“the Elephant”), and gives Sebastian his purse, with which he may buy whatever thing may
interest him as a visitor to a new place.
Again it is Antonio’s worry about Sebastian’s safety which makes him search through streets for
him in the next scene when he mistakes Cesario for Sebastian just when Cesario and Aguecheek draw their
swords in the duel set up by Sir Toby and Fabian as a practical joke. Antonio assumes that Sebastian is in
danger, and draws his sword to defend him—just then some Officers of Illyria enter and arrest him. Realising
that he will have to pay a heavy fine, he says to Cesario, whom he takes to be Sebastian:
This comes with seeking you;
But there’s no remedy, I shall answer it.
What you will do, now my necessity
Makes me to ask you for my purse? It grieves me
Much more for what I cannot do for you,
Than what befalls myself. (3.4.340-45)
Here we have an idealised picture of friendship, when Antonio even in his own crisis is more upset
at his inability to be of help to Sebastian.
As the person he is talking to is actually Sebastian’s look-alike, Cesario (Viola), when he asks ‘him’
to return “some of that money” he had given him, Viola naturally asks, “What money, sir?” (3.4.348-49).
She offers him half of all the money she has, which is not even a fraction of the amount Antonio had given
Sebastian. Antonio thinks Sebastian is refusing to return the money he had given him, and he is pained that
this handsome-looking person is evil at heart, and his words once again raise the theme of difference between
appearance and reality:
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 But O how vile [i.e. worthless] an idol proves this god! [i.e. whom he took to be noble like a god]
Thou hast, Sebastian, done good feature [i.e. good looks] shame.
In nature there’s no blemish [i.e. defect] but the mind:
None can be call’d deform’d [i.e. ugly] but the unkind.
Virtue is beauty, but the beauteous evil
Are empty trunks, o’er-flourish’d [i.e. elaborately carved with decorative figures] by the devil [i.e.,
evil persons who look handsome but have nothing worthwhile inside them, are like empty trunks or boxes
which are beautifully decorated on the outside]. (3.4.374-79)
That error of mistaken identity prepares the ground for Olivia and others mistaking Sebastian for
Cesario in Act 4, which, leads to resolution of the complication and also heightens the light-hearted atmosphere
of the play.
6.7.2 Act 2 scene 2
As Malvolio gives Viola the ring sent by Olivia, she realises that because of her “outside” appearance
of a man Olivia has fallen in love with her. Then she observes that her disguise (which she had assumed for
safety in a strange land) has become the cause of unnecessary suffering for Olivia:
She loves me, sure; ...
……………………
... if it be so, as ’tis,
Poor lady, she were better love a dream.
Disguise, I see thou art a wickedness,
Wherein the pregnant enemy does much [i.e., the devil or Satan, always thinking of new plans to
cause unhappiness to human beings],
(2.2.21,24-27)
And this leads her to comment on how women are easily influenced by good-looking but faithless
men—another reference to the theme of appearance versus reality:
How easy is it for the proper false [i.e., those who look handsome but are false or faithless]
In women’s waxen [i.e. easily impressed] hearts to set their forms [i.e. impression]!
Alas, our frailty [i.e. natural weakness] is the cause, not we,
For such as we are made of, such we be. (2.2.28-31)
6.8 ACT 2, SCENE 3: THE SUBPLOT: MALVOLIO’S ARROGANCE AND THE OTHERS’ PLAN
OF COMIC REVENGE
At the request of Sir Toby and Sir Andrew, the Clown Feste sings a cheerful song dealing with the
theme of love in a lighthearted manner and touching upon the common Renaissance theme of ‘carpe diem.
These words in Latin mean ‘Seize the day’ and suggest that one should enjoy life in the present time:
What is love? Tis not hereafter,
Present mirth hath present laughter:
What’s to come is still [i.e. always] unsure.
Youth’s a stuff will not endure. (2.3.48-50, 53)
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 After this song they sing a catch (in which each person sings a line).
All this singing, late at night, reflects the merriment of the characters of the subplot except Malvolio,
who appears almost anti-life in his arrogant rebuke to Sir Toby and others: “My masters, are you mad? Or
what are you? Have you no wit, manners, nor honesty [i.e. decency] ...?’’ (2.3.87- 88). Sir Toby and Feste go
on singing catches, and then Sir Toby snubs Malvolio:
Art any more than a steward? Dost thou think because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more
cakes and ale [i.e. feasting and dinking]? (2.3.113-15)
They all want to play some joke on Maivolio by way of comic punishment for his arrogant harsh
priticism of their merrymaking. Maria advises them to wait for a while and says she will think of a plan to
fool him.
During the Renaissance the Puritans (who were so described because they were purists in matters of
religious reform) were often criticised for opposing enjoyment of life on this earth, and for this reason Maria
remarks about Maivolio: “sometimes he is a kind of Puritan” (2.3.140). However, her description of Maivolio
soon after that is more accurate and echoes Olivia’s assessment of him in Act 1 scene 5:
The devil a Puritan he is, or anything constantly, but a time-pleaser [i.e. a time-server, who adjusts
his behaviour to please the person in power, for selfish gain], an affectioned [i.e. full of affectation or
hypocritical behaviour] ass the best persuaded of himself, so crammed (as he thinks) with excellencies,
that it is his grounds of faith that ail that look on him love him: and on that vice in him will my revenge
find notable cause to work.
(2.3.146-53)
Maria mentions that her handwriting resembles Olivia’s, and she would drop in Malvolio’s way
some letters where no name would be mentioned but from some descriptions he would assume that he is
being described. As Sir Toby guesses, Malvolio’s weakness will make him believe that the letters are from
Olivia and that she is in love with him. In Jonsonian comedy of humours a character’s dominant weakness
controls his judgement, thinking, feelings, etc., as it is in the case of Maivolio. Maria’s remark “I know my
physic [i.e. medicine] will work with him” (2.3.172-73) also echoes Jonson’s concept of comedy, of humours—
Jonson believed that by making fun of ‘humours’ or dominant weaknesses he would cure people of those
weaknesses.
6.9 SUMMING UP
The play Twelfth Night opens with music and mentions the main theme of the play, love, in the very
first line. In the opening scene one of the main characters, Orsino, appears on the stage, and another main
character, Olivia, is mentioned. Orsino’s Jove for Olivia and his sending her a message of love, which are
revealed in this scene, lead to the action of the main plot. The opening scene also reveals the changeable
nature of Orsino as well his delight in thoughts of love.
In the second scene the heroine of the play, Viola, appears on the stage, and her brother is mentioned—
Sebastian, who will play an important role in the resolution of the complication. This scene also reveals
Viola’s restraint, calm confidence, and practical attitude. In this scene Viola decides to serve Duke Orsino in
disguise.
The third scene introduces the festive spirit of the characters of the subplot—their merriment and
desire to enjoy life by singing, dancing, feasting and drinking.

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 In the fourth scene Viola, disguised as a boy Cesario, has already been employed by Duke Orsino
and assigned the task of convincing Olivia of Orsino’s love for her and persuading her to marry him. Cesario-
Viola accepts the assignment sincerely, but in an aside also reveals her love for Orsino in her decision
“Whoe’er I woo, myself would be his wife.
In the fifth scene we see Olivia in black clothes of mourning but quite cheerful in spirit. Shi appreciates
the fool Feste’s joke criticizing her excessive mourning, and identifies MalvoJio’s main weakness as being
“sick of self-love”. She is impressed by Cesario-Viola’s lively nature end dignity and falls in love with
‘him’; as a token of love she sends ’him’ a ring, telling Malvolio that it is the messenger’s ring and that he
should return it to him. When he gives the ring to Cesario-Viola in Apt 2 scene 2, she realizes that Olivia has
fallen in love with her disguise, but leaves it to time to untangle this unusual complication.
In the very next scene (Act 2 scene 1) Viola’s twin brother Sebastian, dressed exactly like Cesario,
appears—which indicates the likelihood of a solution to the unreal complication resulting from Olivia’s
falling in love with Cesario-Viola who has already fallen in love with Qrsino who loves Olivia. Both Sebastian
and his friend Antonio (a sea-captain who had saved him from the shipwreck) are revealed as noble persons.
In Act 2 scene 3 Malvolio’s arrogant criticism of Sir Toby and others’ singing and merrymaking
makes them plan a comic revenge (which is implemented in Act 2 scene 5) with the help of an unsigned
letter addressed to no one in particular, which Malvolio is likely to assume to be from Olivia to him, because
the handwriting of Maria, who will write it, resembles Olivia’s.
6.10 GLOSSARY
Note: In the quotations from the play, where necessary, the meanings of some words have been
explained in square brackets within the quoted parts.
For a description of ‘blank verse’ and ‘rhyme’ see the Glossary of Lesson 2, and for ‘comedy of
humours’ and the ‘Fool’ see sections 5.7 and 5.8 of Lesson 5.
pun : playing upon similarly pronounced words with different meanings, by deliberately
implying a meaning other than what the first speaker meant
exposition : The exposition is that part of a play which reveals the situation, on the basis of which
the action of the play develops. The exposition also introduces the characters and
indicates their nature, etc.
6.11 QUESTIONS
(A) Questions requiring short answers in about 100 words each:
1. What is the dramatic significance of the opening scene of Twelfth Night.
2. Is Orsino more in love with the idea of being in love then in love with Olivia?
3. Comment on any one of the following:
(a) That instant was I turn’d into a hart,
And my desires, like fell and cruel hounds,
E’er since pursue me,
(b) I am sure care’s an enemy to life.
(c) yet, a barful strife!
Whoe’er I woo, myself would be his wife,

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 (d) 0, you are sick of self-love, Malvolio, and taste with a distempered appetite.
(e) ... I am not that I play.
(f) Disguise, I see thou art a wickedness,
Wherein the pregnant enemy does much.
(g) Dost thou think because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?
5. Comment on the dramatic function of disguise in Twelfth Night.
(B) Questions requiring full-length answers:
1. Discuss the dramatic significance of the opening scenes in Shakespeare’s plays with special
reference to Twelfth Night and The Tempest.
Note: Also see the questions given at the end of Lesson 5.
6.12 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS ANSWERS
A. That he is sick of self-love.
B. Yes.
C. No.
D. Love for somebody just happens or doesn’t happen. It does not follow reason or logic. Olivia just did
not feel love for Orsino, and so she cannot love him, even though she is aware of all positive qualities
in him.
6.13 SUGGESTED READINGS
1. See the list given at the end of Lesson 5.

*****

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 LESSON-7
TWELFTH NIGHT: CRITICAL ANALYSIS-II

STRUCTURE
7.1 INTRODUCTION
7.2 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
7.3 ACT 2, SCENE 4; ORSINO’S AND VIOLA’S ATTITUDES TO LOVE
A, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
7.4 ACT 2, SCENE 5: MALVOLIO’S DAYDREAMING AND THE LETTER
B,C,D, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
7.5 ACT 3, SCENES 1-3
7.5.1 ACT 3 SCENE 1: VIOLA AND OLIVIA
7.5.2 ACT 3 SCENE2: THE SUBPLOT: THE PLAN FOR THE JOKE OF A
DUEL, AND SIR TOBY AS THE LORD OF MISRULE
7.5.3 ACT 3 SCENE 3
7.6 ACT 3, SCENE 4: THE GULLING OF MALVOLIO, AND THE JOKE OF A DUEL
7.6.1 THE GULLING OF MALVOLIO
7.6.2 OLIVIA AND VIOLA
7.6.3 THE JOKE OF A DUEL
7.7 ACT 4
7.7.1 ACT 4 SCENES 1 & 3: OLIVIA AND SEBASTIAN
7.7.2 ACT 4 SCENE 2: MALVOLIO’S PUNISHMENT
7.8 ACT 5: THE WINDING UP OF THE ACTION
7.9 SUMMARY
7.10 GLOSSARY
7.11 QUESTIONS
7.12 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS’ ANSWERS
7.13 SUGGESTED READINGS
7.1 INTRODUCTION
This lesson takes you through the remaining part of the play, analysing the main themes and’ the
characters’ behaviour in this part of the play.
7.2 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
This lesson aims at helping you appreciate the development of the complication and its resolution in
the main plot, the practical jokes in the subplot, and the intersection of the two plots leading to a joyful
ending of this festive comedy.

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7.3 ACT 2, SCENE 4: ORSINO’S AND VIOLA’S ATTITUDES TO LOVE
In this scene we have from Orsino two very different statements about love—one more frank when
he is giving sincere advice to Cesario, and the other when he boasts of the intensity of his own love for
Olivia. His boastful attitude contrasts with the far more restrained and quiet attitude of Viola in her love for
Orsino.
As the scene opens, Orsino expresses the desire to hear again a simple song about love which he had
heard “last night”, because its playful treatment of the theme of love lightened his suffering in love. He is
told that it was sung by “Feste the jester, ... a fool that the Lady Olivia’s father took much delight in”
(2.4.11-12). Feste, who is often absent from Olivia’s house without permission, happens to be at Orsino’s
place and is sent for. In the meanwhile Orsino asks the musicians to play the tune of that song, and when it
is played, he asks Cesario, “How dost thou like this tune?” Cesario-Viola replies: “It gives a very echo to the
seat / Where love is thron’d” (2.4.20- 22). This makes Orsino observe: “Thou dost speak masterly. ...young
though thou art, thine eye / Hath stay’d upon some favour [i.e. face] that it loves.” Cesario-Viola replies, “A
little, by your favour”—to the audience it indicates her love for Orsino, while Orsino takes the words “by
your favour” as merely a courtesy phrase implying “with your kindness”. In reply to his next question,
“What kind of woman is’t?”, she replies “Of your complexion [i.e. looks]”; and in reply to his question
about the age of the ’woman’ loved by Cesario, “What years ...?”, the reply is: “About your years, my lord”
(2.4.22-28). The spectators are amused as they know what Viola is talking about while Orsino is unaware of
Cesario-Viola’s love for him. In all sincerity he advises this young “boy” to marry a woman younger than
him, because men’s love is more superficial and short-lived than women’s, and is to a considerable extent
based on physical beauty and tends to fade away with the fading of beauty:
Let still [i.e. always] the woman take
An elder than herself; so wears she to him,
So sways she level [i.e. has constant influence] in her husband’s heart:
For boy, however we do praise ourselves,
Our longings are more giddy and unfirm,
More longing, wavering, sooner lost and worn Than women’s are. ...
Then let thy love be younger than thyself.
Or thy affection cannot hold the bent.... (2.4.29-37)
However, a little later this same Orsino claims that women’s love is more superficial than men’s.
When Orsino asks Cesario to go again to Olivia and tell her that he does not love her wealth but only what
she herself is, Cesario-Viola says, echoing the theme of love as irrational, which just happens at first sight or
does not happen: “But if she cannot love you, sir?” (2.4.88). As Orsino insists, “I cannot be so answer’d,”
Cesario-Viola says, indirectly expressing her love for Orsino:
Say that some lady, as perhaps there is,
Hath for your love as great a pang of heart
As you have for Olivia: you cannot love her:
You tell her so. Must she not then be answer’d? (2.4.90-93)
In response Orsino boasts:
There is no woman’s sides
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 Can bide [i.e. bear] the beating of so strong a passion
As love doth give my heart; no woman’s heart
So big, to hold so much: they lack retention.
Alas, their love may be call’d appetite,
No motion of the liver, but the palate [the liver was supposed to be the seat of strong feelings, while
the palate implied the sense of taste]
……………………………………
... Make no compare
Between that love a woman can bear me
And that I owe Olivia. (2.4.94-99, 102-04)
Because Viola herself is the proof of Orsino’s boast being wrong, she functions as the norm against
which Orsino gets judged in the minds of the spectators and readers and they smile at his falling short of that
norm.
Viola s restrained statement, indirectly expressing her love, offers a complete contrast with Orsino’s
boast. Viola says she knows
Too well what love women to men may owe:
In faith, they are as true of heart as we.
My father had a daughter lov’d a man,
As it might be perhaps, were I a woman,
I should your lordship. (2.4.106-10)
When Orsino asks, “And what is her history?”, Cesario-Viola replies:
A blank, my lord: she never told her love,
But let concealment like a worm i’ th’ bud
Feed on her damask [i.e. rosy] cheek: she pin’d in thought [i.e. wasted away in sadness],
And sat like Patience on a monument [i.e. like the statue of patience on a tomb],
Smiling at grief. Was not his love indeed? (2.4.111-16)
Even Orsino is so moved by this account of unexpressed love that he becomes concerned about
what happened to Cesario’s sister, and Cesario-Viola has to distract his mind from sensing that Cesario is a
disguised woman, and she does this by turning back to the topic of visiting Olivia with Orsino’s message.
In between, when Feste sings the lighthearted song “Come away, come away death ... lam slain by
a fair cruel maid,” and when Duke Orsino, after giving him some money as a reward, asks him to leave, he
feels hurt at this dismissal and taunts the Duke for being fickle in his attitudes: “Now the melancholy god
protect thee, and the tailor make thy doublet of changeable taffeta, for thy mind is a very opal” (2.4.73-75).
It was part of the jester or fool’s function to point out the follies of even those holding high positions, and we
have seen how he makes a joke of Olivia’s folly of excessive mourning in Act 1 scene 5. In fact when Viola
meets Feste at Olivia’s place in Act 3 scene 1 and refers to this appearance of his at Orsino’s court, Feste
remarks that folly is found everywhere, and so it is appropriate for him to go from place to place to expose
different forms of folly in different persons:

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 Foolery, sir, does walk around the orb [i.e. the spherical earth] like the sun, it shines everywhere. I
would be sorry, sir, but the fool should be as oft with your master [Count or Duke Orsino] as with my
mistress [Countess Olivia] [i.e. they are both somewhat foolish in different ways, and the official fool
should expose their folly].... (3.1.39-42)
Self Assessment Question
A. How does Viola describe her love for Orsino?
7.4 ACT 2, SCENE 5: MALVOLIO’S DAYDREAMING AND THE LETTER
In this scene from the subplot, Maria advises Sir Toby, Sir Andrew and Fabian to hide at a place
from where they can hear Malvolio and see him pick up the letter which she drops on the stage.
It is significant that when Malvolio enters talking to himself, even before he sees the letter he is
convinced that Olivia is going to marry him (because once she had said that if she ever married she would
marry a person serious-minded like Malvolio), and he daydreams of how after marriage he will use his
position as “Count Molvolio” (2.5.35) “to ask for my kinsman Toby” (2.5.54-55) arid say to him: “ ‘Cousin
Toby, my fortunes having cast me on your niece give me this prerogative of speech ... You must amend your
drunkenness’” (2.5.70-71, 73). It may be noted that even in this daydreaming there is no mention of any
feeling of love on Malvolio’s part. There is no saving grace in him, and he is made totally ridiculous like the
characters satirized in Jonson’s comedies of humours.
Just then he sees the letter, and guided by his excessively high opinion of himself, he convinces
himself that this letter is for him from Olivia and is fulfilment of his daydreaming. So he decides to follow
exactly the odd directions given in the letter, which will actually annoy Olivia and make him ridiculous. In
addition to other things, the letter advises the person to wear yellow stockings, cross-gartered, and to smile
always—Olivia dislikes yellow colour and cross-gartering, while smiles would annoy her because of her
melancholy (or sad) temperament (garters are strips of cloth to keep stockings in position; cross-gartering
means tying the garters in such a way that one strip crosses another). When Malvolio appears in this manner
before Olivia in Act 3 scene 4, and keeps referring to the letter, assuming that Olivia had written it while she
does not know anything about the letter, she thinks that he has become mentally disturbed. As she gives
directions that Sir Toby and others should take care of unwell Malvolio, they get a chance to have a comic
revenge on him by putting him in a dark room, pretending that he has been possessed by an evil spirit and
they are trying to cure him. Thus his ‘humour’ or overwhelming flaw of excessive ‘self-love’ exposes him to
ridicule and comic punishment.
One of the sentences in the letter which is often quoted and which Malvolio repeats in the presence
of Olivia is as follows: “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon
‘em’’ (2.5.145-46, and 3.4.40, 42, 44). Smiles make his face look wrinkled, as Maria observes in Act 3
scene2: “he does smile his face into more lines than is in the new map with the augmentation of the Indies”
(3.2.75-77) (The “new” map of the world published in 1599 showed the East Indies more fully). The wrinkles
caused by smiles also indicate that Malvolio is middle-aged or older.
Self Assessment Question
B. Of what does Malvolio daydream even before seeing the letter?
C. What are some of the directions in the letter?
D. Why does Malvolio believe that the letter is for him from Olivia?

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7.5 ACT 3 SCENES 1-3
7.5.1 Act 3 scene 1: Viola and Olivia
Act 3 opens with Viola greeting Feste, who enters “playing on pipe and tabor”, which indicates his
delight in music. Music is also a key element to sustain the spirit of gaiety and cheerfulness in the play. He
engages in some word-play with Viola, and makes the observation about folly being seen everywhere, in
Orsino as well as in Olivia: “Foolery ... shines everywhere” (quoted in full in Section 7.1 above). As he goes
offstage to convey to Olivia Viola’s desire to meet her, Viola appreciates the intelligence required in a
professional fool or jester (her appreciation of the professional Fool’s role has been quoted in Section 5.8 of
Lesson 5).
Sir Toby, accompanied by Sir Andrew, enters and conveys to Cesario-Viola that Olivia desires to
meet ‘him’. As Olivia enters, accompanied by Maria, Viola’s elaborate courtly manner of greeting Olivia
and saying that she wants to talk to her in private impresses Sir Andrew.
When Olivia and Cesario-Viola are alone, after some witty exchange of remarks, Olivia talks to
Cesario of her love for ‘him’, referring to the ring she had sent through Malvoio: “To one of your receiving
/ Enough is shown; ... so, let me hear you speak” (3.1.122-24). Olivia’s eagerness in love contrasts with
Viola’s patient restraint and with Orsino’s slowness, who boasts of his love but does not visit Olivia himself
until Act 5 and then too only when he becomes aware of her falling in love with his messenger Cesario.
At this point Viola’s answer to Olivia, “I pity you,” amuses the spectators who know that Cosario is
Viola, but Olivia sees hope even in that reply, and observes: “That’s a degree to love” (3.1.125). As Cesario-
Viola’s reply rules out all hope, Olivia allows ‘him’ to leave, but then says: “Stay: /I prithee [i.e. pray thee,
or request you] tell me what thou think’st of me” (3.1.136, 139-40). In an aside Olivia is impressed even by
‘his’ coldness and indifference, and feels that there is no point in keeping quiet; so she expresses her love to
Cesario directly:
I love thee so, that maugre [i.e. in spite of] all thy pride,
Nor wit [i.e. common sense] nor reason can my passion hide. (3.1.153-54)
Here we also see the theme of love as an irrational force. Yet Olivia reasons with Cesario that ‘he’
should not be upset at the woman first expressing her love:
But rather reason thus with reason fetter:
Love sought is good, but given unsought is better. (3.1.157-158)
Viola’s reply reinforces the festive spirit of the play as it indirectly describes the amusing element in
this complication, of which the audience is aware but Olivia is not:
By innocence I swear, and by my youth,
I have one heart, one bosom, and one truth,
And that no woman has; nor never none
Shall mistress be of it, save [i.e. except] I alone. (3.1.159-62)
Note that she uses rhyme—the first two lines end with a similar sound, and the next two lines also
end with another similar sound. This use of rhyme gives a certain finality to her statement and also indicates
that the scene is about to end.

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 7.5.2 Act 3 scene2: the subplot: the plan for the joke of a duel, and Sir Toby as the Lord of
Misrule
In the next scene Sir Andrew tells Sir Toby that he will “not stay a jot longer” as there is no hope of
his ever marrying Olivia: “I saw you niece do more favours to the Count’s serving-man than she ever
bestowed on me: I saw’t i’ th’ orchard” (3.2.1, 4-6). Of course, Sir Toby wants him to stay on, because he
spends money on Sir Toby’s feasting and drinking. However, here Fabian and Sir Toby also see an opportunity
for paving fun. They tell Sir Andrew that Olivia deliberately showed favour to that young man in his sight so
that his bravery may be awakened. They advise him that to impress Olivia he should challenge Orsino’s man
to a duel, and they ask him to write a letter of challenge Sir Toby has sensed that in spite of other qualities of
liveliness, elegance and cultivated way c: conversation, the Duke’s messenger would be hesitant to fight a
duel; so even when they are face to face, Cesario and Sir Andrew would be afraid to come close to each
other: “I think oxen aid wainropes [i.e. wagon-ropes] cannot hale [i.e. pull] them together” (3.2.57-58).
When Sir Andrew shows Sir Toby his letter of challenge in Act 3 scene 4, it is so obviously written by a fool
that Sir Toby decides to convey the challenge orally and to frighten the inexperienced messenger of the
Duke with an imaginary account of Sir Andrew’s fierce anger and skill in dueling: “This will so frighten
them both that they will kill one another by the look, like cockatrices” (3.4.196-98). In fables cockatrices
were described as snakes that could kill a person simply by looking at him from a distance: Sir Toby implies
that they would look at each other with anger but would be afraid to come near.
This desire of Sir Toby to have fun with this practical joke is in keeping with the spirit of merrymaking
in the subplot, and it also makes him appear as a Lord of Misrule. In ancient Rome towards the end of the
year a festivity called Saturnalia was held, in which conventional behaviour was subverted, servants would
be made masters for a day, and there would be reckless merrymaking. One person was made the Lord of
Misrule, who would give directions for the pranks, practical jokes etc. to be played by different members of
a household or group. Christianity is said to have assimilated some of the earlier festivities of Saturnalia in
the celebrations of Christmas, and Sir Toby presides over the Twelfth-Night-like festivities in the subplot.
Certain other aspects of Sir Toby’s behaviour in earlier scenes of the play also make him a champion
of noisy merrymaking in defiance of conventional restraint, and are in keeping with his role as a Lord of
Misrule, for example, in Act 1 scene 3 his insistence on drinking heavily (“With drinking healths to my
niece: I’ll drink to her as long as there is a passage in my throat and drink in Illyria” [1.3.38-40]), and his
encouraging Sir Andrew to dance (1.3.122-39), and in Act 2 scene 3 his snubbing of Malvolio: “Dost thou
think because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?” (2.3.114-15).
7.5.3 Act 3 scene 3
This scene has been discussed above in subsection 6.5.1 of Lesson 6. This scene reveals Antonio’s
nobility and generous nature in his anxiety about Sebastian’s safety and comfort—even at the risk of his
own safety—and in his giving his purse to Sebastian.
7.6 ACT 3 SCENE 4: SUBPLOT: THE GULLING OF MALVOLIO, AND THE JOKE OF A DUEL
7.6.1 The gulling of Malvolio
Olivia mentions in an aside that she has “sent after him [Cesario], he says he’ll come” (3.4.1), but
she is not sure whether ‘he’ will be moved by her love. In this state of anxiety she asks for Malvolio, thinking
that the sober-minded servant’s presence would be appropriate: “He is sad and civil, / And suits well for a
servant with my fortunes ...” (3.4.5-6). Maria replies: “He’s coming, madam, but in very strange manner. He
is sure possessed [i.e. by an evil spirit] ... he does nothing but smile: ... for sure the man is tainted in’s wits
[i.e. mentally disturbed]’’ (3.4.8-9,11,13). Olivia does not know the reason why Malvolio is smiling constantly,
and she compares it with her own persistent sadness at Cesario’s not reciprocating her love:
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 I am as mad as he
If sad and merry madness equal be. (3.4.14-15)
This also describes love as irrational, almost a kind of madness, in that it is not guided by reason.
As Malvolio enters, smiling and laughing (“ho, hoi”), Olivia says, “Smil’st thou? I sent for thee
upon a sad occasion” (3.4.17,18). Malvolio keeps referring to and quoting from the letter which he imagines
to have been written by Olivia while she knows nothing about it; so she remarks about his odd behavior:
“this is very [i.e. true or real] midsummer madness” (3.4.55).
As Olivia learns that Cesario has returned, she leaves after giving directions about Malvolio: “Good
Maria, let this fellow be looked to. Where’s my cousin Sir Toby?” (3.4.59-61). Olivia uses the word ‘fellow’
in the sense of ‘person’, but in his excessive pride Malvolio thinks that by using this word ‘fellow’ for him
she considers him her equal. He also thinks that Olivia has specifically directed that Sir Toby should take
care of him so that he may be able to carry out the directions in the letter, cast thy humble slough [i.e. give
up the pretension of humility; the slough is the dead skin of a snake which it can cast off] .... Be opposite
with a kinsman, surly [i.e. ill-tempered] with servants” (2.5.48-50), and he says to Maria, Fabian and Sir
Toby: “Go hang yourselves all: you are idle, shallow things, I am not of your element...” (3.4.124-25).
Sir Toby and others tease him, pretending that he is possessed by the devil; and when he arrogantly
goes away, Sir Toby (as the Lord of Misrule) suggests:
Come, we’ll have him in a dark room and bound. My niece is already in the belief that he’s
mad: we may carry it thus for our pleasure, and his penance [i.e. punishment to atone for a
wrong done], till our very pastime, tired out of breath, prompt us to have mercy on him ....
(3.4.136-40)
Malvoilo’s disgusting remark about Olivia (“I have limed her’’—3.4.74) alienates sympathy from
him and makes his gulling a deserved punishment. It should be noted that in all his thoughts about Olivia
being in love with him and having decided to marry him, there is no indication of any love or liking or regard
in his mind for Olivia—this shows that he is indeed “sick of self-love”, as Olivia very perceptively remarked
about him in Act 1, scene 5, line 89.
One meaning of the word ‘gull’ (in old usage) is a person who is easily fooled or tricked; and - the
verb ‘gull’ means to make a fool of someone. During the seventeenth century the play Twelfth Nightwas
praised largely for the hilarious comedy arising from the ‘gulling’ of Malvolio.
Malvolio gets fooled by the letter because of his excessive self-love, his extremely high opinion of
himself as being full of excellent qualities, and his “faith that all that look on him love him” (2.3.150-52).
His arrogant insulting manner of talking to and about Sir Toby, Maria and others justifies the trick they play
on him.
7.6.2 Olivia and Viola
The remaining part of the scene is largely devoted to the second pastime thought of by Sir Toby as
the Lord of Misrule, a duel between Sir Andrew and Cesario. In between there is a brief conversation
between Olivia and Cesario, which has a bearing on the action in the next Act.
Olivia says that something in her tells her that it is wrong to press her love on Cesario who is
unresponsive, “But such a headstrong potent fault it is, / That it but mocks reproof (3.4.205-07). She again
invites ‘him’ to “come again to-morrow” and observes:

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 A fiend [i.e. evil spirit] like thee might bear my soul to hell. (3.4.219)
This line is significant because in Act 4 it is indeed another person, Sebastian, who looks “like”
Cesario, to whom she gets married in a hurry under the impression that he is Cesario after being pleasantly
surprised by his reciprocation of her love.
7.6.3 The Joke of a duel
As Sir Andrew Aguecheek comes with his letter challenging Cesario to a duel, Sir Toby reads the
letter aloud: obvious stupidity of Sir Andrew reflected in the letter is amusing, and it is clear that it will not
frighten Cesario who is intelligent and cultured. As the Lord of Misrule, Sir Toby wants to have fun by
setting up a duel between the two who, he is sure, would be very afraid to fight. So he decides to convey the
challenge “by word of mouth, set upon Aguecheek a notable report of valour” (3.4.192-93) and thus frighten
the inexperienced young messenger of the Duke. It works as guessed by Sir Toby. Cesario-Viola says she
“will return again into the house” and request Lady Olivia to send somebody to escort her, so that the duel
may be avoided. However, that would upset Sir Toby’s plan for fun, so he tells Cesario that he will not be
allowed to go back to the house without fighting a duel with Sir Toby himself.
As Sir Andrew and Cesario reluctantly come face to face, Viola says in an interesting aside: “Pray
God defend me! A little thing would make me tell them how much I lack of a man” (3.4.307- 09). This
amusing situation, which adds to the light-hearted spirit of the festive comedy, is made possible by Viola’s
disguise. The disguise also leads to Antonio’s mistaking Cesario-Viola to be Sebastian, and to his comments
on “the beauteous evil” because the person who he thinks is Sebastian—for whose sake he has risked his
own safety—does not recognize him and knows nothing about the purse he had given to Sebastian.
Just when Cesario-Viola and Sir Andrew hesitatingly draw their swords, Antonio happens .to come
there, and assuming Cesario-Viola to be Sebastian, he draws his sword to defend him. This upsets Sir Toby’s
plan of amusement, and he draws his sword to challenge Antonio. Just then some Officers enter and arrest
Antonio. As Antonio asks Cesario-Viola, whom he takes to be Sebastian, to return some of the money he had
given him earlier, so that he may pay the fine to become a free man again, Cesario-Viola’s inability to even
recognize him so pains him that he rebukes ‘him’: “Thou hast, Sebastian, done good feature shame”
(3.4.375)—This episode has been analysed in detail in Section 6.5.1 of Lesson 6 above. Viola leaves the
stage hoping that she has been mistaken for her brother Sebastian, which would indicate that he also survived
the shipwreck: “O if it prove, / Tempests are kind, and salt waves fresh in love!” (3 4.393-94).
At this point Sir Toby instigates Sir Andrew by saying that Cesario has proved to be dishonest and
cowardly in disowning his friend in difficulty. Sir Andrew rushes after him, saying “I’ll after him, and beat
him.” As Fabian invites Sir Toby to come to see the outcome, Sir Toby observes: ‘“twill be nothing yet”
(3.4.400, 404-05). In the next scene, however, Sir Andrew runs into Sebastian, and mistaking him for Cesario,
strikes him, only to get beaten thoroughly. Finding his plan of a joke going wrong, Sir Toby holds Sebastian’s
hand to stop him; at this Sebastian draws his sword. Taken aback, Sir Toby also draws his sword; but just
then Olivia enters and taking Sebastian to be Cesario, she thinks Sir Toby is threatening the man she loves
and she sternly scolds him. The joke does not progress the way Sir Toby had planned but the humour arising
from mistaken identities (because of Viola’s disguise) delights the audience, and adds to the festive spirit of
the play.
It appears that Sir Toby still does not give up this joke of a duel and again encourages Sir Andrew to
challenge Cesario, for in Act 5 Sir Andrew enters with his head bleeding, and says that Sir Toby needs the
attention of a surgeon as Cesario has injured both of them: “We took him for a coward, but he is the very
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devil incardinate” (5.1.178-80: Sir Andrew mistakenly uses the word “incardinate” in place of ‘incarnate’
which means ‘in human form’). All this fun is made possible by Sir Toby’s desire to have as much fun as
possible and by Viola’s disguise which leads to mistaken identities.
7.7 ACT 4
7.7.1 Act 4 scenes 1 & 3: Olivia and Sebastian
Mistaking Sebastian for Cesario, when Olivia sees Sir Toby with his sword drawn against Sebastian,
she asks him to ignore this rudeness shown by her relative and invites him to come to the house. The way she
talks, it appears to Sebastian as if she knows him, but he has never met her earlier. Yet she has so charmed
him, he seems to have fallen in love with her at first sight. He cannot believe that this is really happening:
“Or I am mad [i.e. ‘not in my senses’], or else this is a dream”; still, this seemingly unreal situation makes
him so happy he would like to have the love of this lady always: “If it be thus to dream, still [i.e. always] let
me sleep!” (4.1.60,62). Disguise of Viola has brought about this amusing situation wherein Olivia is likely
to get married to a man who looks like that Cesario with whom she had fallen in love at first sight. As
Sebastian says to her in Act 5, it is a fortunate mistake for her:
So comes it, lady, you have been mistook.
But nature to her bias drew in that.
You would have been contracted to a maid ... (5.1.257-59)
Sebastian himself is so thrilled at getting the love of this wonderful lady that when she expresses the
wish “would thou’dst be rul’d by me [i.e., do as she wishes], he promptly says, ‘Madam, I will.” Thinking
that he is Cesario, Olivia can hardly believe that he has at last agreed to do as she wishes, and asks him to say
these words again and also to act in accordance with what he has said: “O, say so, and so be” (4.1.63-64).
In Act 4 scene 3 Sebastian says that though he cannot believe in his good fortune of having won
Olivia’s love and cannot make sense of the things happening to him, his “soul” and reason tell him “That this
may be some error, but no madness ... There’s something in it / That is deceivable” (4.3.10,20-21).
Just then Olivia enters with a Priest and asks him to come with her to the small church nearby to get
married to her, “That my most jealous and too doubtful soul / May live at peace” (4.3.26-28). Sebastian
readily agrees to go with her, and assures her that he, “having sworn truth, ever will be true” (4.3.33).
7.7.2 Act 4 scene 2: Maivolio’s punishment
Malvolio has been put in a dark room, and Maria, Sir Toby and Feste pretend that he is possessed by
the devil. Maria asks Feste to go to Malvolio in the guise of a priest with the name Sir Topas, and Sir Toby
with his words supports this disguise of Feste. As Sir Toby observes, Feste imitates a priest’s manner of
talking and behaviour very well. After Feste has disturbed Malvolio for some time in the role of a priest, Sir
Toby—who is the over-all manager of these games as the Lord of misrule—asks Feste to go to Malvolio as
himself. Feste starts singing a cheerful song in his own voice. Malvolio recognizes him from his voice and
requests him to provide him “a candle, and pen, ink, and paper” (4.2.84); he needs these to write a letter of
protest to Olivia, which Feste delivers to her in Act 5. Here Feste assures Malvolio that he will bring these
things soon, and in a lighthearted comic song equates Malvolio with the devil and himself with Vice that
used to be an assistant of the devil in medieval morality plays, wherein both the devil and Vice were portrayed
as comic clowns:
I am gone, sir, and anon [i.e. soon], sir,
I’ll be with you again,

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 In a trice, like to the old Vice,
Adieu [i.e. goodbye], goodman [i.e. master] devil! (4.3.125-27, 132)
This playful teasing of Malvolio adds to the festive spirit of merriment in the subplot.
7.8 ACT 5: THE WINDING UP OF THE ACTION
In Act 5 Duke Orsino, accompanied by Cesario, for the first time visits Olivia himself. This contrasts
with the intense wooing of Olivia and her haste leading to her marriage to Sebastian. Just then the Officers
bring Antonio before the Duke. Cesario-Viola immediately says to the Duke, “Here comes the man, sir, that
did rescue me (5.1.48), which shows her nobility. Orsino also praises the bravery of Antonio in the sea battle
in which he had in fact caused harm to Orsino’s ships (5.1.52-57)—this also shows Orsino’s generous spirit
(so that he may appear to be a worthy husband for Viola). As he asks Antonio why he took the risk of coming
here where he was bound to be punished, Antonio, assuming Cesario to be Sebastian, says: “A witchcraft
[i.e. a piece of black magic] drew me hither: / That most in grateful [i.e. ungrateful] boy by your side ...”
(5.1.74-75). He describes how he had saved his life when he was about to drown in the sea, and how for his
sake he had exposed himself “Into the danger of this adverse town; ... Drew to defend him, when he was
beset; / Where being apprehended, his false cunning ... Taught him to face me out of his acquaintance, ...
denied me mine own purse ...” (5.1.76-90). When, in reply to the Duke’s question he says they came to this
town today only and that for three months before that they had always been together (5.1.92-94), the Duke
says: “Three months this youth hath tended upon me ...” (5.1.97).
The action of the play seems to continue almost without a break from Act 1 scene 4 when Cesario,
engaged by the Duke only three days earlier, is asked by him to go to Olivia and convince her of his love. All
the events from that point onwards could have covered merely two or three days. This is for the first time we
hear that three months have passed. However, while reading or watching the play, we hardly notice this
difference in the duration of time. This difference between the seemingly continuous action of a few days
and the mention of the time period as three months is referred to as ‘double time’ in the play. The mention of
three months justifies the bond of friendship between Antonio and Sebastian, and makes Orsino’s slowness
in visiting Olivia more striking.
As Olivia enters, she addresses Cesario first, assuming that ‘he’ is her husband, and then curtly tells
the Duke that if he has anything to say “to the old tune” it would now be as unpleasant to her “As howling
after music” (5.1.108). She says so because she is now a married woman; however, as the Duke knows
nothing about her secret marriage, he finds her words very “cruel”. In bitterness he says he could “Kill what
I love” (5.1.117), but then he says that by way of revenge he will cause great pain to her by destroying
Cesario whom she loves, even though he himself also loves ‘him’ dearly (The mention of his great love for
Cesario prepares the ground for his decision to marry Viola a little later, and also makes him appear a
deserving life-partner for Viola):
... this your minion, whom I know you love,
And whom, by heaven, I swear I tender dearly,
Him will I tear out of that cruel eye
Where he sits crowned in his master’s spite. (5.1.123-26)
And he says to Cesario:
Come, boy, with me; my thoughts are ripe in mischief:
I’ll sacrifice the lamb that I do love,
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 To spite a raven’s heart within a dove [i.e. to cause pain to Olivia whose heart is evil or black like the
colour of a raven or crow, even though outwardly she looks fair like a dove], (5.1.127-29)
Cesario-Viola cheerfully replies to him: “And I most jocund [i.e. cheerful], apt, and willingly, / To
do you rest [i.e. peace of mind], a thousand deaths would die” (5.1.130-31). This is in keeping with the spirit
of romantic comedies which celebrate constancy in love. When Olivia asks, “Whither goes Cesario?”, Cesario-
Viola replies:
After him I love
More than I love these eyes, more than my life,
More, by all mores, than e’er I shall love wife. (5.1.132-34)
The audience is amused because they know Viola is talking about her love for Orsino, but Olivia
feels her husband has deceived her: “how am I beguil’d!” (5.1.137). As the Duke asks Cesario-Viola to
“Come, away”, Olivia says: “Cesario, husband, stay!” (5.1.140,141). As the Priest enters, and at Olivia’s
request reveals that she and the ‘man’ standing there had got married two hours ago, Orsino is shocked at
what he considers to be the cunning deception of Cesario. All this misplaced criticism of Cesario-Viola,
because of mistaken identities resulting from her disguise, remains quite amusing and in keeping with the
festive spirit of the play. And soon the resolution takes place with the entry of Sebastian.
As Sebastian enters and, without noticing Cesario who looks like him in dress and appearance,
apologises to Olivia for having hurt her relative Sir Toby in self-defence, everybody is surprised; and as
Viola reveals that she is Sebastian’s sister, the confusions that had bothered Antonio, Olivia and Orsino clear
up. Orsino assures amazed Olivia that the man she got married to by mistake is a worthy person: “right noble
is his blood” (5.1.262); and though the woman he originally loved has got married to another man, he
decides to “have share in this most happy wreck” (the wreck of his love for Olivia as well as the shipwreck
which brought Viola and Sebastian separately at different times to Illyria), and he says to Viola who is still
dressed as a boy: “Boy, thou hast said to me a thousand times / Thou never should’st love woman like to me”
(5.1.264-66). As Viola assures him that she really means that, he says to her: “Give me thy hand, / And let me
see thee in thy woman’s weeds [i.e. clothes]” (5.1.270-71). At this point, the subplot is also brought in, as the
play moves to its close: Viola says her “maid’s garments” are with the captain who had helped her survive
and reach Illyria, and who is in prison at some complaint of Malvolio. Olivia immediately says he shall free
him, and enquires about him. Feste gives her Malvolio’s letter and she tells Fabian to free Malvolio from the
dark room and bring him there. In the meanwhile Orsino says to Viola: “Your master quits you; and for your
service done him, /... / And since you call’d me master for so long, / Here is my hand; you shall from this
time be / Your master’s mistress.” By now Olivia too is happily reconciled to the unforeseen developments,
and says to Viola: “A sister! You are she” (5.1.320-25: a sister-in-law is also addressed as ‘sister’).
As Malvolio enters and shows Olivia the letter which made him behave oddly and which, he is sure
was written by her, Olivia observes that it is Maria’s handwriting, and assures him that after finding out why
this trick was played on him and who carried it out, he would be allowed full justice. At this Fabian saves
Maria from blame by claiming that he and Sir Toby had asked her to write this letter as a “device against
Malvolio” because of his “uncourteous” behaviour. As romantic comedies end in multiple marriages, he
mentions that “In recompense” Sir Toby has married Maria. Feste mentions the role he played as Sir Topas,
and referring to Malvolio’s rude remarks about him, justifies his treatment of Malvolio: “thus the whirligig
of time brings in his revenges” (5.1.375-76). Malvolio remains angry, and leaves the stage with the threat:

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“I’ll be reveng’d on the whole pack of you!” (5.1.377). Romantic comedies usually end with a general
reconciliation, and Malvolio’s remaining unreconciled is sometimes seen as a blemish in the otherwise
happy ending of the play. However, as discussed above in Section 5.7 of lesson 5, Malvolio’s mild punishment
is fully deserved and his anger towards the end of the play does not diminish the festive cheerfulness of the
play. Orsino does ask Fabian to rush after Malvolio and “entreat [i.e., request] him to a peace” (5.1.379), and
says to Olivia: “Meanwhile [i.e. till his marriage to Viola], sweet sister, / We will not part form hence”
(5.1.383-84).
As all other characters go off stage in a happy state of mind, the fool Feste is left alone and sings a
song that is not so happy and takes the audience back from the festive make-believe romantic world of wish-
fulfillment to the everyday world which is usually not so festive. The second and fourth lines of each of the
first four stanzas of the song refer to the hardships of life: “With hey, ho, the wind and the rain, ... For the
rain it raineth every day.”
7.9 SUMMING UP
Act 2 scene 4 reveals Feste’s delight in singing and his feeling hurt at the Duke’s dismissing him
with some money as payment for singing. This scene also contrasts Viola’s restrained attitude in love with
Orsino’s boastful claims. However, Orsino too is revealed as more balanced when he gives sincere advice
about love to Cesario.
In Act 2 scene 5 Malvolio enters talking to himself that Olivia is going to marry him and daydreaming
of how he will use his position as “Count Malvolio” to control Sir Toby. Then he sees the unsigned letter
addressed to no one in particular, which he takes to be from Olivia to him, because the handwriting of Maria
who wrote it resembles Olivia’s. He decides to follow all the directions given in the letter, such as to smile
always, to wear yellow stockings, cross-gartered, to be opposite with a kinsman and to reject acquaintances
of a humbler status.
In Act 3, in scene 1 Olivia Expresses her love to Cesario-Viola directly, while in scene 2 Sir Toby,
eager to have more fun, plans a joke of a duel between Sir Aguecheek and Cesario, and advises Aguecheek
that to impress Olivia he should challenge Cesario to a duel. In scene 3 we see again Antonio’s nobility and
generous nature as he again joins Sebastian out of concern for his safety and comfort—even at the risk of his
own safety—and gives his purse to Sebastian.
In Act 3 scene 4 the two practical jokes of the subplot progress further. As Malvolio enters smiling
and laughing and keeps referring to and quoting from the letter which he imagines to have been written by
Olivia while she knows nothing about it, she considers it to be “midsummer madness” and asks that Sir
Toby and others should take care of him. This gives them an opportunity for placing him in a dark room
under the pretext that they are helping him recover. In the other practical joke, as Aguecheek and Cesario
reluctantly come face to face and draw their swords, Antonio enters. He mistakes Cesario-Viola for Sebastian,
and draws his sword to defend him, Just then some Officers enter and arrest him. Antonio asks Cesario,
whom he takes to be Sebastian, to return some of the money he had given him earlier. Cesario-Viola knows
nothing of that money and offers to share with him whatever little money she has. Antonio is anguished at
what he considers to be Sebastian’s selfishness, ingratitude and betrayal. Sir Toby then instigates Aguecheek,
saying that Cesario has proved to be a mean coward in disowning his friend in distress, and Aguecheek runs
after him to beat him. However in the next scene he runs into Sebastian and gets thoroughly thrashed. As Sir
Toby draws his sword to defend Aguecheek, Olivia enters and thinking that he is threatening Cesario, scolds
him and invites Sebastian, whom she considers to be Cesario, to come with her.
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 In Act 4 scene 1 Sebastian falls in love with Olivia at first sight, and his assurance to Olivia that he
will do as she desires makes her so happy that in scene 3 she hurriedly gets married to him under the
impression that she is marrying Cesario. In scene 2 Feste plays the role of a priest to tease Malvolio.
In Act 5 Orsino visits Olivia, and soon after her curt rejection of his love, he threatens that, to cause
pain to Olivia who is cruelly rejecting his love for the sake of Cesario, he will kill Cesario, though he himself
also loves Cesario. Then Olivia reveals that she is married to ‘him’, and just then Sebastian enters. The
confusion created by mistaken identities is resolved and Orsino declares his intention to marry Viola, who
has always expressed love for him and now reaffirms it. Malvolio is released, but remains unreconciled even
when the justification for his gulling is given by Fabian and Feste. It is mentioned that Sir Toby has married
Maria—in keeping the convention of multiple marriages at the end of a romantic comedy.
7.10 GLOSSARY
Note: In the quotations from the play, where necessary, the meanings of some words have been
explained in square brackets within the quoted parts.
gull, gulling : A gull is a person who is easily fooled or tricked; and to gull someone means to make
a fool of him. The gulling of Malvolio refers to the episode in which Malvolio is
fooled by the unsigned letter written by Maria and addressed to no one in particular:
thinking that it is written by Olivia to him, he starts acting oddly according to the
instructions given in that letter.
7.11 QUESTIONS
(A) Questions requiring short answers in about 100 words each:
1. In what way is love shown to be irrational in Twelfth Night?
2. In what sense can Sir Toby be described as the Lord of Misrule?
3. Comment on any one of the following:
(a) Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon ‘em.
(b) Foolery, sir, does walk around the orb like the sun, it shines everywhere.
(c) This fellow is wise enough to play the fool .... For folly that he wisely shows is fit....
(d) I am as mad as he
If sad and merry madness equal be.
(e) This will so fright them both that they will kill one another by the look, like cockatrices.
(f) A fiend like thee might bear my soul to hell.
(g) I’ll be reveng’d on the whole pack of you!
4. Comment on the dramatic function of the songs in the play Twelfth Night.
(B) Questions requiring full-length answers:
1. To what extent does disguise contribute to the action of the main plot as well the subplot? How do
the mistaken identities resulting from Viola’s disguise contribute to the festive spirit of the play?
Note: Also see-the questions given at the end of Lesson 5.
7.12 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS’ ANSWERS
1. She describes her love Indirectly: disguised as a man (Cesario), she says that she has loved a
person whose complexion or looks, and age, are like Orsino’s, and that her father’s daughter loved
a man as much as she would love Orsino if she were a woman but she never told her love.

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 2. That Olivia will marry him, and as Count Malvolio he will ask Toby to mend his drunkenness.
3. That he should wear yellow stockings. cross-gartered and always smile.
4. The handwriting of Maria is like that of Olivia; Malvolio thinks he is so full of excellent qualities
that anybody would fall in love with him; and he was already daydreaming that Olivia is going to
marry him.
7.13 SUGGESTED READINGS
1. See the list given at the end of Lesson 5

*****

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 Unit-III
LESSON-8
THE TEMPEST AS A DRAMATIC ROMANCE

STRUCTURE
8.1 INTRODUCTION
8.2 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
8.3 INTRODUCTION TO THE TEMPEST: AN OUTLINE OF THE ACTION
8.3.1 THE LAST PLAYS OF SHAKESPEARE
8.3.2 THE ‘SOURCES’ FOR THE TEMPEST
8.3.3 AN OUTLINE OF THE ACTION OF THE PLAY
8.4 THE TEMPEST AS A DRAMATIC ROMANCE
8.4.1 SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SHAKESPEARE’S
ROMANTIC COMEDIES AND DRAMATIC ROMANCES
A, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
8.4.2 ACTION OF THE TEMPEST SET IN A REMOTE PLACE WHERE
THE SUPERNATURAL AND STRANGE COINCIDENCES WOULD
APPEAR MORE PROBABLE
8.4.3 ELEMENTS OF THE SUPERNATURAL: PROSPERO’S MAGIC,
ARIEL AS A SPIRIT, AND OTHER SPIRITS SUBORDINATE TO
ARIEL
B. SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
[Link] PSYCHOLOGICAL REALISM
[Link] THE SUPERNATURAL ELEMENTS SUPPORT THE MORAL
THEME OF THE PLAY AND WORK FOR JUSTICE OR
POSITIVE ATTITUDES TO LIFE
8.4.4 THE SPIRIT OF ROMANCE REINFORCED BY THE DREAMLIKE
INTENSITY OF THE EVIL SUDDENLY RISING IN ANTONIO AND
INFECTING SEBASTIAN WHOSE NATURE IS PRONE TO EVIL
8.4.5 PROBING OF EVIL, AND ULTIMATELY POSITIVE FORCES
NEUTRALIZING EVIL
8.4.6 ELEMENTS OF ROMANTIC COMEDY, WITH LOVE AS A
SIGNIFICANT THEME—LOVE HAPPENING INSTINCTIVELY AT
FIRST SIGHT BUT REMAINING UNSHAKEN IN SPITE OF
DIFFICULTIES, AND FUNCTIONING AS AN ENNOBLING
FEELING WHICH ENRICHES LIFE AND OFFERS HOPE OF A
HARMONIOUS FUTURE

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 8.4.7
SYMBOLIC PATTERNS OF MEANING MORE SIGNIFICANT
THAN CHARACTER ANALYSIS
C, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
8.5 COMBINATION OF THE REALISTIC AND THE ROMANTIC IN THE
TEMPEST
8.6 THE THEMATIC PATTERN OF SIN OR MISTAKE, FOLLOWED BY
EXPIATION THROUGH SUFFERING, WHICH LEADS TO FORGIVENESS
AND RECONCILIATION (THE CHRISTIAN IDEA OF GRACE)
8.7 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE SETTING: THE TEMPEST AS A PASTORAL PLAY
8.8 PROSPERO AS REPRESENTING SHAKESPEARE
8.9 UNITY OF TIME AND PLACE IN THE TEMPEST
D, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
8.10 SUMMARY
8.11 GLOSSARY
8.12 QUESTIONS
8.13 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION’S ANSWERS
8.14 SUGGESTED READINGS
8.1 INTRODUCTION
This lesson discusses The Tempest as a dramatic romance which combines features of a romantic
comedy with those of a tragedy. This lesson also brings out the mingling of realistic elements with those of
a romance. It also looks at The Tempest as a pastoral play and the unity of time and place in this play. In
describing different aspects of the play as a dramatic romance, this lesson touches upon the main themes of
the play and certain aspects of characters that are analysed in the next two lessons.
8.2 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
This lesson aims at helping you understand the key aspects of the play as a dramatic romance, which
you should keep in mind while reading the text of the play.
8.3 INTRODUCTION TO THE TEMPEST: AN OUTLINE OF THE ACTION
8.3.1 The last plays of Shakespeare
Four plays of Shakespeare written towards the end of his career as a playwright— Pericles,
CymbeHne, The Winter’s Tale, and The Tempest—are described as dramatic romances, because they have
many of the features of romances including (1) probing of evil and suffering, (2) setting in a remote place,
(3) elements of the supernatural or excessive coincidence to sustain a world of make-believe where the
pattern of themes works out perfectly, and (4) a happy ending in spite of the darker elements.
In his great tragedies that followed romantic comedies, Shakespeare portrays characters with great
psychological depth, but in the dramatic romances the thematic pattern becomes more important than character
analysis. However, even in the dramatic romances, especially in The Winter’s Tale (1610) and The Tempest
(1611), the characters are presented with psychological realism, and the more important characters have a
certain complexity, as we see clearly in Prospero, and to some extent in Caliban.

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 8.3.2 The ‘sources’ for The Tempest
After Columbus ‘discovered’ the West Indies in 1492 and reached the main land of America in a
subsequent voyage, people from different parts of Europe started colonising these lands. At first they were
welcomed by the natives, who, because of the fair complexion of the Europeans, sometimes took them to be
gods from heaven. However, later the natives, who considered the gifts of nature to be common to all, were
often upset as the white colonizers did not allow them to enter the territories they claimed as their own, and
restricted the natives to less fruitful areas. At this stage the natives’ hostility was seen by the white settlers as
treachery, which they punished severely with the help of their far more destructive weapons. These white
outsiders were snatching away the land and the means of living of the natives, but they claimed that they
were doing a favour to the ‘uncivilised’ natives by civilizing them in the process of colonising their lands. In
England these things were often talked about and written about from the point of view of the colonisers, and
in The Tempest Shakespeare reflects these in the speeches given to Prospero as the coloniser and to Caliban
as the colonised.
Some writers, for example, the sixteenth-century French writer Montaigne in his essay ‘Of the
Cannibals’ (whose English translation was published in 1603), portrayed the natives as uncorrupted by
‘civilization’. Gonzalo’s account of the utopian commonwealth in Act 2 scene 1 reflects that attitude.
A specific event of 1609, about which details came to be widely known in England in 1610, may
have inspired some of the details in the play: in the description of Prospero and Miranda’s survival in spite
of being left to die at sea, and the seeming shipwreck with which the play begins. In May 1609 a group of
five hundred colonisers from England started for America in a fleet of nine ships, to strengthen the existing
colony of Virginia there. Two months later, near the Bermuda Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, the ship carrying
their commanders got separated from the rest of the fleet and was driven towards the shore. As the crew
members were forced to rush their ship on to land as the last hope of saving their lives, by rare good luck the
ship got stuck between two rocks without breaking up. As a result not only all lives were saved, they were
also able to carry to the shore the stocks of food and other necessities as well as ‘important fittings of the
ship. The uninhabited island also provided them with different strange tasty fruits and easy supply of meat.
They would just spread out their arms and trusting birds would come and sit on their arms; then they could
easily catch them and kill them for delicious meat. The climate was pleasant, neither cold nor hot. They
found this island to be almost a heaven on earth. Ten months later they were able to resume their journey to
Virginia. When in the middle of 1610 they safely reached there after having been supposed to have died in
the shipwreck, it was seen as a kind of miracle and was much talked about in England, and several accounts
of this strange ‘shipwreck’ were published. Shakespeare had probably also read in 1610 an account of this
strange experience in manuscript (which was published much later) as he knew several members of the
expedition.
8.3.3 An outline of the action of the play
The play begins with a tempest or storm in which a ship seems to get destroyed. However, in the
next scene Prospero, the protagonist of the play, assures his daughter Miranda that the ship and all its
passengers are safe. This storm had been created by him with his magic powers, and he explains the reason.
Prospero was the Duke of Milan, which was then a small independent state (though today Milan as
well as the kingdom of Naples is part of Italy). Prospero’s main interest was studies, especially in the fields
of the liberal arts (what is often referred to as ‘humanities’ these days) and magic. (This play describes the
Art or magic exercised by Prospero as good magic because it is pursued like an accepted branch of knowledge,
and is used for a healthy moral purpose. Prospero contrasts it with the magic practised by Caliban’s mother
Sycorax which, according to Prospero, was exercised with the help of the devil, and was used irresponsibly,
sometimes for base purposes.)
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 Being more concerned with his studies, Prospero left the administration in the hands of his younger
brother, Antonio. Ambitious Antonio was not satisfied to exercise the powers of the Duke on behalf of his
brother; so to become the Duke of Milan in name also, he joined hands with the King of Naples, Alonso,
who had long wanted to make Milan his subordinate state. Twelve years ago one night Antonio opened the
gates of Milan to the army of Naples, and with the help of the King of Naples got Prospero and his three year
old daughter exposed to almost sure death at sea— they were put in a shabby boat without any equipment to
steer it. However, by good fortune they survived and reached this previously unknown uninhabited island
where only a small boy Caliban lived. He was born on this island after his mother had been exiled from
Algiers to this island, but she had died before the arrival of Prospero and Miranda.
Caliban is presented as a kind of ‘natural’ man who does not accept the restraints of civilization.
Caliban at first was so happy to have two other human beings on his island that he welcomed them and
eagerly showed them where they can have fresh water for drinking, fruits, etc. The two Europeans taught
him their language so that they could communicate with him, and for some time he was allowed to stay with
them in the same cell. However, behaving like animals in nature, he tried to rape Miranda; and since then he
has been confined to a small area and made to work like a servant, doing hard physical labour, such as
bringing in wood for fire, etc.
Prospero tells Miranda that with fortune now favouring him, the ship carrying his enemies— his
brother Antonio and the King of Naples, Alonso—happened to pass by this island on return journey from
Tunis (in North Africa) after the marriage of Alonso’s daughter Claribel to the prince of Tunis there. To have
some kind of a revenge on them by making them suffer for some time, he has created this storm.
Prospero has created this storm with the help of a spirit, Ariel, who also has other subordinate spirits
under his control. Ariel cheerfully carries out all commands of Prospero, and helps him in carrying out his
plan of causing suffering to his enemies and making them realize their sinful acts against Prospero, so that
they come to the right state of mind to be forgiven by Prospero, who wants to move on to reconciliation with
the marriage of his daughter Miranda to Alonso’s son, Ferdinand.
Ariel (who appears after Miranda is made to sleep) tells Prospero that he has landed Ferdinand all
alone by himself, who thinks others have died in the shipwreck and so feels sad at the supposed death of his
father. His father Alonso and other passengers have landed elsewhere, and Alonso thinks that his son Ferdinand
might have been drowned.
With the help of his music and songs, Ariel brings Ferdinand towards Prospero’s cell so that he and
Miranda may meet. They fall in love at first sight (as happens in Shakespeare’s romantic comedies such as
Twelfth Night), and Prospero is happy at this development. However, to test their love he pretends to be
angry with Ferdinand, puts chains on his hands and feet, and imposes on him the unnecessary hard physical
labour of carrying heavy wooden logs from one place to another. In Act 4 he rewards Ferdinand with the
hand of his daughter in marriage, and makes Ariel present a masque with the help of his subordinate spirits
to celebrate the occasion. In Act 5 the other characters are also brought there, and there is reconciliation as
Prospero forgives his enemies and gets back his dukedom. As he gets ready to go back to Milan along with
the others, he frees both Ariel and Caliban.
The action of the play covers just a few hours because the past events of twelve years ago are only
described as the context for the present seeming shipwreck. Yet within this short span there is a replay of
evil—in a more serious form when Antonio plans with Sebastian to kill Alonso and Gonzalo so that Sebastian
may become the king of Naples and in return free Antonio’s Milan from subordination to Naples; and in a
more comic form when Caliban advises the drunken butler Stephano to kill Prospero and become the king of
the island, Ariel frustrates both the plots to ensure that Prospero’s plan for reconciliation succeeds.
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8.4 THE TEMPEST AS A DRAMATIC ROMANCE
8.4.1 Similarities and differences between Shakespeare’s romantic comedies and dramatic
romances
Like his romantic comedies, Shakespeare’s dramatic romances are also set in a world remote from
everyday reality—They are set in a world of make-believe, where elements of the supernatural and unusual
coincidences seem probable as they support the moral theme, and lead to justice and happiness. Music plays
an important role in sustaining this world of romance in both. In both there are some unusually virtuous
characters. The latter part of a dramatic romance is like a romantic comedy in almost all respects, and for
that reason the dramatic romances are sometimes listed under comedies.
However, while the romantic comedies make only a passing mention of death and suffering, the
dramatic romances probe evil at length. A part of the dramatic romance is like an intense tragedy.
Dramatic romances present considerable intense suffering before evil is overcome and the play moves towards
reconciliation and a happy resolution. While the romantic comedies are centred on the theme of love, in the
dramatic romances love is only one of the themes, even though it helps in bringing about the happy ending
of the play.
The ending of a dramatic romance, though happy, is not festive like that of a romantic comedy, but
is more restrained in tone, with a sense of so many years wasted in unhappiness because of serious mistakes
and/or because the evil forces had an upper hand before being overcome.
Self Assessment Question
A. In what ways does a dramatic romance differ from a romantic comedy?
8.4.2 Action of The Tempest set in a remote place where the supernatural and strange
coincidences would appear more probable
The Tempest is set in a remote “uninhabited island” about which people of Europe did not know.
The remoteness of the setting makes it easier to believe that supernatural beings like the spirit Ariel live
there and that the protagonist Prospero is able to control them with his magic in order to punish his enemies
and lead the action of the play to the desired resolution.
In such a remote place it seems probable that by chance Prospero’s enemies should happen to pass
by that island within range of his magical powers, and that he should be able to Create a seeming storm in
which their ship appears to be wrecked.
8.4.3 Elements of the supernatural: Prospero’s magic, Ariel as a spirit, and other spirits
subordinate to Ariel
The supernatural elements play a very important role in the action of the play. The very convincing
storm—with which the play begins, and which makes possible the rest of the action in the play—is created
by the spirit Ariel, who is controlled by Prospero’s magic powers, In Act 4 other spirits subordinate to Ariel
present a masque under his directions. Such spirits and such power of magic form stuff of the fairy tales and
are not found in the world of nature. However, in The Tempest they are accepted by the spectators and the
readers without any hesitation—with a “willing suspension of disbelief (a term first used by the poet and
critic S.T. Coleridge in the early nineteenth century)— because of two main reasons:
[Link] Psychological realism: The reactions and behaviour of different characters are convincing
psychologically, that is, the way they react to supernatural happenings or appearances is so natural that the
realism of their responses absorbs our attention and makes us accept the supernatural without any hesitation.
There is psychological realism not only in the reactions of those who are subjected to the supernatural, but
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also in the statements and behaviour of the supernatural spirit Ariel, so that he appears almost like an
enthusiastic young person eager to perform efficiently the tasks assigned to him, and beyond that acting on
his own to ensure that his master’s plans are not spoilt. When he describes how he created the storm, he
seems convincing in his excited sense of achievement, and we do not even for a moment think that such
supernatural happenings are not possible. The responses of Ferdinand to the music played and the songs
sung by invisible Ariel make it believable that Ariel with his unusual powers is invisible. Similarly when
spirits in strange forms bring a ‘feast’ on the stage, psychological realism in the reactions of Alonso, Gonzalo,
Antonio, Sebastian and others makes the experience believable.
[Link] The supernatural elements support the moral theme of the play and work for justice or
positive attitudes to life: The supernatural elements play a constructive role in the play. Prospero uses his
magic powers only to bring under his control the enemies who had removed him from the throne and
exposed him and his three-year old daughter to almost certain death at sea twelve years ago. And the
punishment, which he imposes on them with the help of his magic and the spirit Ariel, is quite mild, so that
the supernatural elements reinforce the positive spirit of the play—This makes these elements highly
acceptable.
Self Assessment Question
B. Why does the supernatural appear believable in The Tempest?
8.4.4 The spirit of romance reinforced by the dreamlike intensity of the evil suddenly rising
in Antonio and infecting Sebastian whose nature is prone to evil
A feeling of a world away from everyday reality is also reinforced by the sudden upsurge of evil in
Antonio’s mind when he suggests to Sebastian that if they kill his elder brother Alonso on this island, he
(Sebastian) can become the king of Naples in his place. The sudden urgency with which Antonio talks about
it makes that episode intense like something seen in a dream rather than everyday reality.
8.4.5 Probing of evil, and ultimately positive forces neutralizing evil
This dramatic romance probes evil, but at the same time there is firm assurance that the evil will not
be able to triumph.
The main evil act, which provides the reason for the action of the play, took place twelve years ago,
and is described in detail by Prospero to his daughter Miranda in the second scene of the play, immediately
after the seeming tempest and shipwreck of the opening scene: Prospero’s mistake in neglecting his duties as
a Duke to devote himself entirely to his study of “the liberal Arts”, and assigning the government to his
younger brother Antonio, “in my false brother / Awak’d an evil nature” (1.2.73-77, 92-93); with the help of
the King of Naples, Alonso, who was Prospero’s enemy, Antonio usurped the throne of his elder brother and
exposed him and his three years old daughter to death at sea, which they miraculously escaped.
Within the play there is a re-play of intense evil as Antonio suddenly suggests to Sebastian that they
murder Alonso and Gonzalo so that Sebastian becomes the King of Naples. However, watchful spirit Ariel’s
presence ensures that they cannot carry out their evil plan.
Similarly in the subplot the comic plotting of Caliban to get Prospero killed with the help of the
drunken butler Stephano, whom he accepts as his new ‘king’, gets easily foiled by Ariel.
The fact that Prospero is controlling everything with the help of Ariel, gives assurance early in the
play that finally all will be well. We get a clear indication of Prospero’s plan for reconciliation with his
enemy King of Naples, Alonso, when in the second scene of the play he expresses happiness as his daughter
Miranda and Alonso’s worthy son Ferdinand fall in love at first sight. It is the deep love of these members of
the younger generation which ultimately ensures the triumph of positive attitudes over evil. Prospero’s

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rising above his bitterness against his enemies, to work for reconciliation (“the rarer action is / In virtue than
in vengeance”—5.1.27-28), leads to a happy ending. However, while Caliban does realise his mistake towards
the end, there is no indication of any change of heart- in the evil-minded Antonio and Sebastian. The future
rulers of Naples and Milan, Ferdinand and Miranda, will have to be on their guard against such evil which
is overcome at the end of the play but is not eradicated.
8.4.6 Elements of romantic comedy, with love as a significant theme—love happening
instinctively at first sight but remaining unshaken in spite of difficulties, and functioning
as an ennobling feeling which enriches life and offers hope of a harmonious future
As in Shakespeare’s earlier dramatic romance The Winter’s Tale (which immediately preceded The
Tempest), so also in this play elements of romantic comedy in the latter part of the action counterbalance the
tragedy-like elements of the earlier part of the action. In fact, in The Tempest the elements of tragedy are
largely over with Prospero’s narration of what happened twelve years ago (how his tragic error of judgement
in ignoring his duty to govern his dukedom and delegating the task of administration to his younger brother
led to his excessive suffering of being removed from the throne and being exposed to almost certain death at
sea along with his daughter). Soon after that narration of past mistakes and consequent suffering, as Ariel
with his music and song draws Ferdinand towards Prospero’s dwelling, and Ferdinand and Miranda meet,
the play comes to have all the elements of a romantic comedy including falling in love at first sight and
remaining unshaken in love in spite of opposition and difficulties—these obstructions being all the more
amusing as they are imposed by Prospero to test their love. His hope for reconciliation with his enemy King
of Naples and consequent harmony between Milan and Naples depends on the steadfastness of the love of
the young couple. Through the opposition and difficulties their feelings of love emerge nobler and stronger.
Evil, suffering and bitterness are finally transcended by the hope of a more harmonious society under
the younger generation, as elements of romantic comedy neutralise the darker elements more suitable for
tragedy.
8.4.7 Symbolic patterns of meaning more significant than character analysis
As in Shakespeare’s other dramatic romances, in The Tempest too the symbolic patterns of meaning
give shape to the plot and make the characters contrast with one another in terms of the attitudes they stand
for. The various characters are presented with psychological realism, but are not probed to that depth as in
Shakespeare’s mature tragedies.
The most important thematic pattern, which gives shape to the over-all action of the play (and is
also seen in The Winter’s Tale), may be described as the pattern of sin or mistake, followed by expiation
through suffering, which leads to forgiveness and reconciliation, as explained in the next section of this
lesson. Sometimes this is referred to as the Christian idea of Grace, as according to Christianity, if somebody
who has committed a sin, truly repents and undergoes penance or punishment for the wrong done, he becomes
worthy of forgiveness or God’s Grace (This idea has been discussed in detail in the context of Doctor
Faustus in Lessons 2-4).
An important thematic contrast in The Tempest is that between Art or culture represented by Prospero
and Nature as represented by Caliban. Art and culture involve restraint, which can help one rise above
nature, whereas Caliban is presented as being guided by impulses. As the contrast between Art and Nature is
presented largely from the point of the coloniser, certain prejudices of colonialism come in. Different aspects
of the theme ‘Art versus Nature’ and the implicit colonialist attitude have been brought out in the critical
analysis of the play in the next two lessons.

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 The more earthy and sluggish manner of Caliban, which makes him symbolise the ‘elements’ of
earth and water, contrasts with the lively, swift and alert attitude of Ariel who almost represents the elements
of air and fire. Other characters are also seen as partly symbolic—Prospero representing reason and Miranda
the soul.
The two important contrasting symbols in the play are the tempest and the harmony represented
by music. The tempest represents upheaval in society when evil overthrows propriety and justice, and also
disturbance in the mind, especially in the mind of Prospero as he seethes with anger at the wrongs done to
him by his own younger brother. Music represents harmony in the mind as disturbing feelings are soothed or
brought under control, as well as harmony in society when evil is neutralised. Ferdinand’s heart, agitated
with grief at the supposed death of his father (in the seeming shipwreck), is made calm by invisible Ariel’s
music and song. His and Miranda’s love functions as a harmonizing influence for society as it leads to
cementing of reconciliation between old enemies, Alonso and Prospero. Prospero himself moves gradually
to harmony as he gives up his “fury” of revenge and forgives even his brother, though rather bitterly (“For
you, most wicked sir, whom to call brother / Would even infect my mouth, I do forgive / Thy rankest [i.e.
most disgusting] fault,—all of them” [5.1.130-32]).
It is significant that Caliban responds to music, which offers hope that he may become a more
balanced person. Among Prospero’s enemies, Alonso, who is grief-stricken at the supposed death of his son
Ferdinand, is influenced by invisible Ariel’s “solemn music” a little later than others and falls asleep
(2.1.193)—which shows that he is not completely evil and can realize his mistake in having harmed Prospero,
that is, he can be redeemed from evil. However, Ariel’s music has no influence on the completely evil
Antonio and Sebastian—which indicates that they can never be redeemed, unlike Caliban. Antonio and
Sebastian’s evil is also seen as more sinister than Caliban’s, because they belong to the ‘civilised world’ and,
in spite of having the advantage of civilization, have chosen to be evil: when Sebastian asks Antonio about
his “conscience”, he replies: “Ay, sir; where lies that? ... I feel not / This deity in my bosom” (2.1.270-73).
Self Assessment Question
C. What is the symbolic significance of the tempest and music in The Tempesf?
8.5 COMBINATION OF THE REALISTIC AND THE ROMANTIC IN THE TEMPEST
In The Tempest Shakespeare very effectively reconciles romance with realism.
Even when certain happenings are obviously supernatural and belong to the world of romance at
some distance from reality, the reactions of different characters to those happenings are convincingly realistic.
In the opening scene the storm is created by magic, but the reactions of the passengers and sailors are
convincingly real. The urgency shown by the Boatswain to somehow save the ship from being destroyed in
the tempest, and the anxiety of others create a realistic effect of a ship really in danger. Similarly, in Act 3
scene 3, there is psychological realism in the responses of Alonso, Gonzalo, Antonio and Sebastian to the
strange shapes of the spirits who invite them to a banquet. As Coleridge observes in a different context,
realism in the reactions of different characters to supernatural happenings makes us suspend our disbelief in
elements of romance such as magic and supernatural spirits.
Prospero exercises magic to create situations and sights with the help of Ariel, who is a spirit from
the world of romance. However, Prospero himself is presented realistically as a human being with different
imperfections. Throughout the play he is repeatedly agitated by bitterness and anger at the treachery of his
younger brother, even as he controls and directs the events of the play to the desired goal of reconciliation.

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His unnecessary anger at Ariel and Miranda, which makes him appear almost like a tyrant, also makes him
convincingly human. The imperfections, which make him a complex character, also make him seem more
like a person from real life, and because of this his magic and control of supernatural spirits become believable.
Ariel is presented as a spirit who can become invisible and can also assume any form—he appears
like lightning and fire on the ship, and as a strange harpy in the banquet scene. He can create all kinds of
magical effects. And yet the way he describes how he created the effect of a storm for the ship, and how he
guided Ferdinand with his music, he appears more like an eager young boy joyfully reporting to his master
how his commands were very effectively carried out. This psychological realism of his utterances makes
him believable even as we are aware that he is a supernatural spirit from the world of romance. This comes
out in a very effective way in the last scene of the play where he tells Prospero about the mental suffering
experienced by his enemies, adding “if you now be held them, your affections / Would become tender,” and
says, “Mine would, sir, were I human” (5.1.18-20)—Here even his utterance indicating that he is not human,
is presented with such psychological consistency and realism that he moves the heart of the audience also.
This realism of his feelings makes this spirit Ariel not just a believable figure but also a charming character.
8.6 The Thematic Pattern of Sin or Mistake, followed by expiation through suffering, which
leads to forgiveness and reconciliation (the Christian idea of Grace)
We see two broad patterns of themes in the action of the play The Tempest. The thematic pattern of
romantic comedy in the relationship of Miranda and Ferdinand begins later and is given less space in the
play, though it plays a crucial role in the final reconciliation of old enemies. The larger thematic pattern,
which begins first and gives overall shape to the action of the play, consists of sin or mistake, followed by
expiation in the form of suffering, which leads to forgiveness and reconciliation.
We see this pattern not only in the case of Aionso, Antonio and Sebastian, but significantly in
Prospero’s case also, and in a comic form in the case of Caliban, who also realizes his mistake towards the
end of the play and says, “I’ll be wise hereafter, / And seek for grace” (5.1.294-95).
This pattern is sometimes also referred to as the Christian idea of Grace, because (as we see in
Marlowe’s play Doctor Faustus) according to Christianity, if one sins one suffers, but if one realizes one’s
mistake and truly repents at heart, that suffering becomes a kind of atonement for the sin and one becomes
worthy of God’s Grace or forgiveness.
Prospero does not sin like Alonso, Antonio and Sebastian. However, he made a great mistake in
neglecting his responsibility to govern his dukedom himself. His brother was able to usurp his throne and
expose him and his three year old daughter to almost certain death at sea, only because, for the sake of his
personal interest in studies, he ignored his primary political and social responsibility of governing his people
himself. Prospero’s failure to perform his moral and political duty towards his dukedom, and his mistake in
leaving the government entirely in his brother’s hands awakened the evil in his brother (as he himself admits
in 1.2.75-77, 89-90, 92-93). Not only did he suffer deposition (i.e. being removed from the throne) and being
exposed to likely death at sea, even when he and Miranda safely reached this small island, their life has been
limited to this island far away from their home. All this while he has also felt great bitterness and anger at the
wrongs done to him and his daughter, and we see his seething anger even in the course of the play. However,
this suffering makes him mature and wiser. He now governs the island efficiently, though perhaps a bit too
sternly. And he is gradually able to rise above his anger against his enemies, and forgives them after having
made them suffer for some time and having made them realize their mistake. Thus his mistake brings him
suffering, which then helps him rise above his weaknesses, including his anger against his enemies, so that
he can say “the rarer action is / In virtue than in vengeance” (5.1.27-28) and moves forward to forgiveness
and reconciliation.
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 Alonso, Antonio and Sebastian are made to suffer as a punishment for their sins against Prospero
and Miranda, and after that they are forgiven. Alonso is tormented with grief at the thought that his son
Ferdinand, whom they cannot find after the seeming shipwreck, has probably been drowned. All of them are
reminded of their sins by the invisible Ariel and they feel as if even the waves, winds and thunder are talking
of their sins against Prospero and Miranda. They are made distracted by Prospero’s magic, and their suffering
moves even Ariel. At that point Prospero feels that they have been adequately punished for their sins and he
decides to forgive them. The play concludes with Prospero restoring their senses, revealing that Ferdinand is
alive, and Alonso happily agreeing to the marriage of his son to Prospero’s daughter. This leads to complete
reconciliation between old enemies, and creates a situation that is described as one of grace, promising
happiness, peace and harmony.
8.7 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE SETTING: THE TEMPEST AS A PASTORAL PLAY
In a pastoral poem or play the setting is in the countryside, and the characters are simple rustics,
shepherds and shepherdesses, farmers, etc. On the surface the themes relate to the life of these simple
people. However, pastoral writings indirectly deal with more complex problems of life, in a simplified
manner. Because pastoral writings are distanced from the life of cities and courts in terms of the setting and
the way of life presented, they can present the basic aspects of complex problems in a simplified way more
effectively.
The Tempest is set on a remote island, and since their arrival on this island Prospero and Miranda
have been surviving almost like simple villagers. Caliban’s rustic skills like catching fish, etc., have helped
them survive. In any case, on this island Prospero is a simple human being without any authority as a Duke.
Even the King of Naples, Alonso, and the usurper Duke of Milan, Antonio, cannot exercise any authority on
this island. All of them are merely human beings on this island. As such, their particular qualities are seen
more clearly for what they are, without the paraphernalia of royalty. Antonio’s and Sebastian’s evil comes
out more intensely, and in contrast Alonso’s lesser evil and possibility of redemption stand out.
Because of this simple setting on a remote island far away from the courts of Milan and Naples—
which is like the setting of pastoral plays and poems—the pattern of themes comes out more strikingly: for
example, Art versus Nature, sin followed by expiation and repentance leading to reconciliation, steadfastness
of genuine love, and so on. Because of distancing from the court life, these themes are presented more
directly and clearly as in pastoral writings.
8.8 PROSPERO AS REPRESENTING SHAKESPEARE
In this play Prospero plans and controls the entire action directly or through his assistant Ariel, the
way a dramatist controls the action of his play, as everything arises from his mind. For this reason it is said
that Prospero represents the author of the play, Shakespeare. Prospero’s goodbye to his magic (“this rough
magic /I here abjure; ... I’ll break my staff, ... I’ll drown my book”—5.1.50-51, 54, 57) is seen as Shakespeare’s
farewell to playwriting, because this was the last play that he wrote entirely by himself without any collaborator
(he wrote only a part of Henry VIII performed two years later): Magic is taken to represent Shakespeare’s
magic in creating such wonderful plays, the staff representing his pen with which he created the magic of his
plays, and the book suggesting the promptbook used in the actual performance of a play. Shakespeare’s
genius, his pen and the promptbook all contributed to weaving the magic of his plays on the stage.
8.9 UNITY OF TIME AND PLACE IN THE TEMPEST
When the action of a play is limited to one day, it is described as unity of time; and when its
events are limited to one place, it is described as unity of place. The term ‘the three unities’ refers to the
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unity of time, place and action. Shakespeare did not care much about these unities. However, in The Tempest,
which was the last play he wrote entirely by himself, and in which he seems to say farewell to the theatre in
Prospero’s words “I’ll break my staff [representing his pen], ... And ... I’ll drown my book [i.e. the prompt-
book used in the production of a play]” (5.1.54-57), he does observe the unities of time and place.
The entire action of The Tempest is limited to just a few hours, and Shakespeare deliberately draws
attention to this fact. In Act 1 scene 2 Prospero pointedly asks Ariel, “What is the time o’ th’ day?”, and goes
on to specify that it is at least two hours past midday (1.2.239-40). At the beginning of the last scene of the
play he again asks Ariel, “How’s the day?”, and Ariel replies: “On the sixth hour” (5.1.3-4). So this play has
unity of time.
The Tempest also observes the unity of place as all the events take place on a small island. Miranda
standing outside their cell can see the shipwreck. As Alonso and others search for Ferdinand on the island,
they keep moving in a small area; Gonzalo remarks, “here’s a maze trod [i.e. walked]” (3.3.2), that is, they
have been walking over a limited area. Soon they all walk to Prospero’s dwelling.
However, Shakespeare does not care about the unity of action even in this play, and Caliban’s
plotting to get Prospero murdered is in the nature of a subplot which has nothing to do with the action of the
main plot—and the thematic link too is merely that it is almost a parody of the more serious plot of Antonio
and Sebastian to kill Alonso and Gonzalo. (In the next Unit we shall see that even Ben Jonson, who takes
pride in having observed the “needful” rules “of time, place, persons” in the prologue to his play Votpone
[lines 31-32], does not even mention the unity of action, as he has included in that play an extended subplot
involving Sir Politic Would Be, which too has no link with the action of the main plot—thematically the
foolish Sir Politic is a parody of the seemingly clever Volpone who ultimately proves foolish.)
Self Assessment Question
D. Does The Tempest observe the unities of time and place?
8.10 SUMMING UP
The Tempest was Shakespeare’s last play and is a dramatic romance. The action is set on a small
island, remote from everyday reality. Supernatural elements such as magic and spirits become believable
because of the psychological realism in the reactions and attitudes of different characterrs, and because they
support the moral vision of the play. The main theme that gives shape to the action of the play is that of sin
or great mistake, followed by suffering which becomes expiation for the wrong done, and the atonement
leads to forgiveness and reconciliation. Art versus Nature is another significant theme in the play. Evil is
probed at length, and is counterbalanced by the love of Miranda and Ferdinand, which offers hope of a better
future. Two important symbols in the thematic pattern of the play are the tempest and music. The tempest or
storm evokes upheaval in society such as that when Antonio displaced his elder brother Prospero from the
throne and exposed him and his daughter Miranda to almost sure death at sea. The storm also evokes
disturbance of mind, for example, when Prospero’s mind seethes with bitterness and anger at the wrongs
done to him and his daughter. Music represents harmony in society when justice is restored and harmony in
the mind when forgiveness dispels the desire for revenge and one moves forward to reconciliation.
Mistakes, sins or lapses of members of the older generation give rise to tragedy-like elements. Much
of these elements appear mainly in Prospero’s description to his daughter Miranda of what happened twelve
years ago. However, within the play also there is a replay of evil as Antonio suggests to Sebastian that they
should kill the king of Naples, Alonso, and the sincere courtier Gonzalo, so that Sebastian can become the

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king of Naples. In contrast with the older generation, the members of the younger generation are yet free
from sin, and their deep love is presented in terms of a romantic comedy. The theme of punishment for the
wrongs done and the theme of love run side by side, and together contribute to reconciliation and a happy
ending for the play.
This play has unity of time and action as the events enacted in the play are supposed to cover just a
few hours of one day, and the entire action of the play is limited to a small island. This remote setting away
from the courts and cities makes this play almost a pastoral play and helps in presenting the themes more
directly and clearly, as in pastoral writings.
8.11 GLOSSARY
the three unities : the unities of time, place and action in a play (explained below) are referred to as
the three unities.
unity of time : when the action of a play is limited to one day, as in Shakespeare’s The Tempest
and in Jonson’s Volpone
unity of place : when the events of a play are limited to one place, for example, limited to one
town as in Twelfth Night and Volpone, or limited to a small island as in The Tempest,
or to a village, etc.
unity of action : when a play has only one well-organized line of action or plot. None of the plays
in your course has unity of action, as The Tempest, Twelfth Night and Volpone
have subplots, while Doctor Faustus has some comic scenes involving clowns
which are not related to the action of the main plot.
8.12 QUESTIONS
Note: You will be able to answer these questions better after reading the text of the play in the light
of critical analysis of the play in Lessons 9-10.
(A) Questions requiring short answers in about 100 words each:
1. Discuss the title of the play The Tempest
2. Comment on the significance of the setting in The Tempest. OR Discuss The Tempest as a pastoral
play.
3. In what sense can Prospero be said to represent Shakespeare?
4. Comment on the unities of place and time in The Tempest.
(B) Questions requiring full-length answers:
1. Discuss The Tempest as a dramatic romance.
2. Comment of the mingling of romance and realism in The Tempest.
3. In what way does The Tempest present the Christian idea of Grace? OR To what extent does The
Tempest reject the pattern of sin or great mistake, followed by punishment which becomes an
expiration or atonement for the wrong done, which atonement then leads to forgiveness and
reconciliation?
4. Discuss the treatment of the supernatural in The Tempest.
5. Bring out the elements of a romantic comedy in The Tempest.
6. In what ways does a dramatic romance differ from a romantic comedy? Explain with reference to
The Tempest and Twelfth Night.
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8.13 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS’ ANSWERS
A. Dramatic romances probe evil more fully, love is only one of the main themes, and the ending,
though happy, is more restrained in spirit.
B. Because the speeches and behaviour of the spirit Ariel make him appear convincing like a human
being, because the reactions of those who experience the supernatural have psychological realism,
and because the elements of the supernatural support the moral theme of the play and work for
justice or positive attitudes to life.
C. The tempest stands for upheaval in society when evil becomes dominant, and for the disturbance
of mind because of anger, bitterness, grief, etc. Music stands for harmony in society when negative
forces are brought under control, and for harmony in mind when one rises above negative tendencies.
D. Yes.
8.14 SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. Edited by Frank Kermode. The Arden Shakespeare. London:
Methuen, 1954, 6th edition 1958; rpt. London: Routledge, 1988. Ail references to this play in these
lessons are to this edition.
2. — The Tempest. In The Literature of Renaissance England. Ed. John Hollander and Frank Kermode.
New York: Oxford University Press, 1973, pages 444-509. Included in The Oxford Anthology of
English Literature, Volume 1. Ed. Frank Kermode and John Hollander. New York: Oxford
University Press, 1973.
3. — The Tempest. Edited by Robert Langbaum. The Signet Classic Shakespeare. New York: New
American Library, 1964. Also includes some critical essays on the play, including Reuben A.
Brower’s The Mirror of Analogy’.
4. — The Tempest. Edited by Ann Righter(Ann Barton). Harmonds worth: Penguin Books, 1968.
5. The Tempest. Edited by Stephen Orgel. The Oxford Shakespeare. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987.
6. Palmer, D.J., ed. Shakespeare: The Tempest: A Casebook. London: Macmillan, 1968.
7. —, ed. Shakespeare’s Later Comedies: An Anthology of Modern Criticism. Harmonds worth:
Penguin Books, 1971. Reprints some useful criticism on The Tempest; including S.T. Coleridge’s
This Almost Miraculous Play’ and Reuben A. Brower’s The Mirror of Analogy’; also reprints
some criticism on The Setting of the Last Plays’, including Stanley Wells’s ‘Shakespeare and
Romance’.
8. Traversi, Derek. Shakespeare: The Last Phase. London: Hollis and Carter, 1954, pages 193-272.
A briefer discussion of The Tempest by Derek Traversi appears in his essay The Last Plays of
Shakespeare’ in The Age of Shakespeare, Volume 2 of The Pelican Guide to English Literature,
edited by Boris Ford (Harmonds worth: Penguin Books, 1955), pages 274-81.

*****

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 LESSON-9
THE TEMPEST: CRITICAL ANALYSIS-I

STRUCTURE
9.1 INTRODUCTION
9.2 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
9.3 DRAMATIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE OPENING SCENE
9.4 ACT 1 SCENE 2: THE EXPOSITION
9.4.1 MIRANDA AND PROSPERO
9.4.2 PROSPERO AND ARIEL
A, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
9.4.3 PROSPERO, MIRANDA AND CALIBAN
B,C,D,E, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
9.4.4 PROSPERO, MIRANDA AND FERDINAND: THE SECOND ASPECT OF
THE ACTION BEGINS, WHICH IS LIKE A ROMANTIC COMEDY
F, G, H, I, J, K SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
9.5 ACT 2 SCENE 1
9.5.1 GONZALO’S DESCRIPTION OF THE UTOPIAN COMMONWEALTH,
AND THE IDEA OF THE NOBLE SAVAGE
9.5.2 INFLUENCE OF MUSIC ON THOSE WHO ARE NOT EVIL
9.5.3 SUDDEN UPSURGE OF FRESH EVIL IN ANTONIO, WHICH INFECTS
SEBASTIAN WHO ALSO IS PRONE TO EVIL
9.6 SUMMING UP
9.7 GLOSSARY
9.8 QUESTIONS
9.9 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION’S ANSWERS
9.10 SUGGESTED READINGS
9.1 INTRODUCTION
This lesson takes you through the earlier part of the play, analysing the pattern of themes, and
bringing out the significant stages of action as revealed in this part of the play. The role of different characters
is also examined in detail.
9.2 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
This lesson aims at helping you appreciate different aspects of the play more clearly in the context
of the text of the play.
9.3 DRAMATIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE OPENING SCENE
The play begins strikingly with thunder and lightning, to arrest the attention of the audience
immediately. (In the Elizabethan theatres the sound of thunder was produced by rolling drums and the effect
of lightning was created with metal sheets reflecting light. In the early seventeenth century theatres had
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machines to create such effects.) The stage could have been made to look like a ship with the help of ropes
slanting over it whose upper ends were held in hand by a person in the cabin which used to be there above
the gallery at the back of the stage; at the end of the scene he could let go of the ropes, which would give the
effect of the ship disappearing. In any case, the tense dialogue and hurried movements of the Boatswain and
sailors would make the audience aware that the stage represents the deck of a ship which is in danger of
being wrecked in the storm.
Thunder and lightning suggest that something very significant and disturbing is about to happen.
The way the Master of the ship gives directions to the Boatswain (who gives directions to sailors
who are under his control) and the urgency with which the Boatswain asks the sailors to perform specific
tasks to save the ship somehow from being pushed on to land by the storm, make us feel that the ship is in
real danger. When the King of Naples, Alonso, comes to the stage along with others, the Boatswain curtly
tells them to keep to the cabins, as by moving on the deck they are obstructing the efforts to save the ship:
“you do assist the storm” (1.1.14). The old courtier Gonzalo tells him to “remember whom thou hast aboard”,
and the Boatswain replies: “None that I love more than myself (1.1.19-20). His reply indicates that their
lives are really in danger. The psychological realism of the utterances of different characters makes this
shipwreck appear real, and it is a bit of surprise when we learn in the next scene that this storm and seeming
shipwreck were effects of Prospero’s magic, carried out with the help of the lively spirit Ariel. The detailed
directions given by the Boatswain to the sailors also happen to be technically correct for saving a ship in
danger of being pushed aground in a storm, and these reinforce the realism of the scene.
Shakespeare’s opening scenes introduce most of the important characters directly or indirectly.
Alonso, Antonio and Sebastian, who are to be punished for their wrongs done to Prospero and his daughter,
are present on the stage. Alonso’s son Ferdinand, whose love for Miranda is to play a crucial role in
reconciliation, is also there on the stage. Another important character, Gonzalo, is also present. The most
important character, Prospero, is not present personally, but this storm has been created by him. Ariel too is
not visible on the stage, but as he explains in the next scene, all the effects of the storm are created by him
under Prospero’s directions. (In the second scene of the play both Prospero and Ariel appear on the stage, as
also the two remaining important characters, Miranda and Caliban.)
This storm is a turning point in the action of the play, as it marks the beginning of the punishment of
the wrong-doers, and makes possible the rest of the action of the play.
This scene introduces one of the key symbols and themes of the play: the tempest. (A recurring
image or theme is also called a motif—in this word from German ‘i’ is pronounced like ‘ee’). The tempest
evokes the upheaval which Alonso, Antonio and Sebastian had created in the socio-political sphere by
displacing the rightful Duke of Milan, Prospero—harmony will be restored at the end of the play when
Prospero regains his dukedom. The storm, which forms part of Prospero’s revenge, also symbolises the
agitation in his mind, which comes out fully in his narration of past events to his daughter in the next scene,
and this storm in his mind keeps resurfacing time and again, and is seen even when he forgives his brother
in the last scene: “For you, most wicked sir, whom to call brother / Would even infect my mouth, I do forgive
/ Thy rankest fault...” (5.1.130- 32).
9.4 ACT 1 SCENE 2: THE EXPOSITION
The second scene of the play is quite long and mainly performs the function of exposition, that is,
revealing the situation and circumstances which provide the context for the main action of the play. Towards
the end of this scene, when Ferdinand and Miranda meet and fall in love at first sight, the other aspect of the
plot begins which is largely like a romantic comedy.
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 9.4.1 Miranda and Prospero
The second scene begins with Miranda asking her father Prospero whether he had caused that
shipwreck with his magic, and expressing her anguish at the cries of people on board the ship who seemed
to be drowning: “O, I have suffered / With those that I saw suffer!” (1.2.5-6). Her feelings reflect the “virtue
of compassion”, as her father Prospero notes (1.2.27), and make her a worthy successor for Prospero in the
time to come.
Prospero assures her that with his ‘Art’ or magic he has so arranged things that no harm has happened
to any of the persons on board that ship, and tells her that he has done everything “but in care of thee”
(1.2.16). He asks her to help him take off his “magic garment” (1.2.23-24), and then goes on to describe to
her what had happened to the two of them twelve years ago when she was hardly three years old (1.2.40-41).
The theme of the fortunate fall: When Prospero tells her that twelve years ago he was the Duke of
Milan and she “his only heir / And princess” (1.2.57-59), she asks him: “What foul play had we, that we
came from thence? / Or blessed was’t that we did?” (1.2.60-61). Prospero replies, “Both, both, my girl ....”
He describes in detail the evil done to him and Miranda by his brother Antonio and his enemy Alonso.
However, through suffering he has become wiser: not only has he learnt how he himself is to govern properly,
we also see him rising to a higher level of wisdom where he can befriend his enemy and forgive his unrepentant
brother. Thus his being pushed out of Milan has been a kind of blessing in disguise as it has made him a
better ruler and a better human being.
Miranda, who is learning for the first time about the terrible events of twelve years ago, would
naturally be attentive, but during the narration Prospero keeps telling her, “be attentive” (line 38), “I pray
thee, mark me” (lines 67, 87), “Dost thou hear?” (line 106), which shows that his own mind is agitated as he
relives the harm done to him and Miranda twelve years ago.
In his narration Prospero keeps blaming his brother, but unawares he also reveals his own mistake
of neglecting his duties as a duke and letting his brother run the administration in his place. It was a tragic
error of judgement which brought suffering to him and his daughter. However, Prospero describes even his
failing as a positive quality, and this weakness or blindness in him makes him convincing as a human being
in spite of magic powers.
... Prospero the prime duke, being so reputed
In dignity, and for the liberal Arts
Without a parallel; those being all my study,
The government I cast upon my brother,
And to my state grew stranger.... (1.2.72-76)
“Thy false uncle ... having both the key / Of officer and office, set all hearts i’ th’ state / To what tune
pleased his ear .... I, thus neglecting worldly ends, ... in my false brother / Awak’d an evil nature; ... his
ambition growing, ... he needs will be / Absolute Milan” (1.2.77, 83-85, 89, 92-93, 105, 108-09). In order to
become the duke of Milan in name also, his brother conspired with Prospero’s enemy King of Naples
(Alonso) that in return for annual tribute and subordination of Milan to Naples, he
Should presently extirpate me and mine
Out of the dukedom, and confer fair Milan,
With all the honours, on my brother: whereon,

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 A treacherous army levied, one midnight
Fated to th’ purpose, did Antonio open
The gates of Milan; and i’ th’ dead of darkness,
The ministers for th’ purpose [i.e. the persons assigned this job] hurried thence
Me and thy crying self. (1.2.125-32)
Prospero implies that fate combined with his own weakness to bring suffering on him and Miranda.
A little later he tells her that “By accident most strange, bountiful Fortune /... hath mine enemies / Brought
to this shore”, and he can rise to the zenith (or the highest point of his life) with the help of “A most
auspicious star”, only if he makes the effort (1.2.178-84). So the idea of a combination of human effort
and destiny is put forth. Twelve year ago he suffered because he neglected his own duties as a duke, and
adverse fate combined with that weakness. Now even though Fate has provided him a favourable opportunity,
he can regain his dukedom and move on to reconciliation with his enemy King of Naples, Alonso, only if he
acts firmly with a clear vision. The seeming shipwreck was the first step, and the second step begins later in
the scene when Alonso’s son Ferdinand and Miranda meet and fall in love.
Prospero describes how he and Miranda were carried many miles into the sea and there left in a
small rotten boat without any oar or sail to move it in any direction:
In few, they hurried us aboard a bark,
Bore us some leagues to sea [a league is roughly three miles]; where they prepared A rotten carcass
of a butt [i.e. a damaged tiny tub-like boat], not rigg’d,
Nor tackle, sail, nor mast; ... there they hoist us,
To cry to th’ sea that roar’d to us; to sigh
To th’ winds, whose pity, sighing back again,
Did us but loving wrong. (1.2.144-51)
As Prospero contrasts the inhumanity of his bother Antonio and of his enemy King of Naples with
the seeming sympathy of the rising sea waves and the cold winds, the tone of language changes, to prepare
us for the transition from realistic evil to the amazing world of romance, where “Providence divine” takes
them ashore to safety on a lonely island where magic and supernatural spirits seem probable.
Prospero also tells her how a noble person from Naples, Gonzalo, who was assigned this painful
duty of abandoning them at sea, exercised his natural human feelings where there was no specific order, and
provided them with “Rich garments, linens, stuffs and necessaries”, and “furnish’d me / From mine own
library with volumes that /I prize above my dukedom” (1.2.164, 166- 68). After that he makes Miranda fall
asleep, to exercise his magic to call the spirit Ariel there.
9.4.2 Prospero and Ariel
Ariel enters with cheerful eagerness to carry out whatever orders his “great master” may give; and
in view of this enthusiasm of Ariel, Prospero’s harsh words to him a little later appear to be highly unjust and
cruel. In reply to Prospero’s question, Ariel vividly describes the effects of storm that he had created. This
excited narration recreates a powerful image of the storm which was earlier presented through the sailors’
and passengers’ anxious utterances in the opening scene. The excited joy of Ariel at his achievement in
appearing like fire in different parts of the ship carries us along and we accept him as a real being without
thinking about the impossibility of what he describes: “sometime I’d divide / And burn in many places”
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(1.2.198-99). This takes the play into the world of romance where supernatural beings and magic seem
possible. Ariel’s graphic description of the state of mind of the leading characters as they jumped out of the
ship, adds to psychological realism of this part of the play. He also gives other details relevant to the action
of the play: no one has been injured (“Not a hair perish’d”), and their clothes look fresher than before: “In
troops I have dispers’d them ’bout the isle. / The King’s son [Ferdinand] have I landed by himself; “Safely
in harbour / Is the king’s ship”, hidden in a corner (1.2.217-21,226-27).
Then Prospero asks Ariel, “What is the time o’ th’ day?” (1.2.239), which is essentially to bring it to
the notice of the audience that the play observes the unity of time, as the entire action of the play covers the
events of just a few hours. When Ariel replies that it is “Past the mid season,” Prospero makes it more
specific as 2 pm by remarking that it is past midday by “At least two glasses [i.e. hours, with reference to the
hourglass, earlier used to measure time]” (1.2.240)
When Prospero tells Ariel, who has just performed a difficult task quite skilfully, “The time ‘twixt
six and now / Must by us both be spent preciously”, Ariel just asks, “Is there more toil [i.e. hard work]?” and
reminds Prospero of his promise which has yet not been fulfilled: “My liberty” (1.2.240-45). This makes
Prospero so angry that he calls Ariel a “malignant thing” (1.2.257)—Prospero’s unjustified harshness here
makes him look like a tyrant. Probably the memory of how his laxity was misused by his brother twelve
years ago is making him overreact.
Prospero’s weakness is again seen in his prejudiced description of Caliban’s mother Sycorax, where
he claims moral superiority over her. His own statements show the distortion of his attitude. He says to
Ariel, “Thou, my slave, ... was then her servant” (1.2.270-71), as if in making Ariel his slave Prospero has
done him a favour, while Sycorax is presented as evil in having made Ariel only her servant. Further, Prospero
says that Sycorax had with her magic imprisoned Ariel in a pine tree in a fit of anger because he had refused
to carry out some of her orders (1.2.272-77), but she could not then undo that punishment later because her
magic was not as strong as that of Prospero (1.2.290-93). He released Ariel from that pain but now threatens
him that if he even murmurs, he (Prospero) will, with full control over his feelings, “rend an oak, / And peg
thee in his knotty entrails” for twelve years (1.2:294-96) to cause him far greater pain than that imposed by
Sycorax. And still Prospero claims that he is far nobler and kinder than her. This unnecessary anger in him
makes him a convincing human being, and so his account of magic powers is easily accepted.
As Ariel begs his pardon, Prospero asks him to make himself “like a nymph o’ th’ sea”: “Be subject
to / No sight but thine and mine; invisible / To every eyeball else. Go take this shape, / And hither come in’t”
(1.2.301-05). A few lines later Ariel appears in the guise of a nymph and is supposedly invisible as the actors
playing the other characters act as if they do not see him. This is again an element appropriate in romances,
which becomes believable because of psychological realism in the emotion-charged utterances of Ariel and
Prospero.
Description of Caliban’s mother, Sycorax: In Prospero’s description of Sycorax as practising
“sorceries terrible / To enter human hearing” (1.2.264-65) we see the prejudice of the coloniser against the
colonised. As a punishment she was exiled from Argier (Algiers) to this lonely island, where she gave birth
to a son, Caliban, and died a few years later. Caliban was the only human being on this island when Prospero
and Miranda arrived here (1.2.281-84); that is why he says to Prospero a little later:
This island’s mine, by Sycorax my mother,
Which thou tak’st from me. (1.2.333-34)

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 This makes Prospero himself a usurper of Caliban’s island, even as Prospero himself is seething
in anger at the usurpation of his dukedom of Milan by his younger brother Antonio— This is an instance
of mirroring or echoing of themes or happenings in this play. The way Prospero refers to Sycorax as a “hag”
(i.e. an ugly old woman) and describes her son as a “whelp” (a word used for the young ones of animals)
(1.2.269,283) seems in bad taste and is one of the imperfections of Prospero which make him appear like an
ordinary human being in spite of Ns magic powers. This also reflects the coloniser’s self-justification by
describing the colonised as less than human because of their different physical features. It may be noted that
in contrast with Prospero’s contemptuous and abusive manner, Ariel simply says: “Yes, Caliban her son”
(1.2:284).
Self Assessment Question
A. What does Ariel want from Prospero in return for performing very efficiently various difficult tasks for
him?
9.4.3 Prospero, Miranda and Caliban
As Ariel exits, Prospero wakes up Miranda and says: “We’ll visit Caliban my slave, who never /
Yields us kind answer” (1.2.310-11); in actual fact we find that Caliban is usually rude only in reply to
Prospero’s own rudeness to him. Miranda says about Caliban, “Tis a villain, sir, /I do not love to look on”
(1.2.311-12), because, as we learn a little later from Prospero’s words, Caliban had tried to violate her
honour (2.1.349-50). Still Prospero insists that they need this Caliban’s services for doing hard physical
labour for them so that they themselves can remain more comfortable: “But, as ’tis, / We cannot miss him
[i.e. manage without him]: he does make our fire, / Fetch in our wood, and serves in offices / That profit us”
(1.2.312-15).
The name Caliban could have been coined as an anagram of the word ‘cannibal’. (In an anagram
the letters of a word are rearranged to make a different word, usually to indicate some link of the word so
formed with the original word, for example, the poet George Hebert forms the word ‘Army’ as an anagram
of ‘Mary’ [Christ’s mother] to equate Virgin Mary with the strength of an army.) It has also been suggested
that this name Caliban is probably adapted from the Romany word ‘cauliban’ to indicate dark complexion.
(Romany is the language of Roma people or gypsies who do not have a fixed home but move from place to
place, doing odd jobs—they are said to have migrated to different parts of Europe from northwest India long
ago.)
He calls Caliban “Thou earth” in annoyance at his sluggish nature, in contrast with Ariel’s lively
and swift manner which is like air. Caliban replies from within, where he is resting, “There’s wood enough
within.” At this Prospero impatiently teils him, “there’s other business for thee; / Come, thou tortoise!”, and
then becomes abusive, describing Caliban as a son of the devil (1.2.316-18, 321-22). Yet Prospero takes
pride in being civilised. The abusive remark of Prospero makes Caliban curse him, to which Prospero
responds with threats of physical pain to be carried out by supernatural beings at his orders. At this point
Caliban’s long speech brings out the theme of colonialism.
Caliban says, “I must eat my dinner” (1.2.332), that is, he is entitled to a decent living and should be
able to have his food in peace—all the more so because before the arrival of Prospero and Miranda on this
island he was the “King” of the island but now has been reduced to being a slave who is not allowed even to
have his meals in peace: “This island’s mine, by Sycorax my mother, / Which thou tak’st from me” (1.2.333-
34). Caliban goes on to describe how he was happy at the arrival of Prospero and Miranda who taught him
their language, and how out of love for them he showed them all the beneficial and unpleasant things of the
island. This information and help provided by Caliban made their stay here comfortable, but in return he has
been imprisoned in a hard rock:
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 When thou cam’st first,
Thou strok’st me, and made much of me;...
... and then I lov’d thee,
And show’d thee all the qualities o’ th’ isle,
The fresh springs, brine-pits [brine is salty water], barren places and fertile: Curs’d be I that did so!...
For I am all the subjects that you have,
Which first was mine own King: and here you sty me [i.e. keep me as pigs are kept in a sty or small
enclosure]
In this hard rock, whiles you do keep from me
The rest o’ th’ island. (1.2.334-35, 338-41, 343-46)
Prospero points out that at first he had treated Caliban “with human care” and lodged him in his own
cell “till thou didst seek to violate / The honour of my child” (1.2.347-50). At this point Caliban’s unrepentant
laughter alienates sympathy from him. Here we also see the stark contrast between nature and culture or
nurture (i.e. upbringing). Caliban’s disgusting attitude at this point shows that he lives according to laws of
nature without caring for restraint, on which culture depends and which is taught through nurture. Later in
the play, when Ariel tells Prospero about Caliban’s plan to have him murdered at the hands of the drunken
butler Stephano (whom Caliban quickly accepts as his new master), Prospero says about Caliban:
A devil, a born devil, on whose nature
Nurture can never stick: on whom my pains,
Humanely taken, all, all lost, quite lost;
And as with age his body uglier grows,
So his mind cankers [i.e. corrupts slowly]. (4.1.188-92)
It is ironic that though in Act 1 scene 2 Caliban complains that Prospero has been able to control the
island because he had given him all the necessary information when he made much of him, he again becomes
ready to give all crucial information to Stephano and to serve him willingly simply because he has offered
him some liquor. In an aside he thinks about Stephano, “That’s a brave [i.e. magnificent] god, and bears
celestial [i.e. heavenly] liquor: I will kneel to him” (2.2.118- 19), and then says to him:
I’ll show thee every fertile inch o’ th’ island; and I’ll kiss thy foot: I prithee, be my god.
I’ll kiss thy foot; I’ll swear myself thy subject.
I’ll show thee the best springs; I’ll pluck thee berries;
I’ll fish for thee, and get thee wood enough.
(2.2.148-49, 152, 160-61)
In this portrayal of Caliban in his attitude to Stephano we also see the prejudice of colonialism,
which justifies colonising of the natives with the plea that the natives are slavish in their mentality and
would immediately become slaves of another even if given freedom by the coloniser.
In Act 1 scene 2 Caliban’s defiant laughter makes Miranda burst out in anger:
Abhorred slave,
Which any print of goodness wilt not take,
Being capable of all ill I (1.2.353-55)

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 Here she is affirming that Caliban’s nature cannot be moulded by any amount of guidance or education.
She goes on to assert that she taught him to speak, whereas actually she and Prospero only taught him their
language to be able to communicate with him; his mother tongue, which he spoke earlier, sounded to them
like senseless chattering of animals:
I pitied thee,
Took pains to make thee speak, taught thee each hour
One thing or other: when thou didst not, savage,
Know thine own meaning, but would gabble like
A thing most brutish, I endow’d thy purposes
With words that made them known. (1.2.355-60)
To this Caliban retorts:
You taught me language; and my profit on’t
Is, I know how to curse. The red plague rid you [i.e. destroy you]
For learning me your language. (1.2.365-67)
Here Caliban expresses the frustration that the colonised people sometimes feel when the language
of the colonisers tends to distort their thought processes.
As Prospero tells him to fetch in fuel quickly and threatens him with physical punishment in the
form of cramps and aches, Caliban obeys, remarking in an aside that Prospero’s “Art” or magic is more
powerful than the god Setebos worshipped by his mother. Here we see the coloniser exploiting the ignorance
of the colonised to keep him enslaved by claiming that natural physical cramps and aches are caused by his
magic.
Elsewhere in the play (e.g. in Act 3 scene 2 lines 133-41), Caliban is shown as responsive to music.
Ferdinand, who is good at heart, is soothed and charmed by music. In contrast, in Act 2 scene 1 lines 179-97,
music has no effect on Antonio and Sebastian who, in spite of having the advantage of civilization, deliberately
choose evil and as such there is no hope of their turning back to goodness. Music also frightens the clown
Trinculo and the drunken butler Stephano (3.2.122-30), who too are to that extent inferior to Caliban and are
not likely to become better human beings. However, there remains some hope for Caliban. Caliban is also
shown as wiser than Trinculo and Stephano when they get distracted by the sight of colourful clothes on the
line outside Prospero’s cell, and start stealing them; he tells them, “it is but trash” (4.1.224). And his final
statement that he would “seek for grace” (51.295) is in line with his responding to the harmony of music. It
is also significant that at that point Prospero does not use abusive language for Caliban but simply asks him
to set his cell in order in return for the pardon he will grant—-there we may see an indirect comment on the
right way of educating a person.
Self Assessment Questions
B. According to Prospero, why do he and Miranda need Caliban?
C. According to Caliban, what was his status before Prospero and Miranda arrived on the island?
D. According to Caliban, what has he gained by learning the language of the Europeans, Prospero and
Miranda?
E. Does music have any effect on Caliban? What does that indicate about possibility of change in his
nature?
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 9.4.4 Prospero, Miranda and Ferdinand: The second aspect of the action begins, which is like
a romantic comedy
As Caliban leaves, “invisible” Ariel enters, playing on a musical instrument and singing a song
which talks of spirits kissing the stormy sea waves to make them calm and then joining in an elegant dance
on the sandy shore. Ferdinand follows, fascinated by that music and song, and describes how this invisible
music soothed his grief-stricken heart and has almost drawn him here:
Sitting on a bank,
Weeping again the King my father’s wrack [i.e. his death in shipwreck],
This music crept by me upon the waters,
Allaying both their fury and my passion [i.e. sorrow]
With its sweet air [i.e. tune]: thence I have follow’d it,
Or it hath drawn me rather. (1.2.392-97)
Just then Ariel starts singing another song which makes Ferdinand think of his father’s death at sea
and which talks of transformation after death into something precious—suggesting the transformation of
life into something rich and lasting in a work of art or literature:
Full fadom five thy father lies [a fathom is equal to about six feet]/
Of his bones are coral made;
Those are pearls that were his eyes:
Nothing of him that doth fade,
But doth suffer a sea-change
into something rich and strange. (1.2.399-404)
The song also indicates sympathy of nature for human beings even in death: “Sea-nymphs hourly
ring his knell [the bell rung on the death of someone]” (1.2.405).
All the delightful songs and music in the play come from Ariel, who becomes a very effective
instrument for taking the play towards reconciliation. His songs also have a feeling of the ethereal, or
the heavenly, in their rhythm as well as in their meaning; and thus they strengthen the feeling of our having
been transported to the world of romance which is joyful yet distant from everyday reality—where ultimately
all will be well.
Ferdinand cannot see Ariel (who is supposedly invisible), and thinks that this soothing unearthly
music “waits upon / Some god ’o th’ island” (1.2.391-92); and a little later when he sees Miranda, he is
convinced that she is “Most sure the goddess / On whom these airs [i.e. tunes of music and songs] attend”
(1.2.424-25).
At the other end of the stage Prospero, using elaborately poetic language, asks Miranda to look up
and say what she sees. Miranda has not seen any human being on the island other than themselves and
Caliban since their arrival here twelve years ago, but she has seen spirits assuming different fortes; so she
takes Ferdinand to be a spirit, which amuses the audience: “It carries a brave [i.e. handsome] form. But ’tis
a spirit” (1.2.414). When Prospero tells her that he is a human being who was in the ‘shipwreck’, “but [i.e.
except that] he’s something stain’d / With grief... thou mightst call him / A goodly [i.e. good-looking]
person,” Miranda says: “I might call him / A thing divine; for nothing natural /I ever saw so noble [i.e. noble

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in temperament]” (1.2.415-19, 420-22). Prospero is happy at this reaction of Miranda, which indicates that
she has almost fallen in live with this stranger at first sight, and in an ‘Aside’ he expresses his feelings and
praises Ariel’s role in thus bringing Ferdinand and Miranda together: “It goes on, I see, / As my soul
prompts it. Spirit, fine spirit! I’ll free thee / Within two days for this” (1.2.422-24).
Ferdinand’s falling in love with her at first sight (as in romantic comedies) is indicated by his
immediately asking her whether she is still unmarried: “my prime request ... is, O you wonder! / If you be
maid or no?” She replies with modesty and dignity: “No wonder, sir; / But certainly a maid” (1.2.429-31).
The name Miranda in fact means wonderful, though Ferdinand does not yet know her name.
Ferdinand is pleasantly surprised that on this far-off island she is speaking the language of his land,
and says, “I am the best of them that speak this speech” (1.2.432), because he assumes that his father is
drowned in the recent ‘shipwreck’ and that he himself is now the King of Naples. However, Prospero knows
that Ferdinand’s father Alonso is alive and safe on this island, so he can accuse Ferdinand of making a false
claim; when Ferdinand says “myself am Naples [i.e. King of Naples]”, Prospero says to him sternly: “A
word, good sir; / I fear you have done yourself some wrong” (1.2.437, 445-46). Miranda is upset at this
apparent harshness of her father towards Ferdinand, and observes:
Why speaks my father so urgently [i.e. roughly]? This Is the third man that e’er I saw; the first That
e’er I sighed for: pity move my father To be inclin’d my way! (1.2.447-50)
Ferdinand immediately proposes to her: “O, if a virgin, / And your affection not gone forth, I’ll
make you / The queen of Naples” (1.2.450-52).
It may be noted here that though Prospero controls much of the action of the play, and though he
wanted Miranda and Ferdinand to fall in love, he does not control their emotions, and their falling in love is
purely a matter of their own feelings—-here we see a parallel of fate being favourable or unfavourable but
working in combination with human beings’ freedom of action. Also, because Prospero plans and controls
the action of the play (like the playwright), the elements of romantic comedy become more amusing for the
spectators or readers who know what Prospero’s plan is, while Ferdinand and Miranda are unaware of this.
When Prospero sees that they have fallen in love, he creates an obstacle to test their love, so that
they may value their marriage because of the difficulties faced. In an ‘aside’ he says:
They are both in either’s powers: but this swift business
I must uneasy make, lest too light winning
Make the prize light [i.e. valued lightly], (1.2.453-55)
In comedies centred on the theme of love, often an ill-tempered or hostile parent creates obstacles.
In this case Prospero himself plays that role, even as their falling in love is what he himself has planned and
managed with the help of Ariel.
Playing the role of a hostile parent, Prospero says to Ferdinand: “thou dost usurp / The name thou
ow’st not; and has put thyself / Upon this island as a spy, to win it / From me” (1.2.456- 59). Though
Ferdinand is wrong in saying that he is King of Naples, he actually does not know that his father is still alive.
However, in using the word ’usurp’ Prospero touches upon a theme which is reiterated a number of times in
the play—his brother Antonio usurped the dukedom of Milan, and according to Caliban this island was
usurped by Prospero. The readers are also amused at the false allegation that Ferdinand wants to take away
Prospero’s island when he is planning to make him the future duke of Milan as well, through marriage to his
daughter.
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 As Prospero tells Ferdinand that he will chain his “neck and feet together”, and give him only “Sea-
water” to drink and the least nourishing food to eat (1.2.464-67), Ferdinand draws his sword to resist being
made a prisoner. His courage shows him as a worthy life-companion for Miranda. Prospero exercises his
magic so that. Ferdinand cannot move his sword. As Miranda repeatedly justifies Ferdinand as morally good
and noble, Prospero angrily says to her: “What! I say, / My foot my tutor?” (1.2.471-72). Even as pretended
anger, these words are extremely harsh from a father to a daughter, more so from an otherwise quite wise
father such as Prospero to a daughter like Miranda. This unjustified remark makes Prospero appear like a
tyrant. Maybe the bitterness in his mind because of having trusted his younger brother is now making him at
times unnecessarily harsh even to Miranda and Ariel.
When Ferdinand finds that he cannot move his arms, he submits, but adds that all losses and suffering
“are but light to me, / Might I but through my prison once a day / Behold this maid” (1.2.492-94). Miranda
assures him that her father is “of a better nature ... / Than he appears by speech: this is unwonted [i.e.
unusual] / Which now came from him” (1.2.499-501). This affirmation of love in the manner of romantic
comedy makes the play cheerful right in the beginning. However, Prospero’s blessings to the young couple
are expressed only in Act 4, and the final reconciliation of Prospero and Alonso and reunion of Alonso and
Ferdinand take place in Act 5.
Self Assessment Questions
F. What effect does Ariel’s music have on the waves of the sea and on Ferdinand’s grief?
G. What does Miranda take Ferdinand to be when she first sees him?
H. What are the feelings of Ferdinand and Miranda when they meet?
I. Does Prospero control the feelings of Miranda and Ferdinand?
J. Why does Prospero pretend to be angry with Ferdinand and impose unnecessary punishment on
him?
K. With what does Prospero compare Miranda in his anger?
9.5 ACT 2 SCENE 1
9.5.1 Gonzalo’s description of the utopian commonwealth, and the idea of the Noble Savage
In Act 2 scene 1 the “honest old Counsellor” Gonzalo tries to console Alonso, King of Naples, who
is disturbed at the thought that his son Ferdinand, whom they have been unable to find on the island, might
have been drowned in the shipwreck. However, Gonzalo’s way of talking is so elaborate, and his attempt to
console a grieving father is so abstractly philosophical that it all becomes rather awkward—He says to
Alonso that it is quite common for parents to lose young children, but for anyone to survive a shipwreck is
a miracle, and that Alonso should balance the grief at the son’s probable death with relief at their having
survived: “wisely, good sir, weigh / Our sorrow with our comfort (2.1.8-9). Then Gonzalo and another lord,
Adrian, go on to describe in a long-drawn way the temperate climate and greenery of the island, the freshness
of their clothes in spite of having been soaked in the salty sea water (when they had jumped from the ship),
and the matchless beauty of Alonso’s daughter Claribel who is now Queen of Tunis, from whose marriage at
Tunis they were returning when their ship got wrecked. Antonio and Sebastian keep making fun of Gonzalo
and Adrian—The poet and critic S.T. Coleridge notes that their irresponsible way of making fun of others
reflects their basically evil nature.

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 Then Gonzalo goes on to describe the view that civilization with its different trades and right to
property, etc., has made human life worse than it probably was before the advent of civilisation. This view
is also referred to as praise of “the noble savage”, as it considers civilisation to be a corrupting influence.
Gonzalo’s account is based on the sixteenth-century French writer Montaigne’s essay ‘Of the Cannibals’,
whose English translation by John Florio was published in 1603. Gonzalo says that if he had full authority
to colonise this island as a King here, he would run everything “by contraries” to what is usual: He would
not allow any kind of trade or occupation, not even farming or developing of orchards; there would be no
education or personal property, and no weapons or magistrates to judge disputes as there would be no cause
left for any conventional dispute:
...all men idle, all;
And women too, but innocent and pure:
All things in common Nature should produce
Without sweat or endeavour.... (2.1.150-51, 155-56)
This kind of view is described as ‘utopian’: the Latin word ’Utopia’ means ‘nowhere’ and is used to
refer to some view of an idealized society which cannot be achieved in actual practice. Incidentally, in
rejecting “Letters” or literacy (2.1.146), Gonzalo is echoing Caliban’s contempt for language taught to him
by Prospero and Miranda, which, he says, has only made him “know how to curse” (1.2.365-66).
9.5.2 Influence of music on those who are not evil
Just then Ariel enters, ‘invisible’, “playing solemn music”, and all except Alonso, Sebastian and
Antonio fall asleep, that is, all those free from sinfulness are moved by the harmony of music. Alonso had
sinned in exposing Prospero and Miranda to almost certain death at sea, but he is not basically evil, so he too
feels sleepy after a little while. Sebastian advises his brother Alonso to sleep, as sleep “is a comforter” in
sorrow. Antonio assures Alonso: “We two, my lord, / Will guard your person while you take your rest, / And
watch your safety” (2.1.191-93). It is, therefore, all the more shocking that as soon as Alonso goes to sleep
on the stage, Antonio suggests to Sebastian that they should kill Alonso so that Sebastian can become the
king of Naples and in return for Antonio’s help frees Milan from subservience and annual tribute to Naples.
Ariel’s music has no effect on the evil-minded Sebastian and Antonio.
9.5.3 Sudden upsurge of fresh evil in Antonio, which infects Sebastian who also is prone to evil
The suddenness with which this evil thought rises, indicates how evil nature raises its head the
moment it gets an opportunity. Antonio’s agitated and disjointed manner of speaking at this point shows that
evil is a disturbance like a storm in the mind. Sebastian points out how Antonio’s eyes and cheeks too
indicate that some disturbing thought is causing him great pain as it is struggling to come out of his mind in
the form of words (2.1.224-26). As Antonio tells Sebastian that he can easily displace his brother from the
throne of Naples, Sebastian mentions that it would be similar to the way Antonio “did supplant” his brother,
and then asks him: “But for your conscience?” (2.1.266, 270). Antonio’s answer is disturbing, as it indicates
that there is no hope of grace for such a man who has deliberately chosen evil: “but I feel not / This deity
[i.e. element of the divine] in my bosom” (2.1.272-73). He offers to change Alonso’s sleep to death “with
this obedient steel, three inches of it”, and asks Sebastian to do the same to Gonzalo, as he is the only person
who would criticize the murder of the king and usurpation of his throne, while others will only be eager to
please the new king (2,1.277-85).

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 Just then Ariel enters and mentions how Prospero, seeing “through his Art [i.e. magic powers]” how
his friend Gonzalo is in danger, has sent him there to keep all of them alive, because otherwise his “project”
of reconciliation would fail. Ariel sings in Gonzalo’s ear a song to wake him up: “While you here do snoring
lie, / Open-ey’d conspiracy / His time doth take. /... /Awake, Awake!” (2.1.295-300). As Gonzalo, Alonso
and others wake up, the evil characters Antonio and Sebastian turn pale and justify their drawn swords with
the excuse that they “heard a hollow burst of bellowing / Like bulls, or rather lions” (2.1.306-07).
9.6 SUMMING UP
With the help of psychological realism in the urgency and desperateness in the reactions of different
characters, the opening scene convincingly presents a ship caught in a storm and about to be destroyed.
In the long second scene comes much of the exposition (that is, revealing of the facts relevant to the
present action), in Prospero’s successive dialogues with Miranda and Ariel, and his and Miranda’s conversation
with Caliban. These segments also reveal the virtue of compassion in Miranda, the cheerful swiftness of
Ariel in carrying out Prospero’s orders, Caliban’s slowness and also his resentment against Prospero, and
some negative traits of Prospero himself which make him convincingly human in spite of his “Art” or
magic—his unjust harshness towards Ariel and Miranda, and his mistake in ignoring his duties as a duke to
administer his dukedom himself and assigning this task to his brother, which enabled him to depose Prospero
and expose him and his three year old daughter Miranda to almost sure death at sea twelve years ago. In the
beginning of this scene Prospero mentions that fate had brought his enemies near the island, but he himself
has to act to turn the events in his favour. He tells his daughter that he had created the effect of the storm and
seeming shipwreck to punish his enemies, who are however all safe.
Towards the end of this long scene Ferdinand meets Miranda, and as they fall in love at first sight,
exactly as Prospero had desired, Prospero pretends to be angry and imposes punishment on Ferdinand—so
that the difficulties faced in love may make him and Miranda value their love.
In the first scene of Act 2 Gonzalo presents an idealized view of human life before the advent of
civilization. Then, as others, who are not completely evil, fall asleep under the influence of Ariel’s music,
Antonio and Sebastian plan to kill Alonso and Gonzalo so that Sebastian may safely become the King of
Naples and in return free Milan from the requirement of having to pay tribute to Naples. However, just then
Ariel arrives under instruction from Prospero, to wake the sleeping persons, because otherwise the plan for
reconciliation will fail.
9.7 GLOSSARY
Note: In the quotations from the play, where necessary, the meanings of some words have been
explained in square brackets within the quoted parts.
motif : (from German language, pronounced as ‘mo-teef) a recurring theme, idea, etc., in a
work, or a recurrent figure, form or image in a design, etc.
leitmotif : (pronounced as light-mo-teef) leading motif or theme associated throughout a music
drama with a particular person, situation, etc.
9.8 QUESTIONS
(A) Questions requiring short answers in about 100 words each:
1. Discuss the dramatic significance of the opening scene of The Tempest.
2. Comment on the relationship of fate and human effort in The Tempest.

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3. To what extent was Prospero himself responsible for what happened to him twelve years ago?
4. Comment on Prospero’s harshness towards Ariel and Miranda.
5. Discuss the theme of usurpation in The Tempest.
6. Comment on any one of the following:
(a) This island’s mine, by Sycorax my mother,
Which thou tak’st from me.
(b) ... but this swift business
I must uneasy make, lest too light winning
Make the prize light.
(c) What! I say, / My foot my tutor?
(B) Questions requiring full-length answers:
1. Discuss the theme of Art versus Nature in The Tempest.
2. Examine the various aspects of colonialism in The Tempest.
3. Analyse the dramatic significance of the role given to Caliban.
4. Attempt a character sketch of Prospero.
5. Examine the role played by Ariel in the play.
6. Discuss the role of Ferdinand in The Tempest.
7. Attempt a character sketch of Miranda.
8. Comment on the role played by Antonio and Sebastian in The Tempest.
Note: Also see the questions given at the end of Lesson 8.
9.9 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS’ ANSWERS
A. Liberty.
B. For doing hard physical labour for them so that they themselves can remain more comfortable.
C. He was his own king.
D. He knows how to curse.
E. Yes, music delights him. This shows that there is possibility of his becoming a better person.
F. Ariel’s music makes the stormy waves calm, and soothes Ferdinand’s grief.
G. A spirit.
H. They fall in love.
I. No.
J. He thinks that if Ferdinand and Miranda’s love leads to marriage without their facing any difficulties,
they may not value their love.
K. His foot.
9.10 SUGGESTED READINGS
1. See the list given at the end of Lesson 8.

*****

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 LESSON-10
THE TEMPEST: CRITICAL ANALYSIS-II

STRUCTURE
10.1 INTRODUCTION
10.2 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
10.3 ACT 2 SCENE 2: THE COMIC SUBPLOT BEGINS
10.4 ACT 3 SCENE 1: FERDINAND AND MIRANDA: CONTINUATION OF THE
ROMANTIC COMEDY
10.5 ACT 3 SCENE 2: THE SUBPLOT DEVELOPS
10.6 ACT 3 SCENE 3: PUNISHMENT FOR THE WRONGS DONE, BY JOLTING
THE CONSCIENCE OF THE WRONGDOERS
10.7 ACT 4
10.7.1 ROMANTIC LOVE BLESSED, WITH EMPHASIS ON RESTRAINT
10.7.2 CELEBRATION WITH A MASQUE: UNREALITY OF THE WORLD
10.7.3 THE SUBPLOT: THE PLAN OF MURDER COMICALLY FOILED
10.8 ACT 5
10.8.1 THE MAIN PLOT MOVES TO RESOLUTION
10.8.2 REUNION AND RECONCILIATION
10.8.3 THE SUBPLOT CONCLUDES
10.9 THE EPILOGUE
10.10 SUMMING UP
10.11 GLOSSARY
10.12 QUESTIONS
10.13 SUGGESTED READINGS
10.1 INTRODUCTION
This lesson takes you through the remaining part of the play, analysing the pattern of themes, and
bringing out the significant developments as the action of the play moves towards the conclusion.
10.2 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
This lesson aims at helping you appreciate the attitudes of different characters in the context of the
pattern of themes in the play. Some of the characters undergo change and grow in awareness and maturity,
while others do not.
10.3 ACT 2 SCENE 2: THE COMIC SUBPLOT BEGINS
This scene, set in another part of the island, begins with “A noise of thunder” and marks the beginning
of a comic attempt to subvert the set-up of the island as Caliban becomes the adoring subject of the drunken
butler Stephano, and in a later scene plots the murder of Prospero in a sort of comic parody of Antonio and
Sebastian’s plan to kill Alonso in the main plot.
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 At the beginning of this scene Caliban enters “with a burthen of wood”, invoking all the infections
to fall upon Prospero and make him diseased inch by inch. He is aware that invisible spirits controlled by
Prospero’s magic hear him and can report about it to him, and that Prospero would then impose physical
pains on him as punishment, “And yet I needs must curse” (2.2.4) to give an outlet to his bitterness at
Prospero’s harsh treatment. However, he knows that these spirits will not hurt him on their own, but only
when Prospero so directs them (2.2.4-7). Just then he notices the clown Trinculo coming towards him. Since
he too has not seen any other human being on the island since the arrival of Prospero and Miranda twelve
years ago, he takes Trinculo to be a spirit sent by Prospero to “torment” him for being slow in bringing wood
(just as Miranda takes Ferdinand to be a spirit). He decides to “fall flat”, thinking that then this ’spirit’ will
probably not notice him (2.2.15-17).
Trinculo too has landed on the shore alone and thinks that all other passengers on board the ship
have died, and so feels frightened on hearing the voice of the butler Stephano a little later. When the drunk
butler Stephano enters, he too is frightened when he hears Trinculo mention his name, because he also
thinks that he alone has survived the ‘shipwreck’. Their misplaced fear contributes to humour which keeps
the play lighthearted, so that even their evil plan to kill Prospero seems unlikely to succeed—partly also
because Ariel is there to frustrate them and warn Prospero.
As Trinculo enters, he looks around for shelter as “another storm [is] brewing” and rain seems likely
to begin soon. Then he notices Caliban who “smells like a fish” (2.2.26). As a typical man from the “civilised”
world, he thinks of the amount of money he could make by displaying this strange creature in England:
“there would this monster make a man [that is, make one rich]’’ (2.2.28- 31). However, as there is thunder
again, he decides to take shelter “under his [Caliban’s] gaberdine [i.e. cloak or long, loose coat]”; he thinks
that this islander has “lately suffered by a thunderbolt”: so he remarks: “Misery acquaints a man with
strange bed-fellows” (2.2.37-41).
Just then Stephano enters carrying a bottle in his hand and singing. On hearing his voice, Trinculo
begins to tremble. Caliban, who takes him to be a spirit, thinks this spirit is getting ready to torment him, and
says to him: “Do not torment me:—O!” (2.2.57). The sound makes Stephano look towards him, and he
thinks “This is some monster of the isle with four legs, who hath got... an ague [i.e. fever]. Where the devil
should he learn our language?” (2.2.66-68). He decides to give him some liquor to help him recover and to
give him some strength so that he may be able to speak more clearly. However, Stephano’s first thought is
how he can make a lot of money by taking him to Naples and offering him as a present to an emperor.
Antonio, Sebastian, Trinculo, Stephano, ail are thinking of what they will gain on reaching Naples
with the help of what they do on this island—each one is convinced that he will reach Naples safely. The
setting of the action on a remote small island brings out their natures more clearly and starkly, almost
as in pastoral drama and poetry.
As Stephano pours liquor in Caliban’s mouth, Trinculo speaks: “I should know [i.e. recognize] that
voice ... but he [Stephano] is drowned; and these are devils” (2.2.89-90). Stephano thinks that this monster
has two mouths and decides to pour some wine into the second mouth. Then Trinculo, beginning to realise
that it is probably Stephano himself, calls him by his name: “Stephano!” Now Stephano is frightened and
thinks, “This is a devil, and no monster,” because he cannot imagine this strange creature could know his
name. As Trinculo assures him that he is his “good friend Trinculo”, there is a happy reunion and Trinculo
spins him round in excitement.

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 Caliban is impressed by their way of dealing with him and with each another, especially by their
carefree cheerfulness (in contrast with Prospero’s stern orders), and observes in an “Aside”:
These be fine things, an [i.e. if] they be not sprites.
That’s a brave god, and bears celestial [i.e. heavenly] liquor:
I will kneel to him. (2.2.117-19)
A little later Caliban asks Stephano: “Hast thou not dropp’d from heaven?” Stephano replies:
“Out o’ the moon, I do assure thee: I was the man ‘I’ th’ moon when time was.” Simpleminded Caliban
believes this claim (which was often made by the white European colonisers) (2.2.136-41). Stephano asks
him to swear his loyalty by kissing the bottle of liquor which has the place of a holy book in his [Stephano’s]
life (It is interesting that he survived the seeming shipwreck by holding on to a wooden barrel of wine
thrown overboard by the sailors, and he swears “by this bottle! which I made of the bark of a tree with mine
own hands, since I was cast ashore”—2.2.123-25): “Come, swear to that; kiss the book: I will furnish it anon
[i.e. soon] with new contents: swear” (2.2.142-43). Caliban does so and eagerly offers to serve him:
I’ll show thee every fertile inch o’ th’ island; and I will kiss thy foot: I prithee [shortened form of
‘pray thee’], be my god.
I’ll kiss thy foot: I’ll swear myself they subject.
I’ll show thee the best springs; I’ll pluck thee berries;
I’ll fish for thee, and get thee wood enough.
A plague upon the tyrant that I serve!
I’ll bear him no more sticks, but follow thee,
Thou wondrous man. (2.2.148-49, 152, 160-64)
Towards the end of the scene Caliban sings drunkenly, celebrating his freedom from the stern control
of Prospero, saying to him:
‘Ban, ‘Ban, Cacaliban
Has a new master:— get a new man. (2.2.184-85)
It is the function of a clown or fool or jester to point out folly, and Trinculo performs that function
when he comments on Caliban’s worship of Stephano: “A most ridiculous monster, to make a wonder of
a poor drunkard!” (2.2.165-66).
10.4 ACT 3 SCENE 1: FERDINAND AND MIRANDA: CONTINUATION OF THE ROMANTIC
COMEDY
The three scenes of Act 3 relate to the three strands of the action of the play. In Scene 3 we see
another stage in the penance of the wrongdoers, who are specifically told by invisible Ariel that they are
being punished for the wrongs they had done to Prospero and his daughter. Scene 2 continues the subplot,
and in Scene 1 the way of reconciliation is further strengthened as members of the younger generation,
Ferdinand and Miranda, remain unshaken in spite of the punishment arbitrarily imposed on Ferdinand. The
moral strength of the younger generation holds promise of a more harmonious future in contrast with the
tempest-like upheavals in the past involving members of the older generation as well as their present anguish
and mental agitation.
Scene 1 is entirely in the nature of a romantic comedy, and shows the deepening of the mutual love
of Ferdinand and Miranda, which pleases Prospero. (At places you will notice echoes of conversation between
Cesario-Viola and Olivia in Twelfth Night.)

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 Ferdinand enters, carrying a log of wood, and mentions that he has been assigned the task to shift
“Some thousands of these logs, and pile them up”, “but the mistress which I serve ... makes my labours
pleasures” (3.1.9-11, 5-7). Miranda enters, and Prospero follows her at some distance so that she and Ferdinand
are not aware of his presence. She feels concerned about Ferdinand’s wellbeing, and asks him not to work
“so hard” and to rest for a while. She is very unhappy at the hard task assigned to him, and using a poetic
conceit with reference to the resin that oozes out of burning wood, she says: “when this burns, / “Twill weep
for having wearied you” (3.1.15-20). She asks him to sit down and offers to carry logs herself in the meanwhile.
Prospero is pleased at her love for Ferdinand, and remarks: “Poor worm, thou art infected! / This visitation
shows it” ([Link]- 32).
Ferdinand asks her name, and as soon as she mentions her name “Miranda”, she becomes conscious
of having disobeyed her father. Ferdinand praises her as being perfect in every respect: “Admir’d Miranda!
... for several virtues / Have I lik’d several women ...: but you, O you, / So perfect and so peerless, are created
/ Of every creature’s best!” (3.1.37, 42-43, 46-48).
Almost echoing the words of Olivia to Cesario in Twelfth Night, Miranda says to Ferdinand: “by my
modesty, / The jewel in my dower, I would not wish / Any companion in the world but you” (3.1.53-55).
Ferdinand replies:
Hear my soul speak:
The very instant that I saw you, did
My heart fly to your service; there resides,
To make me slave to it; and for your sake
Am I this patient log-man. (3.1.63-67)
As the simple Miranda asks him specifically, “Do you love me?”, he affirms: “I, / Beyond all limit
of what else ‘i’ th’ world, / Do love, prize, honour you” (3.1.67, 71-73). Miranda is moved to tears with joy
and says: “I am a fool / To weep at what I am glad of (3.1.73-74). Prospero is happy at their deep mutual
love, and though he withholds formal blessings till Act 4, here he gives expression to his happiness, unnoticed
by the happy young couple:
Fair encounter [i.e. meeting]
Of two most rare affections! Heavens rain grace
On what breeds between ’em! (3.1.74-76)
The culmination of their love, in the true spirit of romantic comedy, is seen in the following part of
their conversation:
Miranda: ... Hence, Bashful cunning!
And prompt me plain and holy innocence!
I am your wife if you will marry me;
If not, I’ll die your maid: to be your fellow You may deny me; but I’ll be your servant,
Whether you will or no.
Ferdinand: My mistress, dearest;
And I thus humble ever.
Miranda: My husband, then?
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 Ferdinand: Ay [i.e. yes], with a heart as willing
As bondage e’er of freedom: here’s my hand.
Miranda: And mine, with my heart in’t.... (3.1.81-90)
10.5 ACT 3 SCENE 2: THE SUBPLOT DEVELOPS
This scene shows some prejudice of colonialism in the portrayal of Caliban as being servile and
slavish by nature; he says to Stephano, “Let me lick thy shoe” (3.2.22), and then goes on to complain about
Prospero:”... I am subject to a tyrant, a sorcerer, that by his cunning hath cheated me of the island” (3.2.40-
42; a sorcerer is a magician, especially one who is supposed to practise magic with the help of the devil—
Prospero describes Caliban’s mother in this way). The colonial prejudice is seen in that while Caliban wants
to get Prospero murdered, it is not to get back his island but only to make Stephano the new master of the
island and himself become the servant of this new master. Unlike Ariel, he does not seek freedom. At the end
of the play he gets freedom as well as ownership of the island only because Prospero leaves, to take control
of his dukedom of Milan.
Invisible Ariel has entered in the meanwhile, and from time to time says “Thou liest”, which gives
rise to some humour as Caliban and Stephano think that Trinculo is saying this, and offended Stephano beats
him.
Caliban goes on to tell Stephano that “’tis a custom with him [Prospero] /1’ the’ afternoon to sleep”
and then he can be easily killed (3.2.85-87). He warns Stephano to first seize Prospero s books of magic:
Remember
First to possess his books; for without them
He’s but a sot [i.e. a fool without any power], as I am, nor hath not
One spirit to command: they all do hate him
As rootedly as I. (3.2.89-92)
Caliban is aware of the spirits’ desire for freedom, but does not show that desire himself. Caliban
also tells Stephano that Prospero’s beautiful daughter can become his companion. It is significant that in
spite of all this, in the next Act Stephano and Trinculo become more eager to steal clothes (4.1.222-54).
Though then also Caliban is servile towards Stephano, saying “Do that good mischief which may make this
island / Thine own forever, and I, thy Caliban, / For aye [i.e. for ever] thy foot-licker” (4.1.217-20), he is
more clearheaded than Stephano and Trinculo, and tells them not to waste time in stealing mere clothes
when they can get everything on the island:
Let it alone, thou fool; it is but trash.
... what do you mean
To dote thus on [i.e. to be very fond of] such luggage? Let it alone,
And do the murther first.... (4.1.224, 230-32)
In Act 3 Scene 2 Caliban is shown as superior to Stephano and Trinculo in his responsiveness to
music. As Stephano and Trinculo start singing, Caliban says, “That’s not the tune,” and just then invisible
“Ariel plays the tune on a tabor and pipe” (3.2.122). Stephano and Trinculo are frightened, but Caliban
assures them and tells them not to afraid of the musical sounds even though they cannot see the source of
those harmonious sounds:

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 Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises,
Sounds and sweet airs [i.e. tunes], that give delight, and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears; and sometimes voices,
That, if I then had wak’d after long sleep,
Will make me sleep again: and then, in dreaming,
The clouds methought would open, and show riches
Ready to drop upon me; that, when I wak’d,
I cried to dream again. (3.2.133-41)
10.6 ACT 3 SCENE 3: PUNISHMENT FOR THE WRONGS DONE, BY JOLTING THE
CONSCIENCE OF THE WRONGDOERS
In the last scene of Act 3, Alonso, his brother Sebastian, Prospero’s brother Antonio, Gonzalo and
others enter. Gonzalo is so tired he “can go no further,” and Alonso gives up hope of finding his son Ferdinand
alive: “he is drown’d / Whom thus we stray to find” (3.3.1, 8-9). Their exhaustion makes Antonio and
Sebastian think that soon they will get a chance to kill Alonso and Gonzalo in sleep (3.3.15-18).
Just then there is “Strange and solemn music”, which indicates the beginning of some serious matter.
Prospero appears in the gallery at the back of the stage, overseeing everything as the punishment of the
wrongdoers proceeds according to his plan. He is wearing a gown which is supposed to make him invisible:
the characters on the main stage do not see him.
“Enter several strange Shapes, bringing in a banquet [i.e. a feast]; and dance about it [i.e. around it]
with gentle actions of salutations [i.e. greetings]; and inviting the King, &c., to eat, they depart.” The first
reaction of Alonso, Sebastian and Antonio—who have been guilty—is that of fear and surprise, while the
kindhearted Gonzalo is impressed by the politeness of these strange appearances (assumed by spirits under
Ariel’s control), and says: “note, / Their manners are more gentle, kind, than of / Our human generation you
shall find / Many, nay almost any” (3.3.31-34). Emphasising one aspect of the theme of the play, Prospero
remarks in an “Aside”: “Honest lord, / Thou hast said well; for some of you here present / Are worse than
devils” (3.3.34-36).
As Alonso remarks that the gestures of these strange figures constitute “a kind / Of excellent dumb
discourse,” Prospero says in an ‘aside’, “Praise in departing” (3.3.38-39), because this apparent feast is to be
part of their torment.
When Alonso says he will eat the food placed before them, “Although my last, no matter”, and asks
Sebastian and Antonio also to eat, there is “Thunder and lightning” indicating great disturbance and
symbolizing both the evil done by them in the past and the disturbance of their minds in the immediate
future, which shall be a punishment for their past evil deeds before they are forgiven.
“Enter Ariel like a Harpy”: in ancient Greek mythology a Harpy was an ugly creature with a woman’s
head and a bird’s body. He “claps his wings upon the table,” spoiling the food; and with the help of a strange
device “the banquet vanishes.” Then Ariel in a heavy voice speaks to the three of them:
You are three men of sin, whom Destiny,—
That hath to instrument this lower world

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 And what is in’t [i.e. everything on this earth functions to fulfill the commands of fate],—the never
surfeited [i.e. ever hungry] sea
Hath caus’d to belch up you; and on this island
Where man doth not inhabit,—you ’mongst men
Being most unfit to live. I have made you mad .... (3.3.53-58)
As Alonso, Sebastian and Antonio draw their swords to fight this invisible speaker, Ariel says to them:
You fools! I and my fellows
Are ministers of Fate ....
………………………….
... But remember... that you three
From Milan did supplant good Prospero:
Expos’d unto the sea, which hath requit it,
Him and his innocent child: for which foul deed
The powers, delaying, not forgetting, have
Incens’d [i.e. made angry] the seas and shores, yea, all the creatures,
Against your peace. Thee of thy son, Alonso,
They have bereft...
... whose wraths to guard you from,—
Which here, in this most desolate isle, else falls
Upon your heads,—is nothing but heart-sorrow
And a clear life [i.e. a life free from blame] ensuing [i.e. following that repentance].
(3.3.60-61,68-76,79-82)
Prospero is pleased at this performance of Ariel, and feels happy that his enemies are now in his
power:
My high charms work,
And these mine enemies are all knit up
In their distractions: they now are in my power;
And in these fits I leave them .... (3.3.88-91)
Alonso thinks that the waves of the sea, the winds and the thunder “pronounc’d / The name of
Prosper: it did bass my trespass. / Therefore my son i’ th’ ooze [i.e. soft mud at the bottom of the sea] is
bedded,” and in despair at this terrible consequence of his sins against Prospero and his daughter, he says he
will jump into the sea to be with his son. Sebastian and Antonio think they are being tormented by devils,
and pale-faced they leave the stage, saying that if the devils come one by one they can fight their whole
armies. Their guilt, brought up to their conscious mind, has now become a punishment for them.
Commenting on the great mental disturbance of the three wrongdoers, Gonlzalo highlights an important
aspect of the main thematic pattern in the play:
All three of them are desperate: their great guilt,
Like poison given to work a great time after,

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 Now’gins to bite the spirits. (3.3.104-06)
He asks the younger lords present there to follow the three distracted persons quickly “And hinder
them from what this ecstasy [i.e. madness] / May now provoke them to” (3.3.108-09).
10.7 ACT 4
In the last two Acts, which consist of one scene each, the different strands of the action of the play
move swiftly towards their conclusion, in keeping with Prospero’s plan and the broad thematic pattern of the
play, leading to reconciliation and hope of a happier future.
10.7.1 Romantic love blessed, with emphasis on restraint
As Act 4 opens, we find that Prospero has already given his blessings to the young couple. He says
to Ferdinand that in giving him his daughter’s hand in marriage “I / Have given you here a third of mine own
life, / Or that for which I live,” and tells him that the “vexations” or troubles imposed on him “Were but my
trials of thy love, and thou / Hast strangely [i.e. wonderfully] stood the test [i.e. passed the test]” (4.1.2-7).
However, even as Prospero says to Ferdinand, “as my gift, and thine own acquisition / Worthily purchas’d,
take my daughter” (4.1.13-14), he directs him to observe restraint before marriage, and warns him that
otherwise their marriage will become bitter with “barren hate, / Sour-ey’d disdain and discord” and result in
even their children being unhappy and bitter (4.1.15-22).
Restraint makes for harmony, while lack of restraint in any manner leads to tempest-like disturbance—
whether it is in the context of marriage as mentioned by Prospero here, or Prospero’s own unrestrained
pursuit of his studies to the extent of neglecting his duties as a duke, which led to his brother Antonio
deposing him and exposing him and his daughter to likely death at sea. The same lack of restraint had led to
Caliban’s unforgivable attempt to molest Miranda. Lack of restraint is also seen in the sudden upsurge of
evil in Antonio’s mind which then infects Sebastian as well when they decide to kill Alonso and Gonzalo.
The harmony and prosperity in marriage resulting from restraint are also highlighted in the masque
that follows.
10.7.2 Celebration with a masque: unreality of the world
Prospero asks Ariel to bring the lesser spirits “O’er whom I gave the Power for I must / Bestow upon
the eyes of this young couple / Some vanity of mine Art” (4.1.37-41). These spirits present a masque which
has been written and planned by Prospero; in describing it as a “vanity” of his Art, Prospero is being modest.
A vanity would be something insignificant though impressive in appearance.
Masques were a refined courtly form of entertainment during the Renaissance. Unlike plays, masques
were performed only once, on some special occasion such as engagement, as here, or marriage, etc. The
participants were usually members of aristocracy, and could be some members of the host family and some
of the guests. There was sometimes a professional actor also in a masque. The participants wore masks to
indicate the roles they were playing. A masque had a thin story line which mainly served the purpose of
linking together a number of elaborate songs and dances. Ben Jonson, whose play Volpone is in your course,
wrote a number of masques.
Prospero asks Ferdinand not to speak while the spirits perform this entertainment, because otherwise
the effect of magic would be disrupted: “No tongue! all eyes! be silent” (4.1.59). In a theatre also if the
spectators keep talking, it interferes with the impact of the play as a work of art.

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 There is soft music and Iris (or the rainbow, personified) enters, playing the role of the messenger of
Juno: “the queen o’ th’ sky, / Whose wat’ry arch and messenger am I” (4.1.70-71). Iris calls upon Ceres, the
goddess of fertility in nature, describing her in terms of rich crops and. fruitful vineyards, and tells her that
Juno wants her to come there “and sport”. Ceres enters and wants to know whether Venus, the goddess of
love, or her son Cupid, happen to be there. Iris says that they had tried to tempt this young couple to ignore
restraint, but finding them firm in virtue, left, frustrated. Juno enters who, according to classical mythology,
is the wife of the chief of gods, Jove, and presides over prosperity and happiness of married life and child-
birth. She invites her “bounteous sister” Ceres to come with her “To bless this twain, that they may prosperous
be, / And honour’d in their issue” (4.1.103-05), and then they sing their blessings to the young couple:
Juno: Honour, riches, marriage-blessing,
Long continuance, and increasing,
Hourly joys be still [i.e. always] upon you!
Juno sings her blessings on you.
Ceres: Earth’s increase, foison [i.e. abundance] plenty,
Barns and garners [i.e. storehouses of grain] never empty;
Vines with clust’ring branches growing;
Plants with goodly burthen [i.e. rich burden of fruits etc.] bowing;
Spring come to you at the farthest
In the very end of harvest! [i.e. there may be no winter of hardship in their life] (4.1.106-15)
Ferdinand is greatly impressed by this performance, and observes; “This is a most majestic vision,
and / Harmonious charmingly” (4.1.118-19)—These words apply equally to the play The Tempest.
Shakespeare’s drama is a rich vision, harmonious and magnificent, and yet unreal like a vision or dream. In
reply to Ferdinand’s question, Prospero confirms that these performers are “Spirits, which by mine Art /1
have from their confines call’d to enact / My present fancies” (4.1.120- 22). Ferdinand remarks that Prospero’s
benign control makes this island a heaven on earth: “Let me live here ever; / So rare a wonder’d father
and a wise / Makes this place Paradise” (4.1.122- 24). This suggests the theme of the fortunate fall or
fortunate shipwreck.
Iris then invites “temperate [i.e. chaste] nymphs” and “sunburn’d sicklemen [i.e. reapers]” to join
“In country footing [i.e. in a rustic dance]”, linking together restraint and hard work that make life and
prosperity possible.
Towards the end of the dance, Prospero suddenly becomes agitated as he remembers “that foul
conspiracy / Of the beast Caliban and his confederates / Against my life” (4.1.139-41). As they have reached
near his cell, he tells the spirits to leave, and then says to Ferdinand that the festive celebration has ended;
“Our revels now have ended” (4.1.148). Then he goes on to equate human life and the earth with the transient
(i.e. short-lived) performance by the spirits which has no real existence:
... like the baseless fabric [i.e. structure] of this vision,
The coud-capp’d towers, the gorgeous [i.e. magnificent] palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe [i.e. the earth] itself,
Yea, all which it Inherit [i.e. all human beings who inherit,this earth], shall dissolve,

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 And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind [i.e. no trace will be left of human beings or the earth; a rack is a bar-like
strip of cloud that may be left in the sky after stormy rain], (4.1.151-56)
And he goes on to emphasise the insignificance of our existence:
We are such stuff
As dreams are made on [i.e. unreal]; and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep [i.e. death], (4.1.156-58)
10.7.3 The subplot: the plan of murder comically foiled
Ariel reports to Prospero that Caliban, Stephano and Trinculo, “red-hot with drinking”, comically
“full of valour”, were “yet always bending / Towards their project” to kill Prospero (4.1.171-75); so he
charm’d them with his music and led them through thorny bushes into a stinking pool near Prospero’s cell—
Ariel used his own judgement to punish these comic plotters, but that punishment too fits in with the over-
all thematic pattern of the play, which involves punishment for the wrongs done or plotted before the
wrongdoers and plotters are forgiven. Prospero instructs Ariel to bring from the house “trumpery”, that is,
showy but worthless clothes, and put them on the line outside the house to distract them, and observes about
Caliban:
A devil, a born devil, on whose nature
Nurture can never stick; on whom my pains,
Humanely taken, all, all lost, quite lost.... (4.1.188-90)
While Caliban advises his companions to enter Prospero’s cell quietly, they are tempted by the fine-
looking clothes and start stealing them. Caliban’s impatient remark, “Let it alone, thou fool, it is but trash”
(4.1.224), shows that this “natural” man can see things in perspective, unlike Trinculo and Stephano from
the ‘civilised’ world who are concerned only with money, material things and appearances. At Prospero’s
command all three plotters are hunted by spirits in the form of dogs, as a punishment in accordance with
their level of awareness.
10.8 ACT5
10.8.1 The main plot moves to resolution
At the beginning of the last Act Prospero enters “in his magic robes”, and expresses satisfaction that
- his “project” of reconciliation after making his enemies suffer and realize their mistake is working as
planned, and there is not much work left. Then he specifically asks Ariel the time, in order to draw attention
of the spectators and readers to the fact that the entire action of the play covers just a few hours, from 2 p.m.
to 6 p.m. In reply to another question of Prospero, Ariel informs him that because of the effect of his
(Prospero’s) magic the King (Alonso) and his followers are “all prisoners” in a grove of lime trees near his
cell (5.1.7-10):
They cannot budge [i.e. move] till your release. The King,
His brother, and yours, abide [i.e. remain] all three distracted [i.e. not quite in their senses], And the
remainder mourning over them ...
... Your charm [i.e. magic] so strongly works [i.e. agitates] ’em,
That if you now be held them, your affections [i.e. feelings]

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Would become tender. (5.1.11-13,17-19)
These words of Ariel, and when Prospero asks him, “Dost thou think so?”, his reply, “Mine would,
sir, were I human” (5.1.20), constitute a fine combination of romance elements and psychological realism.
Ariel’s sympathy for those undergoing torment of mind makes him convincingly real, almost like a good
human being. And even when Prospero addresses him as spirit, and when Ariel himself says “were I human”,
the fine qualities of mind make Ariel a completely believable being in spite of his supernatural abilities.
Prospero also rises above his bitterness towards his enemies, and decides to forgive their wrongs to
him, as he is moved by their present suffering—this shows his essential nobility of character:
Though with their high wrongs I am struck to th’ quick,
Yet with my nobler reason ’gainst my fury [i.e. fierce anger]
Do I take part: the rarer [i.e. more magnificent] action is
In virtue than in vengeance: they being penitent [i.e. repentant],
The sole drift of my purpose doth extend
Not a frown further. Go release them, Ariel:
My charms I’ll break, their senses I’ll restore,
And they shall be themselves. (5.1.25-32)
Having decided to forgive his enemies, Prospero does not need the use of magic anymore, and in an
elaborate formal speech he bids farewell to magic: “this rough magic /I here abjure” (5.1.50-51; “rough
magic” implies the magic that controls material forces, e.g. causing a storm, etc.). He says that after using
magic for creating “Some heavenly music” to restore the senses of his enemies
I’ll break my staff,
Bury it certain fadoms in the earth,
And deeper than did ever plummet sound I’ll drown my book. (5.1.54-57)
At this point there is “Solemn music” and there enter “Alonso, with a frantic gesture, attended by
Gonzalo; Sebastian and Antonio in like manner”, and others: “they all enter the circle which Prospero has
made, and there stand charm’d.” Then Prospero comments on their past behaviour, though they cannot yet
see and hear him. He appreciates Gonzalo’s help in his crisis as well as his loyalty to his king: “O good
Gonzalo, / My true preserver, and a loyal sir [i.e. lord or senior courtier] / To him thou follow’st! I will pay
thy graces / Home both in word and deed” (5.1.68-71). Regarding his brother he says: “I do forgive thee, /
Unnatural though thou art” (5.1.78-79). Prospero realizes that even after regaining their senses they will not
be able to recognize him in his present simple clothes; so he says to Ariel: “Fetch me the hat and rapier [i.e.
sword] in my cell: I will disease me [i.e. remove my present guise], and myself present / As I was sometime
Milan [i.e. the Duke of Milan]” (5.1.84-86).
As Ariel helps him dress up as the Duke of Milan, he also sings cheerfully a lively song reflecting
harmony with nature—here Ariel appears to be a very lively being eager to help his master promptly, efficiently
and joyfully. Prospero asks him to bring there the master of the ship and the boatswain. Ariel’s lively and
endearing nature is revealed in his reply: “I drink the air before me, and return / Or ere your pulse twice
beat” (5.1.102-03). On his own, without any direction from Prospero in this regard, Ariel also repairs the
ship so that when the Boatswain enters a little later, he reports that the ship is in as good condition “as when
/ We first put out to sea” (5.1.224-25). When Ariel tells Prospero, “Sir, all this service / Have I done since I
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went,” Prospero expresses his appreciation and affection for him by calling him “My tricksy spirit!”
(5.1.226)—Prospero’s nature becomes warmer and nobler as he rises above his anger towards those who
had wronged him.
10.8.2 Reunion and reconciliation
In the meanwhile, as Alonso and others regain their senses, Prospero says to him:
Behold [i.e. see], sir King,
The wronged Duke of Milan, Prospero:
For more assurance that a living Prince
Does now speak to thee, I embrace thy body;
And to thee and thy company I bid
A hearty welcome. (5.1.106-11)
At first Alonso can hardly believe that all this is actually happening, but then with his changed
attitude to life because of what he has suffered recently, he says to Prospero:
Thy dukedom I resign [i.e. give up all claim on it], and do entreat
Thou pardon me my wrongs.—But how should Prospero
Be living and be here? (5.1.118-20)
As Prospero says “Aside” to Sebastian and Antonio that he could prove to the King that they are
traitors, yet “at this time / I will tell no tales,” they are shocked and horrified, and say in an ‘Aside’, “The
devil speaks in him” (5.1.127-29), because they thought nobody knew about their secret plotting to murder
Alonso. And then he says to his brother who does not show repentance, though he too has been punished
with distraction of mind:
For you, most wicked sir, whom to call brother
Would even infect my mouth, I do forgive
Thy rankest [i.e. most disgusting] fault,—all of them; and require
My dukedom of thee, which perforce, I know,
Thou must restore. (5.1.130-34)
Prospero is able to get back his kingdom because now he is acting like a responsible administrator,
effectively controlling various aspects of his project, in place of merely studying and neglecting his duty to
govern—which had made him lose his dukedom twelve years ago.
Reconciliation between Prospero and Alonso moves further when Alonso expresses his grief at the
loss of his son about three hours ago in the shipwreck, and Prospero tells him that he has also suffered “the
like loss”: “As great to me, as late [i.e. recent]; ... for I / Have lost my daughter” (5.1.143, 145, 147-48). The
tone of the play is clearly happy at this point just like a romantic comedy, as the spectators understand what
Prospero means but Alonso does not. Alonso instinctively says:
A daughter?
O heavens, that they were living both in Naples,
The King and Queen there ! (5.1.148-50)

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 Alonso is suggesting exactly what Prospero himself wanted, but this reaction of Alonso is his own
without any influence of Prospero’s magic. So also Ferdinand and Miranda’s mutual love at first sight
consisted of their own reactions, which were in no way influenced by Prospero. Here we have that combination
of destiny and free will where destiny only provides opportunities and does not rule out independent
decisions and actions of individuals. This aspect of the theme is clearly indicated in Prospero’s account to
Miranda in Act 1 scene 1, when he says that destiny has brought his enemies within the range of his magic
powers, that a rise in his fortune is possible because a star is auspicious, but success would depend on his
making proper efforts.
The spectators and readers are amused when Alonso asks Prospero, “When did you lose your
daughter?” and he replies, “In this last tempest” (5.1.152-53). Of course the entire action of the play—the
romantic love as well as the pattern of forgiveness and reconciliation following punishment for the sins or
lapses, and even the comic murder plan in the subplot—all are made possible by the tempest presented in the
opening scene. However, as Prospero’s meaning here, which is obvious to the audience, would not be
understood by Alonso, he invites him to enter his cell, and says to him, that in return for his dukedom he will
“bring forth a wonder, to content ye / As much as me my dukedom” (5.1.170-71). With that he draws the
curtain at the back of the stage, revealing “Ferdinand and Miranda playing at chess” and talking animatedly.
Ferdinand and Alonso are naturally very happy to see each other alive.
Miranda is thrilled to see so many human beings and says:
How beauteous mankind is! O brave [i.e. magnificent] new world,
That has such people in’t! (5.1.183-84)
Prospero rightly points out that she feels this way because “’Tis new to thee.” She does not know
that this “brave new world” includes the evil Antonio and Sebastian also who have not shown any possibility
of ever becoming better human beings, and as future co-ruler of Milan and Naples with Ferdinand, she will
need to be alert to dangers from such evil people.
Gonzalo’s words bring out the theme of the fortunate fall, when some accident or suffering proves
to be a blessing in disguise and leads to greater happiness or fulfillment than would have been possible
otherwise:
Was Milan [i.e. the Duke of Milan, Prospero] thrust from Milan, that his issue [i.e. descendants]
Should become Kings of Naples? ...
……………………………..
...in one voyage
Did Claribel her husband find at Tunis,
And Ferdinand, her brother, found a wife
Where he himself was lost, Prospero his dukedom
In a poor isle, and all of us ourselves
When no man was his own. (5.1.205-06, 208-13)
10.8.3 The subplot concludes
Prospero asks Ariel to “Set Caliban and his companions free,” and as they enter “in their stolen
apparel [i.e. clothes]”, only Caliban shows a change of heart and feels guilt, though like inexperienced
Miranda, he too is impressed by the looks of the persons present: “O Setebos, these be brave spirits indeed!
/ How fine my master is! I am afraid / He will chastise [i.e. punish] me” (5.1.261-63).
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 About them Prospero says to Alonso:
These three have robb’d me; and this demi-devil—
For he’s a bastard one—had plotted with them To take my life. Two of these fellows you Must know
and own; this thing of darkness I Acknowledge mine. (5.1.272-76)
While Prospero’s abusive way of describing Caliban is in bad taste and shows colonialist prejudice,
in acknowledging “this thing of darkness” as his, he is accepting blame for his failure to educate him properly.
His colonialist prejudice is seen again when he describes Caliban as being “as disproportion^ in his manners
/ As in his shape” (5.1.290-91). However, when without using any abuses for Caliban, Prospero asks him to
“trim” or arrange the cell properly “as you look / To have my pardon” (5.1.291-93), Caliban’s prompt and
positive reply shows that he can become a better human being:
Ay, that I will; and I’ll be wise hereafter,
And seek for grace. (5.1.294-95)
In contrast with this “natural” man who can become better, there is no hope for those ‘civilised’
persons who have chosen evil deliberately like Antonio and Sebastian, or who, like Stephano and Trinculo,
have no desire to become better human beings.
10.9 THE EPILOGUE
The Epilogue spoken by the actor playing Prospero is in many ways like the epilogue in Ben Jenson’s
play Volpone which was first performed some six years before The Tempest
In this Epilogue Prospero refers to different things in the play and asks for applause if the audience
have liked the play. This enhances the comedy-like spirit of a large part of the play. He describes the stage as
“this bare island” and says that if they do not applaud, “my project fails, / Which was to please”
(lines 8, 12-13).
10.10 SUMMING UP
Caliban meets the clown Trinculo and the drunken butler Stephano who pours wine into his mouth;
he is impressed by their carefree manner and takes Stephano to be “a brave god” who “bears celestial
liquor”; he eagerly becomes his willing servant, and a little later asks him to murder Prospero when he
would be sleeping in the afternoon and thus become the king of the island. This murder plan in the subplot
is a comic parody of the more serious plotting of Antonio and Sebastian in the main plot to murder their king
Alonso when he would be sleeping. Invisible Ariel is present when these plans are made in the main plot and
in the subplot, and his very presence is an assurance that evil will not succeed. He effectively frustrates the
two murder plans—by waking up Gonzalo and Alonso in the main plot, and by leading Caliban and his
companions through thorny bushes into a stinking pool near Prospero’s cell. At Prospero’s advice he hangs
on a line near the cell some fine-looking inexpensive clothes, and Caliban’s co-plotters, ignoring his advice
not to bother about such worthless stuff, start stealing those clothes and all three of them are then hunted by
spirits in the form of dogs. Towards the end of the play Caliban realizes his mistake and decides to “be wise
hereafter, / And seek for grace.” However, his two co-plotters from the ‘civilised’ world do not show any
such increase in awareness.
In the main plot Prospero is happy to see the mutual regard and deep love of Ferdinand and Miranda
who promise to get married. In Act 4 he frees Ferdinand from chains and hard labour which he had imposed
on him to test his love. He blesses Ferdinand and Miranda, and emphasizes the value of restraint to ensure a
happy married’ life. Then at his command some spirits present a masque to entertain the young couple:
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spirits playing the role of Iris, Juno and Ceres bless the young couple with happiness and prosperity. Towards
the end of the masque chaste nymphs join hardworking reapers in a rustic dance. Prospero gets disturbed to
think of Caliban and his co-plotters coming there to kill him, and the spirits performing the masque go away
in sadness. Then Prospero compares the transience of human life and this world to the lively masque performed
by the spirits: “We are such stuff / As dreams are made on ....”
To punish Alonso, Sebastian and Antonio who had wronged Prospero twelve years ago, spirits in
strange shapes bring them a feast; but just when they move forward to eat, Ariel in the form of a strange
creature pollutes it with his wings, and then in a heavy voice speaks of how they are being punished for
deposing Prospero and exposing him and his daughter to likely death at sea.
Alonso, who is not basically evil, is filled with regret and sorrow at the seeming death of his son
Ferdinand as a punishment for his sins; Sebastian and Antonio think they are being tormented by devils. All
three of them are made so distracted that they are no longer in their senses. When in Act 5 Ariel describes
their suffering, Prospero decides to forgive them. He withdraws the effect of his magic on them and restores
their senses. He appears before them formally dressed as he used to be as the Duke of Milan, and embraces
Alonso, who returns him his dukedom and requests him to pardon him his wrongs. Prospero also forgives
his unrepentant brother Antonio. As Alonso expresses the wish that his son and Prospero’s daughter should
have been “living both in Naples, / The King and Queen there,” Prospero reveals “Ferdinand and Miranda
playing at chess.” Thus the two main strands of the main plot converge in happiness—fulfillment of love as
in romantic comedy, and punishment for past wrongs followed by forgiveness and reconciliation—and the
play which began with a tempest ends in harmony.
10.11 GLOSSARY
Note: In the quotations from the play, where necessary, the meanings of some words have been
explained in square brackets within the quoted parts.
10.12 QUESTIONS
(A) Questions requiring short answers in about 100 words each:
1. Discuss the dramatic function of the masque presented by spirits in The Tempest
2. Comment on the function of music and songs in The Tempest.
3. Discuss the theme of the fortunate fall in The Tempest
4. Comment on the ending of The Tempest
5. Examine the element of colonialism in the way Caliban treats Stephano.
6. To what extent is Ariel humanized?
7. Comment on any one of the following:
(a) We are such stuff
As dreams are made on; and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.
(b) A devil, a born devil, on whose nature
Nurture can never stick ....
(c) Yet with my nobler reason ’against my fury
Do I take part: the rarer action is
In virtue than in vengeance
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 (d) How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in’t!
(e) ... I’ll be wise hereafter,
And seek for grace.
(B) Questions requiring full-length answers:
1. Discuss the function of the subplot in the play.
2. Discuss the role played by supernatural elements in The Tempest.
3. To what extent does Prospero control the action of the play?
4. Examine the complexity in Prospero’s character.
5. What is the dramatic significance of Ariel’s acting on his own to ensure that Prospero’ project does
not fail?
6. Discuss the role of Alonso in The Tempest.
Note: Also see the questions given at the end of Lessons 8 and 9.
10.13 SUGGESTED READINGS
See the list given at the end of Lesson 8.

*****

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 Unit-IV
Lesson-11
VOLPONE: THE MAIN ASPECTS

STRUCTURE
11.1 INTRODUCTION
11.2 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
11.3 INTRODUCTION TO BEN JONSON
11.4 JONSON’S CONCEPT OF THE COMEDY OF HUMOURS
11.4.1 CHARACTERS DOMINATED BY SOME OVERPOWERING
TENDENCY, AND GIVEN TYPE NAMES
A, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
11.4.2 JONSON’S DESCRIPTION OF HUMOURS
11.4.3 A HUMOUR AS A SIGN OF SICKNESS
11.4.4 SATIRE ON SELF-REGARDING APPETITES
C, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
11.4.5 HUMOURS AS MASTER PASSIONS
11.4.6 GOOD CHARACTERS INEFFECTIVE IN VOLPONE
11.4.7 COMEDY OF HUMOURS AS A CORRECTIVE
11.4.8 THE POET AS A MORAL TEACHER
11.4.9 POETIC JUSTICE IN VOLPONE
11.5 VOLPONE AS A SATIRIC COMEDY: SATIRE ON AVARICE OR GREED
11.5.1 ELEMENTS OF THE BEAST FABLE
11.5.2 CHARACTERS’ OWN WORDS AND ACTIONS SATIRISE THEIR
WEAKNESS
11.5.3 MORAL INVERSION
D, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
11.6 AN OUTLINE OF THE ACTION OF THE PLAY
11.6.1 THE ARGUMENT
11.6.2 THE SETTING IN VENICE
11.6.3 “GUICK COMEDY REFINED”
11.6.4 UNITY OF TIME AND PLACE
E, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
11.6.5 THE TWO PLOTS
11.7 SUMMARY
11.8 GLOSSARY
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 11.9 QUESTIONS
11.10 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION’S ANSWERS
11.11 SUGGESTED READINGS
11.1 INTRODUCTION
This lesson introduces you to Jonson’s concept of comedy of humours, and discusses the main
aspects of the play, especially the nature of satire in this play, and the relation of the subplot to the main plot.
11.2 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
This lesson aims at helping you appreciate the key aspects of Jonson’s play Volpone. You will be
able to understand these aspects more fully after going through the critical analysis of the play in the next
three lessons.
11.3 INTRODUCTION TO BEN JONSON
Ben Jonson (1572-1637) was educated at Westminster, which was one of the best schools of England
at that time. Though he did not study at a university, he was a learned scholar of ancient classical literature
on the basis of self-study, and he was honoured by the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford with honorary
degrees. When he published Volpone (which was first performed in 1605) in the form of a book in 1607, he
dedicated it to these “two famous Universities, for their love and acceptance shown to his poem [i.e. Volpone]
in the presentation.” Like Shakespeare, Jonson was also an actor.
At that time plays and masques were taken to be entertainments and not serious literature like
poetry, but Jonson was proud of the literary worth of his plays and masques, and in 1616 he published them
along with his poems in a large volume titled The Works of Benjamin Jonson.
Jonson also wrote two tragedies on Roman themes, Sejanus and Catiline, but he is known essentially
for his comedies, out of which Volpone, or the Fox (1605), Epicoene, or The Silent Woman (1609), The
Alchemist (1610), and Bartholomew Fair A) are outstanding.
11.4 JONSON’S CONCEPT OF THE COMEDY OF HUMOURS
11.4.1. Characters dominated by some overpowering tendency, and given type names
Jonson’s comedies are satiric comedies and satirise characters dominated by some overpowering
tendency, obsession or passion, to the extent that their judgement, reasoning, values and feelings are
controlled by that overpowering tendency. These characters are given type names indicating their dominant
weakness, etc., for example, the main character of Epicoene or The Silent Woman is called Morose, which
means ‘unhappy and not speaking much’: he dislikes all sounds and has even got the stairs of his house
padded so that no sound is produced while stepping on them. In Bartholomew Fair, which presents a realistic
picture of different sections of the society of the time in the context of a large fair, we have characters named
as Justice Overdo, Zeal- of-the-land Busy, Dame Purecraft, John Littlewit, and Trouble-all. In The Alchemist
some of the characters are Face, Subtle, Dol Common, Sir Epicure Mammon, Tribulation, and Surly. In
Volpone, or the Fox, set in Venice (which was then a small independent state in Italy), the characters are
given names of animals, birds of prey, etc., in Italian, to indicate and satirise their dominant tendencies: the
main character Volpone’s name means ‘fox’ as is made clear by the full title of the play; his assistant Mosca’s
name means ‘fly’; the names of Voltore, Corbaccio and Corvino mean ‘vulture’, ‘raven’ and ‘crow’
respectively; in the beginning of the play Volpone refers to Fine Madame Would-be as a kite.

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Self Assessment Questions
A. What kind of characters does Jonson satirise in his comedies?
B. What kind of names are these characters given in his comedies?
11.4.2 Jonson’s description of humours
Jonson describes such characters as humours metaphorically with reference to the prevalent view
regarding bodily humours.
His first comedy of humours, Every Man in His Humour, was performed in 1598, and Shakespeare
had acted in that play. It had characters named as Kitely, Knowell, Brainworm, and Bobadill (who is a
boastful cowardly soldier).
In the Induction to his next comedy Every Man out of His Humour (1599), As per, the Presenter,
who is his mouthpiece (i.e. a character who expresses the author’s views), describes in detail Jonson’s
concept of ‘humours’ of the mind. First he describes the humours of the body:
... what soe’r hath flexure [i.e. fluidity] and humidity,
As wanting power to contain itself,
Is humour. So in every human body,
The choler [or yellow bile], melancholy [or black bile], phlegm and blood,
By reason that they flow continually
In some one part, and are not continent [i.e. contained],
Receive the name of humours.
Then he goes on to apply this term ‘humours’ metaphorically to the human mind:
Now thus far It may, by metaphor, apply itself
Unto the general disposition [i.e. mental outlook or temperament]:
As when some peculiar quality
Doth so possess a man, that it doth draw
All his affects [i.e. feelings], his spirits [i.e. the power to act and the impulse to act], and his
powers [i.e. faculties, such as reasoning, judgement of right and wrong, ability to see and understand clearly],
In their confluctions [i.e. in their combined actions], all to run one way, This may be truly said to
be a humour.
11.4.3 A humour as a sign of sickness
In the case of physical health it was believed that there should be proper proportion and balance of
the four bodily humours (or fluids)—phlegm, blood, yellow bile (or choler), and black bile (or melancholy)
(These four humours were different combinations of heat, cold, dryness and moisture—blood being hot and
moist, phlegm cold and moist, yellow bile hot and dry, and back bile cold and dry). If any one of these
humours became excessive, one became ill, and the doctor would try to restore the balance of humours by
purging the excess of the disturbing humour.
As Jonson applies this view of humours to the human mind, it is implied that when any tendency of
a person’s mind becomes so overwhelming that he is not able to see or understand things properly, and even
his feelings and values get conditioned by that dominant tendency, that person is mentally sick. This element
of mental sickness is made very clear in Olivia’s description of Malvolio in Shakespeare’s play Twelfth
Night when she remarks about his inability to appreciate Feste’s witty comment: “O, you are sick of self-
love, Malvolio, and taste with a distempered [i.e. diseased] appetite” (Twelfth Night, 1.5.89-90).

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 Jonson’s play Volpone satirises several such mentally diseased characters whose overpowering
tendency or ‘humour’ makes them behave disgustingly and does not let them see that they are being fooled.
For example, Corvino, who is a very jealous husband, out of greed takes his wife to Volpone’s house to make
her sleep with Volpone, and when in his presence Mosca says about him to Volpone that Corvino “is come
to offer, / Or rather, sir, to prostitute Corvino says to him, “Thanks, sweet Mosca” (3.7.74-75). Similarly
Volpone is so obsessed with the desire to have fun by fooling others in cunning ways, that in Act 5 he gives
out that he has died and makes a will in favour of Mosca, which enables Mosca to maintain that Volpone is
dead so that he may be able to possess Volpone’s wealth even though Volpone himself is actually alive—
Volpone himself declares in the opening speech of the play that gold is “the best of things, and far transcending
/ All style of joy in children, parents, friends, ... The price of souls ...” (1.1.16-17, 24), but his overpowering
desire to play a cunning trick on the greedy legacy-hunters for fun makes him blind to the opportunity that
he is thus placing in Mosca’s hand (who is not even his friend) to grab his wealth. Similarly in Act 4, scene
4, when Mosca assures each legacy-hunter turn by turn, in the presence of others, that he is working for him
alone, each one of them believes him because their greedy hope blinds them to what would be obvious to
any other person; as Mosca explains to Volpone: “this hope / Is such a bait it covers any hook” (1.4.135-36),
“Too much light [of hope] blinds ’em” (5.2.23).
11.4.4 Satire on self-regarding appetites
Though theoretically a humour of the mind can be any overpowering tendency, yet Jonson in his
comedies of humours satirises essentially self-regarding appetites—the mentally diseased characters whom
he exposes to ridicule are extremely self-centred, and passionately pursue material wealth, physical pleasures,
etc., without caring for even those who are closely related to them. Very often the dominant tendency is
avarice or greed. As capitalism values wealth and encourages individuals to make money for themselves
without caring for society, it is said that the play Volpone is an early satire on capitalism in its focus on
greed for gold or material wealth.
Self Assessment Question
C. Which weakness does Jonson mainly satirise in his comedies?
11.4.5 Humours as master passions
Sometimes the word ‘humour’ in the context of mind is used to refer to some whim of a person; in
fact, Morose’s extreme dislike of sound in Jonson’s comedy Epicoene or The Silent Woman can be seen as
a whim. However, in Volpone the overpowering tendencies of different characters energise them so powerfully
and drive them with such intensity that in this play the humours are more like master passions, that is,
strong driving forces which have mastered their minds fully, conditioning their reason, judgement, values
and feelings. These mentally diseased characters act with speed and ferocity.
11.4.6 Good characters ineffective in Volpone
In contrast, the good characters in Volpone are ineffective. Celia, whose name means ‘heavenly’, is
very good and towards the end of the play (5.12.105) even seeks “mercy” of the court for her husband who
has been very cruel and wicked towards her, but she is totally incapable of coping with evil on this earth, and
remains ineffective in spite of her moral virtue. Similarly, Bonario, whose name means ‘a good person’ and
who saves Celia from Volpone, is presented as lifeless, easily fooled by false tears of Mosca (3.2.35-37), and
on the whole rather ineffective in getting justice for Celia and himself.
In Volpone, though in the end the wicked characters get punished because of their own master-
passions, their dominance during most of the play tends to make this comedy rather dark, and it is sometimes
said that this play is too grim to be called a comedy.
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 11.4.7 Comedy of humours as a corrective
In the Prologue to a later play The Alchemist Jonson says that his plays provide “wholesome remedies”
for “vices” or ‘humours’:
He [i.e. the author] hopes to find no spirit [i.e. person] so much diseased,
But will with such fair correctives be pleased.
They are so natural follies, but so shown,
As even the doers may see, and yet not own. (lines 15,17-18, 23-24)
Those in the audience who do not suffer from the overpowering self-centred tendencies ridiculed in
his plays will be forewarned not to allow such humours to disease their mind, because then they would
become as ridiculous in society as the characters satirised in the play. And those spectators (or readers) who
suffer from such mental humours will try to hide that weakness from others because otherwise they would
become ridiculous like the characters in the play; in the process of hiding their weakness they might be able
to overcome it in due course. This is in line with Jonson’s view of the poet as a moral teacher.
11.4.8 The poet as a moral teacher
In the Dedicatory Epistle prefixed to Volpone Jonson describes the “function of a poet” as a moral
teacher, and insists on “the impossibility of any man’s being the good poet without first being a good man.
He [i.e. the poet] that is said to be able to inform young men to all good disciplines, inflame grown men
to all great virtues ...; that comes forth the interpreter and arbiter of nature, a teacher of things divine
no less than human, a master in manners; and can alone, or with a few, effect [i.e. accomplish or perform]
the business of mankind ...” (lines 31-39). Jonson affirms that in the play Volpone he has “laboured for their
[i.e. the spectators’ and readers’] instruction and amendment; to reduce [i.e. to incorporate] not only the
ancient forms [i.e. of drama], but manners of the scene [i.e. of contemporary life]: the easiness, the propriety,
the innocence [i.e. moral purity], and last, the doctrine [i.e. the teaching], which is the principal end of
poesie, to inform men in the best reason of living” (lines 108-12). In the Prologue to Volpone he says that
in all his works he has tried “To mix profit with your pleasure” (line 8), and this particular play “is rhyme
[i.e. poetry] not empty of reason” (line 4).
11.4.9 Poetic justice in Volpone
In the Dedicatory Epistle Jonson admits that the “catastrophe” at the end of Volpone, when most of
the main characters are severely punished, may not seem quite in line with the conventions of comedy, but
he says that “it was done of industry [i.e. on purpose]”, and justifies it on the grounds that comedy has to
show moral justice: “it being the office of a comic poet to imitate [i.e. represent] justice, and instruct to
life, as well as purity of language, or to stir up gentle affections [i.e. feelings]” (lines 112-16, 123-25). When
in a work of literature, good people are rewarded and evil characters duly punished, it is described as ‘poetic
justice’ because such justice is delivered only in works of imagination, and is not usually seen in real life.
Volpone is the only comedy in which Jonson presents complete poetic justice; in his other comedies not all
the crooks get punished.
11.5 VOLPONE AS A SATIRIC COMEDY: SATIRE ON AVARICE OR GREED
The main weakness that is satirised in Volpone is avarice or greed—greed for money. This weakness
is seen even in those who are very rich as in the case of Volpone and Corbaccio. Volpone explains to Celia
in Act 3 that even if his wealth is spent lavishly to enjoy life, only a fraction of his wealth would be used up
(3.7.197-201). However, instead of moving around freely to enjoy life, he gives out that he is dying and
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remains confined to his house, with ointments etc. applied on his face so that the greedy visitors should take
him to be critically ill—all this so that those greedy people keep bringing him more wealth in the hope of
becoming his heirs. Because greedy people will bring him gifts only so long as they think he is about to die,
he cannot go out of his house as himself: whenever he does go out he has to use a disguise.
Three important modes of satire in this play are as follows:
11.5.1 The characters are given names of animals and birds of prey, etc., to indicate how greed has
dehumanised them. This element of the beast fable is reiterated in the play again and again as characters
keep referring to each other as the fox, “flesh-fly”, vulture, crow, raven, kite, etc. Volpone particularly
enjoys referring to himself as a fox: in Act 1 when Mosca tells him that the advocate Voltore has brought for
him a huge, heavy gold plate with his (Volpone’s) name and arms engraved on it, he says Voltore should
have got engraved on it “a Fox / Stretched on the earth, ... / Mocking a gaping crow” (1.2.94-95).
11.5.2 The characters’ own words and actions become biting comments on their weakness.
11.5.3 Moral inversion, that is, moral values becoming upside-down, in the case of self-centred,
self-seeking characters who love money more than anything else, for example, when in the opening speech
of the play Volpone describes gold as the saint he worships, and as being his soul (1.1.2-3), or when in the
court Corvino describes his chaste wife as a prostitute, and turns to wicked Mosca for praise, saying “There
is no shame in this now, is there?” (4.5.127).
These aspects of satire in the play have been brought out in detail in the critical analysis in the next
three lessons.
Self Assessment Question
D. What is the function of the elements of the beast fable in the play Volpone?
11.6 AN OUTLINE OF THE ACTION OF THE PLAY
11.6.1 The Argument
The Argument or summary given at the beginning of Volpone effectively sums up the main action
of the play:
V olpone, childless, rich, feigns [i.e. pretends to be] sick, despairs.
O ffers his state [i.e. estate or wealth] to hopes of several heirs,
L ies languishing [i.e. growing weaker]; his Parasite receives
P resents of all, assures, deludes [i.e. deceives]; then weaves
O ther cross-plots, which ope themselves, are told [i.e. revealed].
N ew tricks for safety are sought; they thrive [i.e. succeed]; when, bold,
E ach tempts th’ other again, and all are sold.
If you look at the first letter of each line and read downwards, these letters make the title of the play,
VOLPONE: When we make a word from the first letters of successive lines in this way, it is called an
acrostic.
11.6.2 The setting in Venice
The setting of the play in distant Venice makes the theme of legacy-hunting more believable. This
also makes it possible to name the characters as animals and birds of prey, etc., in Italian. Names like Fox,
Fly, Vulture, Raven, and Crow would have sounded odd but Italian words Volpone, Mosca, Voltore, Corbaccio
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and Corvino work much better. Also, Italy was seen as a centre of rich culture as well as of moral decay. So
during the Renaissance plays dealing with moral, degradation and evil are often set in Italy, the land of
Machiavelli, whose book The Prince (written in 1513) focused on what was effective in achieving a purpose
without being concerned about moral values.
11.6.3 “Quick comedy refined”
In the Prologue to the play Jonson claims that he is offering here “quick comedy refined” (line 29):
It is ‘quick’ in the sense of being full of life, and refined in comparison with many comedies of that time that
presented crude physical humour or stale jokes (lines 20-23). He is also emphatic that this play is a comedy
in spite of the near-triumph of wickedness in this play and harsh punishments at the end for the wrong-doers.
11.6.4 Unity of time and place
The action of this play begins in the morning when Volpone wakes up, and is over by evening when
the court pronounces the punishments for the wrongdoers. Thus it observes the unity of time.
This play also observes the unity of place as all the events of the play are limited to one city, Venice.
In fact, Jonson takes pride in observing these two unities, and claims in the Prologue to the play:
“The laws of time, place, persons he observeth, / From no needful rule he swerveth [i.e. moves away]” (lines
31-32). However, he does not mention unity of action, which was in fact the only unity emphasised by
Aristotle. In this play there is an extended subplot which has hardly any link with the action of the main plot,
but thematically functions like a parody of the main plot. There is also a brief interlude presented by the
three clowns early in the play, which has nothing to do with the action of the main plot, but echoes the theme
of the debasement of the human to the level of animals and birds and praises fools. Though Jonson was a
scholar of classical writings, he follows their example and rules only to the extent that suits him.
(Native English drama, in the form of Mystery plays based on the Bible [which evolved in the
fourteenth century] and Morality plays [which emerged in the fifteenth century], usually had two lines of
action, out of which one was a lighter comic parody of, or diversion from, the more serious main plot. These
native forms of drama continued to be popular during the Renaissance even after the revival of the study of
ancient Roman playwrights whose plays had single plots. So in the Renaissance England even classicists
like Jonson continued to have multiple plots in their plays.)
Self Assessment Question
E. Does the play Volpone observe the three unities?
11.6.5 The two plots
This play has two distinct plots, with their almost independent lines of action. Apart from these,
there is also a brief interlude presented by the three clowns in the beginning of the play, which has nothing
to do with the action of either the main plot or the subplot, but has a thematic connection with them in
presenting the debasement of man to the level of animals and celebrating fools.
The action of the play is set in Italy, and most of the characters belong to Venice, but there are three
visitors from England—Sir Politic Would-be and his wife Fine Madame Would-be, who have been in Venice
for some time, and a young Englishman Peregrine who has arrived here recently. Sir Politic Would-be is
often referred to as Sir Pol in the play, which suggests his parrot-like superficial imitation of the people of
Venice. The world ‘Politic’ means ‘worldly-wise’ or ‘cunning to ensure self-interest’, but the surname given
to him “Would-be” implies that he is not really so, and in fact appears a complete fool. Similarly his wife’s
name “Fine Madame Would-be” implies that she would like to be a considered a fine lady but is not quite
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that—In fact we find her behaving very crudely, especially towards the women waiting upon her (3.4.19-
31). Early in the play, Volpone refers to her as a “kite”. A “Peregrine” is a kind of hawk, and Peregrine
generally sees through pretences as he quickly perceives the folly of Sir Pol and trickery of the mountebank
played by Volpone, but in his anger at Lady Would-be’s odd overtures he misunderstands Sir Pol, and to that
extent this relatively positive figure too has his limitations, like the good characters of the main plot, Celia
and Bonario.
The action of the subplot involves two characters—Sir Politic Would-be and Peregrine. Lady Would-
be’s speeches and actions largely form part of the main plot;
The action of the subplot has hardly sany link with the action of the main plot. However, (1) there is
a thin thematic link between the subplot and the main plot—folly (or foolishness) being a common element
in the two plots, in that while Sir Pol is obviously foolish, Volpone ultimately proves to be foolish in his
reckless pursuit of fun at the cost of others. (2) Also, to some extent Sir Pol is a parody of Volpone. As
Volpone pretends to be near death, he suggests that he can make a person of his liking very rich by nominating
him as his heir. Sir Pol claims that if he finds somebody whom he likes, he will make him very rich with the
help of some projects that he has in mind (4.1.42-46). For all his pride in his worldly wisdom, Sir Pol is
humbled and mildly punished in Act 5 (mildly, because his actions do not harm anyone), and that foreshadows
Volpone’s much harsher punishment towards the end of the play, the degree of his punishment being in
keeping with the extent of harm to others that his doings cause. (3) The lighthearted comedy of the subplot
with its harmless folly provides a relief from the very disturbing actions of main plot: the lighter spirit of the
subplot makes the grimness of the main plot bearable.
In the main plot, Volpone is a very rich clarissimoor noble (i.e. a senior aristocrat) of Venice. He
thinks of a clever way to multiply his wealth. He pretends to be critically ill and likely to die soon. He has no
wife or child who may inherit his wealth; nor has he any friend whom he might nominate as his heir. So
some greedy people start bringing him costly gifts, each one thinking that this will convince Volpone that he
loves him and so Volpone would nominate him as his heir. These legacy- hunters are (1) Voltore, an advocate,
whose name means ‘vulture’, (2) a very old and rich clarissimo, Corbaccio (whose name means ‘raven’),
who though himself near death is greedily seeking to get the wealth of Volpone, and (3) a merchant Corvino,
whose name means ‘crow’. Lady Would-be also joins them in the greed for inheriting Volpone’s wealth, but
unlike them she does not bring any expensive gift, but just a cap which she has made herself (3.5.15), which
becomes a comic anticlimax. We feel amused so long as these self-centred greedy people are fooled by
Volpone because they themselves are trying to fool him; however, when he tries to assault Celia (3,7,266),
we get totally alienated from him and feel happy when he is duly punished at the end of the play. In all his
doings Volpone is efficiently helped by his Parasite, Mosca, who is punished even more severely at the end.
In order to fool these greedy people who want to fool Volpone into thinking that they love him,
Volpone has to lie in bed, with ointments applied on his face to make him look critically ill. If he ever goes
out of his house he has to use some disguise because otherwise people will know that he is hale and hearty
and then nobody will bring him costly gifts. And he gets beaten or punished whenever he thus stirs out of the
safety of his house. When towards the end of Act 1 Mosca mentions the beauty of Corvino’s wife, Celia,
Volpone goes out disguised as a Mountebank, and though he manages to see her face, he is beaten by
Corvino, who does not recognize him. In the last Act when he goes out disguised as a Commendatore (i.e. as
a court officer) to tease the dejected legacy-hunters, everything goes against him, and he has to reveal his
identity in the court, which brings on him heavy punishment in the form of confiscation of all his wealth and
his being imprisoned for life.
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 Volpone’s Parasite, Mosca, plays a very important role in fulfilling all plans of Volpone as well as in
satisfying his desires. However, in his overconfidence he complicates matters, and his excessive greed
towards the end (to grab the entire wealth of Volpone) brings heavy punishments on both of them. All these
aspects of the plot structure of the play have been anlysed in detail in the next two chapters.
11.7 SUMMING UP
Ben Jonson is known for his satiric comedies, which are described as comedies of humours.
Shakespeare acted in Jonson’s first comedy Every Man in His Humour in 1598, and Jonson described his
concept of humours of the mind in his second comedy Every Man out of His Humour in1599. He
metaphorically applied to the human mind the prevalent view regarding bodily humours. He says that when,
some overpowering tendency, obsession or passion so dominates a person that his judgement, reason, feelings,
values are all controlled and conditioned by that overpowering tendency, he is mentally sick and may be
described as suffering from that humour. The characters are given type names to indicate their dominant
weakness. By making fun of such characters, his comedies serve as correctives. The humours that Jonson
satirises are mainly self-centred appetites, and at times these become master passions in the sense of powerful
driving forces. Good characters remain largely ineffective in his plays, especially in Volpone. Jonson insists
on the function of the poet as a moral teacher, and on that ground justifies the series of harsh punishments
meted out to the wicked characters towards the end of Volpone, “it being the office of a comic poet to imitate
justice, and instruct to life ....”
Volpone observes the unities of time and place, but not the unity of action. This play has two plots:
the main plot shows ferocious pursuit of greed and pleasure which comes close to blasting the lives of
innocent persons, while the subplot presents harmless folly. There is hardly any link between the action of
the subplot and that of the main plot, but the main character of the subplot, Sir Politic Would-be, is almost a
parody of the protagonist of the main plot, Volpone, who in spite of his fox-like cunning ultimately proves to
be as foolish as Sir Politic Would-be. The lighthearted comedy of the subplot also provides relief from the
more grim action of the main plot.
11.8 GLOSSARY
Note: In the quotations from Jonson, where necessary, the meanings have been explained in square
brackets within the quoted parts.
Comedy of humours: Comedy of humours is satiric comedy. It exposes to ridicule those characters
who are dominated by some self-centred tendency of mind (such as greed for money, or desire for pleasure
at the cost of others) to such an extent that even their judement of right and wrong, their values, and even
their feelings come to be controlled by that overpowering tendency. Such characters are unable to appreciate
what would seem natural to normal persons; they also often fail to see what would be quite obvious to
ordinary balanced persons. The particular excessive tendency or self-centred appetite is seen as a ‘humour’
which makes these characters mentally diseased, and not quite human. The characters in a comedy of humours
are usually given type- names indicating their main weakness or overpowering tendency. The play Volpone
and the subplot of Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night (especially the portrayal of Malvolio) are fine examples
of comedy of humours. (For a detailed description of comedy of humours see sub-sections 11.2.1- 11.2.5 of
this Lesson, and Section 5.7 of Lesson 5.)

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11.9 QUESTIONS
(A) Questions requiring short answers in about 100 words each:
1. In what sense are the humours more like master passions in the play Volpone.
2. What is the significance of the elements of the beast fable in Volpone.
3. To what extent does the play Volpone observe the three unities? (Remember that it observes only
the unities of time and place but not the unity of action.)
4. Discuss the element of moral inversion in the play Volpone.
(B) Questions requiring full-length answers:
1. Discuss Volpone as a comedy of humours.
2. Discuss Volpone as a satiric comedy.
3. Examine the plot structure of the play Volpone. (You will be able to answer this question properly
after going through the critical analysis of the play in the next three lessons.)
4. Comment on the dramatic significance of the subplot in Volpone. [(a) Harmless folly of Sir Politic
provides ‘relief from the more grim satire of the main plot, (b) Sir Politic functions as a parody of
Volpone, who ultimately proves to be as foolish as Sir Politic.]
5. How do the characters’ own words and actions satirise their weakness in the play Volpone (See the
critical analysis of the play in the next three lessons for more examples.)
11.10 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS’ ANSWERS
A. Characters dominated by some overpowering tendency, obsession or passion, to the extent that
their judgement, reasoning, values and feelings are controlled by that overpowering tendency.
B. They are given type names indicating their dominant weakness.
C. Avarice or greed for money.
D. To indicate how greed has dehumanised these characters.
E. No. It observes only the unities of time and place, but not the unity of action as it has a subplot in
addition to the main plot.
11.11 SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Jonson, Ben. Volpone, or the Fox. In Ben Jonson, Three Comedies. Edited by Michael Jamieson.
For a discussion of Jonsonian comedy and an analysis of Volpone see pages 13-20 of the Introduction.
See page 464 (in the Notes) for a discussion of the dramatic significance of the comic interlude
presented by the three clowns in Act 1, and pages 10 and 467 for a description of the humours. All
references to the play Volpone in these lessons are to this edition.
2. —. Volpone, or The Foxe. Edited by Arthur Sale. London: University Tutorial Press, 1959. Indian
reprint: Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1976. Has a useful introduction (pages v-xix) and detailed
notes. Sale retains some features of original spellings in the text of the play, especially the final -
e’ as in the subtitle The Foxe’.
3. —. Volpone, or the Fox. Edited by David Cook. London, Methuen, 1969. In the detailed Introduction
pages 13-45 are useful. Jonson’s concept of the comedy of humours has been discussed on pages
21-28 of the Introduction.

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4. Bamborough, J.B. Ben Jonson. London: Hutchinson University Library, 1970. Has a very useful
discussion of Volpone on pages 82-91.
5. Barish, Jonas A., ed. Jonson: Volpone: A Casebook. London: Macmillan, 1972. The Introduction
and Barish’s essay on plot structure, The Double Plot in Vo/pond (1953), on pages 100-117, are
especially useful. Barish’s essay on plot is also reprinted in the Twentieth Century Views volume
on Ben Jonson mentioned below.
6. —, ed. Ben Jonson: A Collection of Critical Essays. Twentieth Century Views. Englewood Cliffs,
NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1963. Reprints some useful criticism on Jonson in general, esp. T.S. Eliot’s
essay ‘Ben Jonson’ (1919), and some critical essays on Volpone, including Barish’s essay on its
plot structure mentioned above.

*****

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 LESSON-12
VOLPONE: CRITICAL ANALYSIS-I

STRUCTURE
12.1 INTRODUCTION
12.2 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
12.3 THE DRAMATIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE OPENING SCENE
12.3.1 THE KEY ASPECTS
12.3.2 THE THEME OF THE PLAY: WORSHIP OF GOLD, AND MORAL
INVERSION
A,B,C,D, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS
12.3.3 VOLPONE’S JOY AT HIS CUNNING WAY OF FOOLING OTHERS
E, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS
12.3.4 MOSCA
12.3.5 EXPOSITION
12.4 DRAMATIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE INTERLUDE PRESENTED BY THE CLOWNS
12.4.1 THE THREE SERVANTS
12.4.2 THE INTERLUDE IN THE NATURE OF AN ANTIMASQUE
F, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS
12.5 VOITORE’S VISIT
12.5.1 VOLPONE’S DESCRIPTION OF THE LEGACY-HUNTERS AS “BIRDS OF
PREY”
G,H, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS
12.5.2 VOLPONE’S REMARK ON VOITORE’S GIFT
12.5.3 INCIDENTAL SATIRE ON ADVOCATES (ACTUALLY ON GREED)
12.6 CORBACCIO’S VISIT AND INCIDENTAL SATIRE ON DOCTORS
12.6.1 OLD AGE AND GREED
12.6.2 INCIDENTAL SATIRE ON DOCTORS
12.6.3 MOSCA UNNECESSARILY COMPLICATING MATTERS FOR GREATER
FUN
12.6.4 THE THEME OF THE PLAY: AVARICE AS A PUNISHMENT TO ITSELF
12.7 CORVINO’S VISIT, AND VOLPONE ABUSED BY MOSCA AND CORVINO
12.8 VOLPONE’S AND MOSACA’S HUMOURS
12.9 LADY WOULD-BE CONTRASTED WITH CELIA
12.10 SUMMARY
12.11 GLOSSARY
12.12 QUESTIONS
12.13 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION’S ANSWERS
12.14 SUGGESTED READINGS

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12.1 INTRODUCTION
This lesson takes you through the first act of the play Volpone, analysing the characters, themes and
plot structure in this part of the play.
In the plays from the Renaissance a new scene generally begins after the stage has become totally
vacant and then some characters enter. However, in Jonson’s plays a new scene is taken to begin when there
is entry of one or more characters even when the characters already on stage continue to remain there—
since most standard editions of Volpone give line numbers according to this kind of scene division, this
pattern has been followed in indicating act, scene and line numbers in these lessons on Volpone. However,
some editions do follow the other pattern which is used for line numbering for plays of other writers from
the Renaissance.
12.2 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
This lesson aims at helping you appreciate the portrayal of characters, the pattern of themes and plot
construction in the opening act of the play.
12.3 THE DRAMATIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE OPENING SCENE
12.3.1 The key aspects
The opening scene of the play introduces the main theme of the play—worship of gold—in the
very opening lines of the play, and provides the exposition (that is, information about the situation and the
background of the action of the play) in lines 73-90. The protagonist of the play, Volpone, who is a noble
of Venice, and his parasite, Mosca, who plays a very crucial role in the action of the play, appear on the
stage and their nature and attitudes are revealed. This scene is also characteristic of the whole play in
that Volpone’s opening speech shows moral inversion or complete distortion of values in his mind as he
describes gold as the saint he worships and considers it to be “the world’s soul, and mine” (1.1.2-3). The
eloquent poetry put in the mouth of Volpone, his perception of the weakness of most people of the world,
and his cunning way of making others gift him their wealth make him impressive; yet the distortion of
values in his worship of gold makes it clear that he is not quite a normal human being but is mentally
diseased and has become dehumanised in being clever like a fox.
12.3.2 The theme of the play: worship of gold, and moral inversion
As the play opens, Volpone is seen sleeping “in a large bed” on the stage. This bed dominates the
stage in most of the scenes set in his house, and Volpone remains lying on it when he receives guests. His
way of fooling others severely restricts his own freedom; he cannot utter a word when Mosca and Corvino
shout abuses in his ear (1.5.52-66), after Mosca convinces Corvino that Volpone is so near death that he
cannot hear anything.
As Mosca enters, Volpone wakes up, and says: “Good morning to the day; and next, my gold!”
(1.1.1). The high value he attaches to gold in greeting it like this, is disturbing, and it becomes more disturbing
as well as amusing as he asks Mosca to “Open the shrine, that I may see my saint,” and “Mosca draws a
curtain, revealing piles of gold.” The next sentence of Volpone begins like a witty observation regarding the
main weakness of most people of the world when he greets gold as “the world’s soul”, but it becomes
shocking when Volpone goes on to describe gold as his own soul too (soul indicating that which gives one
life, determines one’s nature, and impels one to action):
Hail the world’s soul, and mine! (1.1.3)

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 This distortion of morai values, when the values have become topsy-turvy, is described as moral
inversion. Volpone’s opening speech is also a fine example of how a character’s own words become a
satiric comment on his weakness.
The entire speech is addressed to gold, praising its value for the world in general and also for
Volpone himself—-almost like a hymn in praise of a god. There appears to something abnormal in him as he
goes on to say that he feels more glad to see gold than the fertile earth feels on seeing the life-giving sun in
spring. We get a jolt when Volpone goes on to describe gold as follows without any irony:
Thou being the best of things, and far transcending [i.e. being far greater than]
All style of joy in children, parents, friends,
Or any other waking dream on earth. (1.1.16-18)
It should be kept in mind that though here Volpone asserts that gold gives more joy than friendship,
he ignores the likelihood of Mosca grabbing his (Voipone’s) wealth when in Act 5 he gives out that he is
dead and signs a will in favour of Mosca, merely to have fun at the cost of disappointed legacy-hunters.
Then Mosca acts exactly according to the inverted values emphasised by Volpone here and tries to possess
the entire wealth of Volpone—in fact, in blind greed he even turns down Volpone’s offer of giving him half
his wealth, which forces Volpone to reveal his own identity in the court to prevent Mosca from enjoying his
wealth.
Voipone’s comments here highlight the key theme of the play, as Corvino, Corbaccio, Voltore and
Lady Would-be do all kinds of monstrous things for money: Covino forcing his chaste wife to sleep with
Volpone, Corbaccio publicly disowning his son, Voltore pleading falsely to mislead the court against innocent
Celia and Bonario, and Lady Would-be giving false evidence against Celia. Even the judges, who should not
care for wealth of the persons involved in a case, show unusual respect for Mosca (asking people to make
way for him and directing that a stool be brought for him) when it seems possible that he may have inherited
the wealth of Volpone, even though the advocate Voltore and Volpone himself disguised as a commendatore
tell the court that Volpone is alive. In fact the 4th Avocatore (i.e. judge) says about Mosca in an ‘aside’: “A
proper man and, were Volpone dead, / A fit match for my daughter’’ (5.12.50-51).
The remaining part of Volpone’s praise of gold in the opening speech of the play is in the nature of
a comment on the weakness of most people in the world:
Riches, the dumb god that giv’st all men tongues [i.e. makes them speak to get money],
That canst do nought, and yet mak’st men do all things;
The price of souls; even hell, with thee to boot [i.e. in addition],
Is made worth heaven! Thou art virtue, fame,
Honour, and all things else [i.e. a person with money gets fame, is honoured, and is described as
virtuous even if he is wicked]. (22-26)
Self Assessment Question
A. Which saint does Volpone worship?
B. What is described by Volpone as being his soul?
C. According to Volpone, what gives greater joy than parents, children, and friends?
D. What is moral inversion?

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 12.3.3 Volpone’s joy at his cunning way of fooling others
Volpone goes on to emphasise that he gets more joy in exercising his cunning to fool others. In fact,
in the end he falls because of this very desire to get joy by using cunning at others’ cost. Here he asserts:
Yet, I glory [i.e. feel joy and pride]
More in the cunning purchase of my wealth
Than in the glad possession, since I gain no common way .... (30-33)
Self Assessment Question
E. What gives greater joy to Volpone than his possession of wealth?
12.3.4 Mosca
Mosca is his parasite, that is, not a paid employee but a hanger-on who obliges Volpone by performing
different services and in return gets money and gifts by way of appreciation. To please Volpone he praises
him and says that Volpone is not a miser but enjoys his wealth, and gives small portions of it to him (Mosca)
and to his servants (the three clowns):
You know the use of riches, and dare give, now,
From that bright heap, to me, your poor observer [i.e. humble follower]...
(1.1.62-63)
Understanding the hint, Volpone gives him some money, and asks him to bring there the three
clowns And let em make me sport. As Mosca goes offstage to bring them, Volpone in a soliloquy gives the
exposition, i.e. information about the background of the action of the play. A soliloquy is a speech uttered by
a character when he or she is all alone on the stage.
12.3.5 Exposition
Volpone explains the context of the action of the main plot in his soliloquy as follows:
I have no wife, no parent, child, ally [i.e. friend],
To give my substance [i.e. wealth] to; but whom I make [i.e. nominate in a will]
Must be my heir, and this makes men observe me [i.e. pay attention to me].
This draws new clients, daily, to my house,
Women and men of every sex and age,
That bring me presents, send me plate [i.e. gold plate], coin [i.e. gold coins], jewels,
With hope that when I die (which they expect
Each greedy minute) it shall then return
Tenfold upon them; whilst some, covetous [i.e. greedy]
Above the rest, seek to engross me, whole [i.e. each of them wants to become his only heir, to inherit
his entire wealth],
And counter-work the one unto the other,
Contend [i.e. compete] in gifts, as they would seem in love.
All which I suffer [i.e. tolerate or allow], playing with their hopes,
And am content to coin ’em into profit.... (1.1.73-86)

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12.4 DRAMATIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE INTERLUDE PRESENTED BY THE CLOWNS
12.4.1 The three servants
In Volpone’s household there are three trusted servants—Nano, Castrone, and Androgyno the Fool.
When in Act 5 Volpone goes out of his house disguised as a commendatore and meets these three in the
street, he asks them why they have come out the house: as they tell him that Mosca “bid us all go play, and
took the keys,” he immediately suspects that Mosca wants to deprive him of his wealth (5.11.8-13)—this
shows that he trusts these clowns with his keys but not Mosca. That great trust in them may be the reason
why Mosca out of jealousy says to Corvino in Act 1: “’Tis the common fable [i.e. it is said], / The dwarf, the
fool, the eunuch are all his [illegitimate children]; / He’s the true father of his family ...” (1.5.46-48).
All three of them are physically abnormal, and their names indicate that. Nano is a dwarf and that is
what his name means; Castrone is a eunuch; Androgyno, who is formally dressed as a Fool in motley and a
cap with bells, is a hermaphrodite, i.e. one who has physical features of both man and woman (his name
Androgyno, meaning ’man-woman’, also implies that). Volpone takes delight in the skit presented by them
near the beginning of the play; and again in Act 3, while he is anxiously waiting for Mosca to learn about his
success in obtaining for him (Volpone) the company of Corvino’s beautiful wife Celia, he says to them:
“Bring forth your sports / And help to make the wretched time more sweet” (3.3.1-2). It is said that their
physical abnormality (which is not because of anything in their control) reflects the abnormality of
Volpone’s mind—his moral inversion is a matter of his choice, and that makes him debased in spite of his
vitality, cunning, and eloquence.
12.4.2 The Interlude in the nature of an antimasque
Jonson wrote a considerable number of masques. The masques, performed on important festive
occasions like a marriage or engagement, were like elaborate dance dramas with a thin story line to interlink
a number of songs and dances; and only members of the aristocracy used to take part in them (some members
of the host family and some of the guests), but servants were left out. Jonson introduced at the beginning of
his masks a comic segment which was performed by the servants, making them feel a part of the grand
celebration. Because this comic part was cruder than the main masque, it made the main masque appear
more impressive. Because of this contrast it was referred to as antimasque; because this cruder comic part
came before the main masque it was also sometimes referred to as antemasque (‘ante-’ means ‘before’).
In the interlude presented by Nano and Androgyno (with Castrone joining them in the song in praise
of ‘Fools’), the lines of verse are longer than blank verse used in the rest of the play, and are like the verse
used in the traditional interludes (which were largely comic dialogues purely for entertainment, without a
moral element). Nano refers to Pythagoras’s view regarding transmigration of souls, that a human being
may be reborn as an animal or bird or as another human being in a different social role. This view appeared
strange to Christians who believed that only human beings have souls, and this skit in fact makes fun of this
view of Pythagoras. Nano, playing the role of the presenter of the interlude, says that the Fool Androgyno
has the soul of Pythagoras and remembers all its lives, sometimes born as a philosopher, sometimes as a
prostitute, “Besides ox and ass, camel, mule, goat...” (1.2.23). It is said that here Jonson is presenting the
idea of the debasement of the human to the level of animals and that thus this skit is linked with the theme
of dehumanisation in the main play.

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 In this interlude there is also incidental satire on hypocrisy of many puritans of that time, as the
Fool says that after his life as a mule his soul passed “Into a very strange beast, by some writers called an ass;
/ By others, a precise, pure, illuminate [i.e. enlightened] brother ...” (1.2.41-43). (When Jonson wrote these
lines he had become a Roman Catholic; later he reverted to Protestant faith, but did not remove or change
these lines.)
This interlude ends with a song in praise of Fools, sung by all three of them together:
Fools, they are the only nation
Worth men’s envy or admiration;
Free from care or sorrow-taking,
Selves and others merry making
Tongue and babble [i.e. talking constantly] are his treasure.
E’en his face begetteth laughter,
And he speaks truth free from slaughter [a fool could not be given death sentence even if the ruler
was offended by his remarks—See Feste making fun of Olivia’s excessive grieving at her brother’s death in
Twelfth Night],
He’s the grace of every feast,
And, sometimes, the chiefest guest.... (1.2.66-69, 73-77)
To the extent that the obvious theme of the subplot and the underlying theme in the main plot is
folly—folly not only of the legacy-hunters, but ultimately also of Volpone and Mosca, and of the judges as
well—this song of the clowns in praise of fools has an indirect thematic link with the rest of the play.
Since this interlude is presented by servants before the action of the play begins, and is cruder
than the rest of the play, it functions like an antimasque, and makes the refinement of the rest of the
play more striking.
Self Assessment Question
F. Which part of the play functions like an antimasque?
12.5 VOLTORE’S VISIT
12.5.1 Volpone’s description of the legacy-hunters as “birds of prey”
Just then someone knocks at the door, and Volpone comments:
Now, now, my clients
Begin their visitation! Vulture, kite,
Raven, and gorcrow [i.e. crow that eats carrion or decaying flesh], all my birds of prey,
That think me turning carcass, now they come.
I am not for’em yet. (1.2.87-91)
Vultures, crows, kites, etc. wait near a dying animal so that they may start feeding on its dead and
decaying flesh as soon as it dies. Similarly these legacy-hunters (Voltore, Lady Would-be, Corbaccio and
Corvino, referred to as “Vulture, kite, / Raven, and gorcrow” respectively) are eagerly waiting for Volpone
to die (and become a carcass or dead body), because only then they can get his wealth, which is here equated
with a carcass or decaying flesh of a dead animal.

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Self Assessment Question
G. How does Volpone describe the greedy legacy-hunters who visit him with gifts?
H. According to Volpone, what do these legacy-hunters think he is becoming?
12.5.2 Volpone’s remark on Voltore’s gift
Like a child eagerly waiting to possess the gift brought by a visitor, Volpone asks Mosca “the news”.
As Mosca tells him that the advocate has brought him a plate of gold, “Huge, / Massy [i.e. heavy], and
antique, with your name inscribed, / And arms [i.e. the coat of arms that is the insignia of his family]
engraven,” Volpone equates himself with the fox in the well-known fable of the fox and the crow and says:
Good! And not a Fox
Stretched on the earth, with fine delusive sleights [i.e. deceptive tricks].
Mocking a gaping Crow .... (1.2.94-96)
His describing himself as a fox implies his dehumanization in that a fox is not human. It may be
noted that to fool greedy legacy-hunters, such as Voltore, Volpone has to remain lying in bed with ointments
etc. applied on his face which make him look repulsive.
Then Volpone invokes his pretended diseases to help him maintain “this my posture, / Wherein, this
three year, I have milked their hopes” (1.2.126-27). These pretended diseases of the body may be seen as
reflecting his diseased mind. In any case he can “milk” their hopes only by looking diseased and remaining
in bed in spite of being hale and hearty physically—this indicates a distortion in his way of living.
12.5.3 Incidental satire on advocates (actually on greed)
As Voltore enters, Volpone encourages his hopes by saying to him in a weak voice, “Be not far from
me,” “Hearken [i.e. listen] unto me still; it will concern you” (1.3.24-25). Mosca assures Voltore that he is
Volpone’s heir, and that the will has been made and sealed that very morning. Voltore accepts these lies at
once because they are in line with his foolish hopes, and exclaims, “Happy, happy me!” (1.3.47). As he asks
Mosca the reason of this good luck, Mosca says that Volpone liked his profession of an advocate, and then
through mock praise satirises advocates for making money while giving confusing advice, taking money not
only from the party that hires them but also dishonestly from the opponent in return for pleading the case
weakly:
Men of your large [i.e. great] profession, that could speak
To every cause, and things mere contraries,
Till they were hoarse again, yet all be law .... (1.3.53-55)
12.6 CORBACCIO’S VISIT AND INCIDENTAL SATIRE ON DOCTORS
12.6.1 Old age and greed
As there is a knock at the door, indicating the arrival of another visitor, Voltore quickly leaves, and
Mosca tells Volpone that Corbaccio has come. To make clear to the audience the meanings of the names of
Voltore and Corbaccio, and to reiterate the animal imagery to indicate their debasement and dehumanisation,
Volpone observes: “The vulture’s gone, and the old raven’s come” (1.3.81). And Mosca remarks about
Corbaccio:
Now shall we see
A wretch who is indeed more impotent [i.e. weak]

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 Than this [Volpone] can feign [i.e. pretend] to be, yet hopes to hop
Over his grave [i.e. hopes to live longer than Volpone], (1.4.2-5)
Corbaccio is wearing glasses, walks with the help of a stick, and is hard of hearing: though that
weakness gives rise to some humour whenever Corbaccio misunderstands what others say, yet the satire is
directed not so much at his physical disabilities which come with old age, as at his greed which is making
him frantic for Volpone’s wealth even in such old age. It should also be kept in mind that Corbaccio is
himself very rich and has the title of clarissimo (as mentioned by Volpone— 5.8.9); still he is eager to
become richer by being nominated Volpone’s heir.
Though Corbaccio has brought for Volpone a bag of gold coins to convince him that he loves him,
he expresses joy at learning that his condition has become critical:
Excellent, excellent! sure I shall outlast him!
This makes me young again, a score of years [i.e. twenty years]. (1.4.55-56)
When such self-centred greedy persons are fooled by Volpone, there is comic justice and we are
amused by his cunning.
12.6.2 Incidental satire on doctors
When Mosca mentions that Volpone cannot sleep properly, Corbaccio says he has brought for him
from his own doctor “an opiate” (i.e. a medicine containing opium, which can help one sleep in spite of pain,
illness, etc). It is amusing as Volpone remarks in an ‘aside’ that it would be “his last sleep” if he took it; and
Mosca’s refusal to accept that “opiate” becomes incidental satire on doctors’ love of money:
He has no faith in physic [i.e. medicine]: he does think
Most of your doctors are the greater danger,
And worse disease t’ escape.
………………………
No, sir, nor their fees
He cannot brook [i.e. tolerate]; he says they flay a man
Before they kill him. (1.4.20-22, 26-28; to ’flay’ or to remove the skin of a person is a metaphor for
charging very high fees)
12.6.3 Mosca unnecessarily complicating matters for greater fun
Mosca repeatedly gets carried away by his success and unnecessarily complicates matters to
have greater fun. Here he suggests to Corbaccio that he should make a will naming Volpone as his heir.
Corbaccio gets so carried away at the thought of this trick to persuade Volpone to make him his heir in
reciprocation, that he says to Mosca it was his own thought too. In the context of this proposed will Mosca
further complicates matters in Act 3 by inviting Cobaccio’s son Bonario to Volpone’s house to overhear his
father disinheriting him, which ultimately leads to his (Mosca’s) and Volpone’s downfall.
12.6.4 The theme of the play: Avarice as a punishment to itself
As Corbaccio leaves, Volpone remarks:
What a rare punishment
Is avarice to itself! (1.4.143-44)

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 These words of Volpone constitute an important aspect of the theme of the play, and in fact apply to
all the greedy characters in the play, including Mosca and Volpone himself: Towards the end of the play they
are all exposed and punished just because first Volpone refuses to accept Mosca’s demand for half his
wealth (“MOSCA: Will you gi’ me half? — VOLPONE: First I’ll be hanged.” [5.12.63]), and a moment later
when Volpone does offer him that, Mosca becomes over-greedy and tries to grab the entire wealth of Volpone
by insisting that Volpone is dead (“VOLPONE: ... Thou shalt have half. — MOSCA: ... I cannot now/Afford it
you so cheap.” [5.12.67-70]).
12.7 CORVINO’S VISIT, AND VOLPONE ABUSED BY MOSCA AND CORVINO
Corvino, a merchant, brings for Volpone a pearl and a diamond. Mosca tells him that Volpone’s
“hearing’s gone, / And yet it comforts him to see you” (1.5.15-16). As Volpone repeatedly calls out his name,
“Signior Corvino”, Mosca tells him that when Corbaccio, Voltore and other legacy- seekers were here, he
exploited Volpone’s calling out Corvino’s name unthinkingly in order to make him his heir. He asked Volpone
who should be his heir and who his executor, and as Volpone kept calling his name, he (Mosca) made
Volporie’s will in Corvino’s favour. Blind with greed, Corvino does not think that if Mosca could have thus
made anyone Volpone’s heir, he would have made himself the heir instead of doing this great favour to
Corvino. As Mosca observes after Corbaccio’s departure, “this hope / Is such a bait it covers any hook”
(1.4.134-35).
In excitement of joy Corvino embraces Mosca, but immediately becomes conscious of Volpone
watching them. However, Mosca assures him that Volpone does not recognise anyone anymore and cannot
even hear them. To convince Corvino he starts shouting abuses into the ear of Volpone (whose hearing is of
course normal), and also asks Corvino to join him in abusing Volpone. It becomes amusing when this
Corvino, who has given Volpone the costly pearl and diamond as the ‘proof of his love, starts abusing him.
When such a person is fooled by Volpone, it seems justified. Also note that though there was no need to
abuse Volpone, here Mosca has an indirect revenge on Volpone for having to serve him. It is also amusing
that Volpone cannot react even as abuses are being shouted into his ear, because otherwise his disguise of a
dying man would be blown off and he would not get any more costly gifts. So Volpone’s own avarice or
greed is a punishment for him here.
12.8 VOLPONE’S AND MOSCA’S HUMOURS
As soon as Corvino leaves, “Another knocks.” However, Volpone does not want to receive any
more visitors just now, and says:
Prepare
Me music, dances, banquets, all delights;
The Turk is not more sensual in his pleasures
Than will Volpone. (1.5.86-89)
Note that all the delights mentioned here are physical pleasures, with prominence to sensual pleasures.
While the legacy-hunters are dominated only by overpowering greed as their humour, in case of
Volpone we have three powerful drives: greed for greater wealth, intense desire for physical pleasures,
and the overpowering desire to have fun by fooling others with his cunning—all three play their role
in bringing about his fall. In case of Mosca his greed, his excitement at fooling others, and his compulsive
desire to complicate matters to get more fun by using greater cunning motivate him and cause his
downfall.
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12.9 LADY WOULD-BE CONTRASTED WITH CELIA
When Mosca tells Volpone that the last visitor who knocked at the door was “Lady Would-be, ... /
Wife to the English knight, Sir Politic Would-be,” Volpone expresses surprise “at the desperate valour / Of
the bold English, that they dare let loose / Their wives to all encounters!” (1.5.100-02). Mosca replies, “She
hath not yet the face to be dishonest” (1.5.105), and remarks that things would have been otherwise if she
had been as beautiful as Gorvino’s wife, Celia. This leads to his praise of Celia’s beauty; note that he even
describes beauty in terms of gold: “Bright as your gold! and lovely as your gold!” (1.5.114).
Volpone at once expresses his desire to see her. However, when Mosca tells him that “She’s kept as
warily [i.e. carefully] as is your gold” and is not allowed to come out of the house, Volpone decides to see
her at the window of her house—in some disguise because he has to maintain his pretence of being on
deathbed in order to keep tempting greedy persons to bring him gifts. This leads on to his playing the role of
a mountebank just outside Corvino’s house in Act 2.
Contrast between the natures of Lady Would-be and Celia comes out fully in Acts 3 and 4— see
sections 13.1.1, 13.6, 13.7.1 and 13.7.2 of the next lesson.
12.10 SUMMING UP
The play begins with the two most important characters of the play, rich Volpone and his parasite
Mosca; most of the action of the play takes place because of them. Three other active characters of the main
plot, Voltore, Corbaccio, and Corvino come to the stage one after the other in the first Act of the play with
expensive gifts for Volpone. The three remaining characters of the main plot, Lady Would-be, Corvino’s
wife Celia, and Corbaccio’s son (Bonario) are mentioned in this opening Act.
Volpone’s opening speech introduces the main theme of the play—worship of gold—and brings out
moral inversion in his description of gold as “the world’s soul, and mine” (1.1.3). A little later he describes
how he fools greedy people by pretending that he is critically ill and about to die soon. As he has no child or
other relative or friend whom he might nominate his heir, greedy legacy- hunters bring him costly gifts to
convince him that they love him, each of them hoping that he would nominate him or her as his heir. He
describes them as “Vulture, kite, / Raven, and gorcrow, all my birds of prey, / That think me turning carcass,
now they come” (1.1.88-90), hoping to inherit his wealth as soon as he dies, just as birds of prey hover round
a dying animal, eagerly waiting for it to die so that they can start feasting on its dead decaying flesh.
Elements of the beast fable are seen in the names of the characters which are Italian terms for
animals and birds of prey, etc. Volpone means ‘fox’, Mosca = ‘fly’, Voltore = ‘vulture’, Corbaccio = ‘raven’,
and Corvino = ‘crow’. Volpone and Mosca also keep referring to the legacy-hunters as birds of prey. While
commenting on the heavy gold plate brought by the advocate Voltore, Volpone refers to himself as “a Fox ...
mocking a gaping crow” (1.2.94-96). These names and descriptions suggest that these characters are not
quite human but are debased to the level of animals and birds of prey because of their weakness of excessive
greed or pride in their cunning.
A brief interlude is presented by the three clowns who are trusted servants of Volpone, but whose
physical abnormalities seem to reflect the distortion of values in their master’s mind. They present an interlude
whose theme too is debasement of the human to the level of animals. Their song in praise of fools is indirectly
linked to the theme of folly in the subplot and the main plot. The relatively cruder form of this comic
interlude presented by the servants functions like an antimasque and makes the main play appear more
refined by contrast.

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 To maintain his disguise of a dying man to fool the greedy legacy-hunters, Volpone has to remain
lying in bed, with ointments etc. on his face to make him appear like a dying man. This enables Mosca to
abuse him to his face in the presence of Corvino, who joins him in abusing Volpone under the impression
that Volpone is so ill that he cannot hear their shouting of abuses.
Mosca wants to get a thrill by complicating matters unnecessarily; so he persuades the rich old
Corbaccio (who has the same high status in society as that of Volpone) to make a will in favour of Volpone
and disinherit his own son. This prepares the ground for the complication in the main plot, because Mosca
plans to bring Corbaccio’s son to Volpone’s house where he may overhear his father disinheriting him.
Towards the end of Act I Mosca mentions the great beauty of the merchant Corvino’s wife, Celia.
This arouses in Volpone a strong desire to see her, and that provides the cause for the remaining action of the
main plot.
12.11 GLOSSARY
Note: In the quotations from the play, where necessary, the meanings of some words have been
explained in square brackets within the quoted parts.
beast fable : In a beast fable animals or birds talk and behave like human beings, and its
purpose is to comment on some aspect of general human behaviour. In the play
Volpone, elements of the beast fable are seen in the names of the characters
Volpone, Mosca, Voltore, Corbaccio and Corvino (which are Italian words for
‘fox’, ‘fly’, ‘vulture’, ‘raven’ and ‘crow’, respectively) and in the way they
refer to themselves and others as ‘fox’, ‘flesh-fly’, ‘vulture’, ‘raven’, ‘crow’
and ‘kite’, etc. These elements of the beast fable suggest that these characters
are not quite human but have been debased to the level of animals because of
their weaknesses, such as excessive greed for money, pride in cunning, etc.
exposition : information about the situation and the background of the action of the play,
which may be conveyed through dialogue or a soliloquy which functions as a
part of the developing action in the play
moral inversion : distortion of moral values, when the values of some person or persons become
totally opposite to what is normally expected
soliloquy : a speech uttered by a character when he or she is all alone on the stage visitation:
visiting somebody who is unwell, to enquire about his or her health
12.12 QUESTIONS
(A) Questions requiring short answers in about 100 words each:
1. Discuss the dramatic significance of the opening scene.
2. Comment on the element of moral inversion in the play Volpone, with special reference to the
opening speech of Volpone.
3. Comment on the element of the beast fable in the play Volpone. OR What is the significance of the
names given to different characters in the play Volpone?
4. Discuss the role of any one of the following in the play Volpone:
(i) Voltore
(ii) Corbaccio
(iii) Corvino
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 5. What is the significance of the interlude presented by the three clowns in the beginning of the play
Volponel
6. Comment on any one of the following:
(a) Vulture, kite,
Raven, and go crow, all my birds of prey,
That think me turning carcass, now they come.
(b) What a rare punishment Is avarice to itself!
(B) Questions requiring full-length answers:
1. Attempt a character sketch of Volpone.
2. Discuss the role played by Mosca in the play.
Note: Also see the questions given at the end of Lesson 11.
12.13 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION’S ANSWERS
A. Gold
B. Gold.
C. Gold.
D. Moral inversion is distortion of moral values, when the values of some person or persons become
totally opposite to what is expected, for example, Volpone considering gold to be his soul, and
describing it as giving far greater joy than children, parents or friends.
E. His cunning way of obtaining wealth by fooling greedy persons.
F. The interlude presented by Nano, Androgyno and Castrone.
G. He describes them as vulture, kite, raven, and crow (or gorcorw)—all birds of prey.
H. They think he is turning into a carcass, or dead body, so that they can gain from his death (Vultures,
kites, crows, etc., gather round a dying animal,, waiting for it to die, so that as soon as it dies they
can start eating dead, decaying flesh).
12.14 SUGGESTED READINGS
See the list given at the end of Lesson 11.

*****

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 LESSON-13
VOLPONE: CRITICAL ANALYSIS-II

STRUCTURE
13.1 INTRODUCTION
13.2 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
13.3 THE SUBPLOT: SIR POLITIC AND PEREGRINE
13.3.1 ACT 2 SCENE 1
13.3.2 THE DRAMATIC FUNCTION OF THE SUBPLOT
13.3.3 SIR POLITIC AND PEREGRINE AS OUTSIDERS IN VENICE, AND THE
SIGNIFICANCE OF THEIR NAMES
A,B,C,D, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS
13.3.4 SIR POLITIC: AS A PARODY OF VOLPONE, IN ACTS 4 AND 5
13.4 VOLPONE AS A MOUNTEBANK
13.5 CELIA AND CORVINO: CORVINO AS A JEALOUS HUSBAND, AND AS A
MERCHANT WHO CAN SELL ANYTHING FOR PROFIT
13.6 MOSCA’S OVERCONFIDENCE
13.7 BONARIO’S GULLIBILITY
13.8 LADY WOULD-BE AND VOLPONE
13.9 CORVINO, CELIA AND VOLPONE
13.9.1 CORVINO AND CELIA
13.9.2 CELIA AND VOLPONE
13.9.3 VOLPONE AS A VILLAIN-HERO
13.9.4 VOLPONE COLLAPSING, AND MOSCA DESPAIRING
13.10 MOSCA’S QUICK ORCHESTRATION OF THE RIVAL LEGACY-HUNTERS TO
SAVE HIMSELF AND VOLPONE
13.11 SUMMING UP
13.12 GLOSSARY
13.13 QUESTIONS
13.14 ANSWERS TO SELF-CHECK EXERCISES
13.15 SUGGESTED READINGS
13.1 INTRODUCTION
This lesson takes you through the next two acts of the play, and those scenes of Acts 4 and 5 which
relate to the subplot. It examines the dramatic function of the subplot and analyses the developing action of
the main plot, with the focus on the state of mind of the protagonist, and that of his assistant, Mosca. It also
brings out the development of themes and the nature of satire in this part of the play.

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13.2 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
This lesson aims at helping you appreciate the themes and the nature of satire in this comedy. It also
seeks to help you understand the plot structure of the play.
13.3 THE SUBPLOT: SIR POLITIC AND PEREGRINE
13.3.1 Act 2 scene 1
The major part of Act 2 is quite relaxed, and begins with light satire on the harmless and obvious
folly of the simple-minded Sir Politic Would-be, who considers himself to be clever and worldly- wise. His
folly is brought out in an amusing manner in his conversation with the relatively perceptive young Peregrine,
who has recently come to Venice from England, and from whom Sir Politic seeks confirmation about some
reports about recent developments in his native land.
Sir Politic asks Peregrine whether it is true that a black raven had made a nest in the royal ship of the
King of England (2.1.19-23). For the simple-minded Sir Politic it would be a bad omen for England; but
Peregrine thinks that perhaps the older man is making a fool of him, or maybe is actually foolish: “This
fellow, / Does he gull me, trow? Or is gulled?” (2.1.23-24). However, he decides to play the game and goes
on to discuss with mock-seriousness certain other things which had actually happened some time before the
play Votpone was performed and which were much talked about—a lioness in the mini zoo in the Tower of
London having ‘whelped’, and some porpoises and a whale seen in the river Thames. Sir Politic also mentions
strange fire-like lights seen at night on the border with Scotland, and considers all these to be ominous for
their country. The mention of these recent happenings would have amused the spectators.
The way anything unusual in our country is often attributed to ‘the foreign hand’, Peregrine jokingly
says that the whale “had waited there / Few know how many months, for the subversion / Of the Stode fleet
[i.e. the fleet of the English Merchant Adventurers]” (2.1.47-49). Sir Politic takes this playful remark very
seriously and observes that the whale must have been sent there by an enemy country: “Twas either sent
from Spain, or the Archdukes [the rulers of Netherlands]!” (2.1.50). Drawing attention of the audience to the
obvious foolishness of Sir Politic in taking such minor things so seriously, Peregrine observes in an ‘Aside’:
O, this knight,
Were he well known, would be a precious thing
To fit our English stage. He that should write [i.e. present in a play]
But such a fellow, would be thought to feign
Extremely, if not maliciously— (1.1.56-60)
This remark (that if a character such as Sir Politic were presented in a play, people would hardly
believe that any one could actually be so foolish) makes Sir Politic’s folly more believable and amusing for
the audience and readers. (This kind of observation within a play is described as self- consciousness on the
part of the dramatist.)
As Sir Politic enquires about “Some other news”, Peregrine says with mock-seriousness: “Stone the
fool is dead, / And they do lack a tavern fool extremely” (2.1.53-54; there was actually a clown named Stone
in London at that time, and his mention in the play would have delighted the audience). Again making a
show of his ‘wisdom’ and supposedly deeper knowledge of matters, Sir Politic says this ‘fool’, who served
as a waiter in an inn, was actually an agent of enemy countries. He justifies his point by saying that the
wrinkled leaves of cabbages imported from Holland were coded messages for Stone “For all parts of the

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world”, which he sent out through different “ambassadors”, in the form of “oranges, musk-melons, apricots,
/ Lemons, ... and suchlike; sometimes / In ... oysters [etc. served in the inn]” (1.1.68-74). When Peregrine
expresses surprise at this ‘secret’ information about Stone the fool, Sir Politic insists:
... I have observed him at you public ordinary [i.e. eating-house]
Take his advertisement [i.e. information] from a traveller,
A concealed statesman [i.e. a disguised government agent], in a trencher of meat;
And instantly, before the meal was done,
Convey an answer in a toothpick.
Why, the meat was cut
So like his character [i.e. coded symbols], and so laid as he
Must easily read the cipher [i.e. code language], (1.1.76-83)
Commenting on Sir Politic’s presumption of knowledge, Peregrine observes in an ‘Aside’; “This
Sir Pol will be ignorant of nothing”, and then says to him in mock-praise: “It seems, sir, you know all”
(2.1.98-99).
Lady Would-be: As Sir Politic tells Peregrine that he has come to Venice because of “a peculiar
humour of my wife’s, / Laid for this height of Venice, to observe, / To quote, to learn the language, and so
forth” (2.1.11-13), Peregrine taunts him: “Your lady / Lies here, in Venice, for intelligence [i.e. information]
/ Of tires [i.e. attires or dresses], and fashions, and behaviour / Among the courtesans? The Fine Lady
Would-be?” (2.1.26-29). Sir Politic insists: “Yes, sir, the spider and the bee oft-times / Suck from one
flower” (2.1.30-31); he implies that from the same source different persons may pick up good or bad aspects
according to their respective natures. In fact he feels proud of his wife, and exuberantly introduces her to
Peregrine in Act 4 (4.2.11-14). However, when we actually see her in Act 3 outside Volpone’s house, she is
very harsh and rude in her way of talking to the women waiting on her: she appears completely unladylike,
being concerned only with her external appearance, her makeup and hairdo (3.4.2-3,5-6,10-13,16-21,32-
34); Nano remarks in an ‘Aside’ that she pays much more attention to her dressing up than to her “fame or
honour” (3.4.27—in this she in total contrast with Celia who values honour and virtue but does not attach
any importance to outward appearance). Lady Would-be has picked up the negativities of life in Venice, and
on learning about the ‘dying’ rich Volpone she eagerly joins the race to become his heir with the help of
gifts; near the beginning of the play Volpone refers to her as a “kite” and in Act 5 as a “she-wolf (5.2.66);
however, in comic contrast with the very costly gifts of other legacy- hunters, she brings Volpone just “a cap
.... of mine own work” (3.5.15).
13.3.2 The dramatic function of the subplot
The conversations and interaction of Sir Politic and Peregrine (in the beginning of Acts 2, 4 and 5)
constitute the subplot. (Lady Would-be has only an incidental function in the subplot, in that her overtures
make Peregrine decide to have a revenge on Sir Politic. Her statements and actions relate essentially to the
action of the main plot.)
The subplot has nothing to do with the action of the main plot (and is often omitted in modern
productions of the play in order to shorten the duration of the performance). Yet, there is a thematic link
between the two plots—folly. While Sir Politic is obviously foolish, the clever scheming rogues of the main
plot finally prove to be foolish too.

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 However, Sir Politic’s folly does not harm any other person and is in line with the light-hearted joy
usually associated with comedy. In contrast, the activities of Volpone, Mosca, and the greedy legacy-hunters
in the main plot come close to destroying the lives of innocent and virtuous persons, Celia and Bonario, and
thus turn the main plot into a rather dark comedy.
Because of this contrast, intermittent scenes of Sir Politic’s harmless folly make the more grim
action of the main plot bearable by providing light-hearted relief. The lighter spirit of the subplot also
throws into relief (i.e. makes more prominent) the darker social reality of the main plot.
In a way Sir Politic also functions as a comic parody of Volpone: like Volpone he claims that he
can make a person very rich, and his punishment early in Act 5 foreshadows the more severe punishment of
Volpone towards the end of the play. (This aspect has been described more fully in subsection 13.2.4 below
in this lesson.)
Self Assessment Questions
A. What constitutes the subplot in the play Volpondl
B. Does the subplot have any link with the action of the main plot in Volpone?
C. What is the thematic link of the subplot with the main plot in this play?
D. In what way does the subplot provide relief in the play?
13.3.3 Sir Politic and Peregrine as outsiders in Venice, and the significance of their names
Both Sir Politic and Peregrine are from England and, being outsiders in Venice, they provide a
perspective on the moral decay widespread in Venice.
Sir Politic Would-be talks as if he is quite politic or worldly-wise; but his speeches reveal how this
assumption of his is misplaced. In the course of the play Peregrine repeatedly refers to him as Sir Pol
(2.1.98, 4.3.22, 5.4.9), which makes one think of the way a parrot is referred to, as in the phrase ‘pretty
polly’. A parrot mimics human speech without understating its meaning or significance; so also Sir Pol,
without grasping the spirit of the culture of Venice, merely mimics the outward manners of people of Venice,
such as “the use / And handling of [Link] fork at meals, /... and to know the hour / When you must eat
your melons and your figs” (4.1.27-28,30-31). He boasts to Peregrine: “Within the first week of my landing
here [i.e. in Venice], / All took me for a citizen of Venice, /1 knew the forms so well—”, and Peregrine
perceptively remarks in an ‘aside’: “And nothing else” (4.1.37-39).
The word ‘peregrine’ means ‘foreign’ or ‘from abroad’, and so the name is appropriate for this
outsider in Venice. In the context of elements of the beast fable in the play, the name ‘Peregrine’ more
specifically refers to the peregrine falcon, a kind of swift hawk used for hunting birds. So this name suggests
hawk-like sharp vision and the ability to see through pretences; and Peregrine is not only able to see
immediately the folly of Sir Politic, but also understands quite well the weaknesses in different aspects of
social life in Venice. However, in this play even the good characters have their noticeable limitations, and
Peregrine gets so carried away by his overconfidence in his ability to see through others’ pretences that
when Lady Would-be makes overtures to him in Act 4, he wrongly concludes that Sir Politic had introduced
him to his wife for a base purpose (“Sir Politic Would-be? No, Sir Politic Bawd, / To bring me, thus,
acquainted with his wife!” [4.3.20-21: a bawd procures customers for a prostitute]); and he immediately
decides to punish innocent Sir Politic for this supposed sin.

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 13.3.4 Sir Politic as a parody of Volpone, in Acts 4 and 5
In the main plot Volpone makes greedy persons hope that they can become very rich by inheriting
his great wealth if they win his heart with costly gifts. Almost parallel to that is the claim of Sir Politic to
Peregrine in the subplot that if he can find a person whom he likes he would make very him rich with
the help of his “projects”:
Well, if I could but find one man, one man
To mine own heart, whom I durst trust, I would—
... Make him rich, make him a fortune ....
…………………………………………….
With certain projects that I have .... (4.1.42-44, 46)
Of course, in contrast with Volpone’s cunning, Sir Politic’s foolishness is revealed as he proudly
describes his secret “projects” to Peregrine. His first project is “to serve the state / Of Venice with red
herrings for three years, / And at a certain rate from Rotterdam [a seaport in Netherlands]” (4.1.50-52:
‘herring’ is a kind of sea-fish found in the North Atlantic and usually swimming in very large groups; ‘red’
here means ‘smoke-cured’ to preserve them).
Sir Politic’s other two projects are proposals for the good of the state of Venice, which he plans to
submit to the government “in hope of pension” (4.1.71-75). The “first is. / Concerning tinder-boxes [i.e.
match-boxes]”. He considers these to be a great danger to Venice because anyone could carry a matchbox in
his pocket and set the “Arsenal” on fire with a match-stick. So he would suggest to the government that only
“known patriots” should be allowed to have match boxes in their houses, “and even those / Sealed [i.e.
registered] at some office, and at such a bigness / As might not lurk in pockets” (4.1.85-99). His other
proposal for the state of Venice is a time-saving and economical way to detect any possible infection of
plague in a ship coming from another country. In those days a ship was quarantined for forty days and was
allowed to enter the port only if no sign of plague appeared in the ship even after that—any infection of
plague would develop into a full-blown case of the disease within forty days. Sir Politic says that with the
help of onions the infection can be detected in half an hour. He describes the process in detail: a ship would
be brought “‘twixt two brick walls”, fresh “onions, cut in halves” would be hung from a tarpaulin, and with
the help of water-driven bellows air would be blown from the ship towards the cut onions—onions were
supposed to “Attract th’ infection”; so “instantly” a change in their colour would indicate infection, “Or else
[the onions would] remain as fair as at the first” (4.1.113-25).
Carried away by excessive self-importance, Sir politic boasts of his cleverness and abilities, and
asserts that if the state of Venice does not appreciate his useful ideas and does not adequately reward him, he
could help the enemies conquer Venice:
Were I false,
Or would be made so, I could show you reasons [i.e. proofs]
How I could sell this state, now, to the Turk— (4.1.128-30)
This boastful remark of Sir Politic is used by Peregrine to punish him when Lady Would be’s
overtures make him suspect the husband’s intention. In a parallel way Volpone’s overconfidence makes
him commit the mistake of declaring his own death and signing a will in favour of Mosca, just to tease the
legacy-hunters—These acts of Volpone make it possible for Mosca to try to grab his entire wealth, and that
in turn forces Volpone to reveal his identity in the court, which leads to his punishment.
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 Foreshadowing Volpone’s much severe punishment—in keeping with the severity of the harm to
virtuous Celia and Bonaio—we have early in Act 5 the mild punishment of Sir Politic as appropriate for
his harmless folly. Peregrine enters disguised, and says to Sir politic about himself: “The gentleman you
met at th’ port today ... was .... a spy set on you, / And he has made relation [i.e. reported] to the Senate / That
you professed to him to have a plot / To sell the state of Venice to the Turk. ... For which warrants are signed
by this time / To apprehend [i.e. arrest] you ...” (5.4.33-40). Some merchants accompanying Peregrine knock
at the door and call for Sir Politic. At disguised Peregrine’s suggestion to hide himself, Sir Politic crawls into
a large tortoise shell. As the merchants rush in, at Peregrine’s prompting they kick “the ’tortoise”, jump on
him, and goad him to make him move. At Peregrine’s suggestion “Good sir, creep!” Sir Politic has to bring
out his hands and legs to creep, and then the merchants make fun of this ‘tortoise’: “he has garters!—Ay, and
gloves!” At this point Peregrine reveals his identity and says to Sir Politic: “Now, Sir Pol, we are even”
(5.4.72-74). Sir Politic decides “to shun this place and clime forever, / Creeping with house on back, and
think it well / To shrink my poor head in my politic shell” (5.4.87-89), His realizing his mistake foreshadows
Volpone’s realisation of his mistake towards the end of the play, while his hiding in a tortoise shell, his
creeping like a tortoise, and his description of himself as a tortoise reinforce the elements of the beast fable
in the play and show debasement of the human being to the level of animals.
13.4 VOLPONE AS A MOUNTEBANK
As Peregrine observes, mountebanks “are quacksalvers [i.e. quacks], / Fellows that live by venting
[i.e. selling] oils and drugs” (2.2.5-6). They are called mountebanks because they would make a temporary
small platform in the market place (a bank is a raised space), and mount (i.e. climb on to) that ‘bank’ to
describe eloquently the unusual effectiveness of some oil or medicine that they want to sell. (Probably you
have seen a similar performance from salesmen selling ‘wonderful’ tooth powder etc. in buses at bus stands.)
Volpone assumes the disguise of a mountebank in order to catch a glimpse of Corvino’s beautiful wife Celia;
so disguised Mosca and Nano erect a temporary platform for him in the street just outside Corvino’s house.
For his performance as a mountebank Volpone assumes the name Scoto of Mantua. (Around the time the
play was performed there was in England an actual Italian juggler with that name, and so the use of this
name would have amused the audience.)
Volpone performs the role of a mountebank very effectively. In fact here we see his joy in role-
playing. To a certain extent the vitality that we see in both Volpone and Mosca is their zest in playing
different roles. They are also able to fool others with their assumed roles, Mosca moving from one assumed
role to another far more quickly than Volpone (and to that extent Mosca’s self- praise in the opening soliloquy
of Act 3 is justified). It is ironical that when Volpone reveals his identity in public towards the end of the
play, he loses everything. So also when opportunity makes Mosca show his real nature (his extreme greed
and selfishness) to Volpone in Act 5, it leads to his severe punishment.
As a mountebank, Volpone praises very eloquently the virtues of the medicinal oil he is selling,
which, he claims, can cure all diseases. In the process he incidentally touches upon two main themes of the
play, folly and love of gold. He claims that his oil is so effective because it contains gold; he says that if you
have cold or pain in “an arm or shoulder, or any other part, take you a ducat, or your chequin of gold, and
apply to the place affected: see, what good effect it can work” (2.2.87-90). A mountebank usually knows that
all his claims are fake; so it is ironical that Volpone actually believes that gold can achieve anything—it is
because of this belief of his that in Act 3 he is unable to understand that gold and material wealth have no
meaning for virtuous Celia. As a mountebank Volpone admits: “to be a fool born is a disease incurable”
(2.2.151); and in spite of all his gold and cunning he ultimately proves to be foolish himself, his folly
bringing about his fall.
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 Celia’s inexperience; Starting with a price of six crowns for a small bottle of that ‘wonderful’ oil,
the mountebank Volpone comes to offer it for one-fortieth of that, i.e. sixpence. He asks the buyers to toss
[their] handkerchiefs” and offers the first buyer a delightful free gift. Celia is quite young and inexperienced;
she has never been allowed to move out of the house and so is totally unaware of the tricks of such clever
mountebanks. Almost like a child, she is tempted by the offer of the free gift. She comes to the window of
her house and “throws down her handkerchief (2.2.209). Volpone is thrilled to see her, and says that as the
promised free gift he will give her “the powder that made Venus a goddess (given her by Apollo), that kept
her perpetually young ... From her derived to Helen” (2.2.223-26).
Just then Corvino enters, and is horrified to see strangers looking at his wife whom he has never
allowed even to come out of the house; in anger “He beats away the mountebank, etc.” (2.3.2). Volpone
suffers whenever he moves out of his house in disguise, getting beaten here and losing everything in Act 5.
In the next scene of Act 2, back in the safety of his home, Volpone describes to Mosca his burning
desire for Celia’s company: “O, I am wounded! ... angry Cupid, bolting from her eyes, / Hath shot himself
into me like a flame .... I cannot live except thou help me, Mosca” (2.4.1,3-4,8). When Mosca assures him
“to effect my best / To your release of torment” (2.4.16-17), Volpone says:
Mosca, take my keys,
Gold, plate, and jewels, all’s at thy devotion;
Employ them how thou wilt; nay, coin me too,
So thou in this but crown my longings, Mosca! (2.4.21-24)
Volpone lives entirely on the material plane: his longing for Celia is merely physical desire, and he
thinks that gold can win her—both these factors represent his negative aspects and lead to his undoing.
13.5 CELIA AND CORVINO: CORVINO AS A JEALOUS HUSBAND, AND AS A MERCHANT
WHO CAN SELL ANYTHING FOR PROFIT
In the next scene Corvino is almost mad with anger at his wife Celia’s having come to the window
where the mountebank and other men could see her face; “waving his sword”, he says to her:”... I should
strike / This steel into thee, with as many stabs / As thou wert gazed upon with goatish [i.e. lustful] eyes”
(2.5.30-34). He warns her not to go towards the window again, otherwise his “More wild, remorseless rage
shall seize on thee” (2.5.54). Just then there is a knock at his door, and he sternly tells her: “Away, and be not
seen, pain of thy life; /Not look toward the window; if thou dost ...I will make thee an anatomy, / Dissect thee
mine own self (2.5.67-71). While he appears almost like a monster in his jealousy, his behaviour appears far
more monstrous when minutes later he becomes ready to make his wife sleep with Volpone; and his conduct
is even more horrifying when in Act 3 he forces her towards Volpone’s bed and starts making even more
terrible threats when she resists it. This merchant, who cannot tolerate that any other man should even look
at his wife’s face, becomes eager to sell her chastity for the hope of being nominated Volpone’s heir.
The visitor is Mosca, who says to Corvino that his rivals Voltore and Corbaccio have helped Volpone
recover with the help of the oil purchased from the mountebank Scoto of Montua—this is an interesting
example of the way Jonson knits together relatively loose ends of the play into the more important parts of
the plot. Mosca says that “there they have had, / At extreme fees, the College of Physicians / Consulting on
him how they might restore him”, and that the doctors have recommended “That to preserve him was no
other means / But some young woman must be straight sought out, / ... to sleep by him” (2.6.26-28,32-35).
He prompts Corvino: “Ha’ you no kinswoman? / ... Think, think, think, think, think, think, sir. / One o’ the
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doctors offered there his daughter. / ... Signior Lupo, the physician” (2.6.58-61—‘Lupo’ means ‘wolf, and it
is another instance of elements of the beast fable in the play). Corvino’s comment on this imaginary doctor,
“Covetous wretch!”, (2.6.79), applies to Corvino himself, because in greed he immediately says to Mosca:
“The party ... / Shall be mine own wife” (2.6.80-81). Corvino’s behaviour becomes disgusting, and his own
words become biting satire on his debasement as he says to Mosca: “Go home, prepare him [Volpone], tell
him with what zeal / And willingness I do it; swear it was /... / Mine own free motion [i.e. proposal]”
(2.6.92-95).
Mosca. Who gets a thrill by complicating the tricks he plays on others, tells Corvino: “But come
not, sir, / Until I send, for I have something else / To ripen for your good ...” (2.6.98-100). However, in his
eagerness to impress Volpone with this debased act, in Act 3 Corvino reaches Volpone’s house with his wife
Celia on his own, and that upsets Mosca’s plans. When Mosca says to him, “Did not I say I would send?”,
Corvino replies: “Yes, but I feared / You might forget it, and then they prevent us.” Corvino’s eagerness in
this matter makes even the rogue Mosca comment in an ‘Aside’: “Did e’er man haste so for his horns?”
(3.7.2-4: a person whose wife was unfaithful to him was called a ‘cuckold’ and was said to have got horns on
his head).
Another instance of Corvino’s own words satirising him occurs when Mosca says to Volpone, “Signior
Corvino, here, ... is come to offer, / Or rather, sir, to prostitute—”, and Corvino, instead of feeling any
embarrassment, says gratefully: “Thanks, sweet Mosca” (3.7.72-75). Similarly in Act 4, in the court scene,
after falsely describing his chaste wife as “a whore” and himself as a cuckold, Corvino turns to Mosca for
approval: “There is no shame in this now, is there?” (4.5.117,124-27).
13.6 MOSCA’S OVERCONFIDENCE
Mosca is thrilled at his unexpected success in persuading an extremely jealous husband such as
Corvino to make his chaste wife sleep with Volpone; and in the opening soliloquy of Act 3 he expresses his
pride in his unusual capabilities:
I fear I shall begin to grow in love
With my dear self and my most prosp’rous parts [i.e. qualities],
They do so spring and burgeon [i.e. grow and bear fruit, or succeed]; I can feel
A whimsy [i.e. a thrilling sensation] V my blood. I know not how,
Success hath made me wanton [i.e. playful and careless]. (3.1.1-5)
A parasite was looked at with some contempt, as we see soon after in Bonario’s harsh words to
Mosca, condemning his “baseness”: “thy flattery? Thy means of feeding?” (3.2.8-11).
However, in this soliloquy Mosca insists that an expert parasite like him has rare abilities which are
in the nature of God-given gifts:
O! your parasite
Is a most precious thing, dropped from above,
……………………………………………..
your fine, elegant rascal, that can rise
And stoop, almost together, like an arrow;
Shoot through the air as nimbly as a star;

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 Turn short [i.e. suddenly change direction in the middle of flight] as doth a swallow; and be here,
And there, and here, and yonder, all at once;
Present to any humour, all occasion [i.e. ready to satisfy any whim and to deal with any emergency];
And change a visor [i.e. expression on the face; a visor is part of the armour covering the face]
swifter than a thought,
This is the creature had the art [i.e. specialized skill] born with him ....
(3.1.7-8, 23-30)
Overconfidence leads him to unnecessarily complicate the matter by inviting Corbaccio’s son Bonario
to Volpone’s house immediately after this soliloquy of self-praise. However, his self-praise accurately describes
his various skills that are revealed in the action of the play—his skill in fooling others to fulfill Volpone’s
desires as well as for his own pleasure, and his extraordinary ability to deal with any emergency so long as
his own greed is not awakened.
13.7 BONARIO’S GULLIBILITY
Bonario’s name implies ‘a good person’, but in this play the good persons have their limitations;
they are unable to cope with the moral decay and deception around them and prove largely ineffective in
ensuring justice—in the end justice gets done only because the evil characters get carried away by their
overconfidence and their dominant weaknesses.
When Mosca meets Bonario in the street and greets him, Bonario shows contempt for him for being
a parasite. At this Mosca says that his criticism is “inhuman” and he “weeps” (3.2.17). Simpleminded
Bonario is moved by these false tears, and says in an ‘aside’: “I do repent me that I was so harsh” (3.2.19).
As Mosca insists that only economic necessity compels him to earn his bread through lowly service of a rich
man, and that if he has ever done anything base or dishonest “Let me here perish”, Bonario feels “This
cannot be a personated [i.e. pretended] passion!” (3.2.34-35). All this shows his gullibility, his being easily
fooled by a rogue like Mosca.
Still Bonario cannot quite believe Mosca when he says, “This very hour your father is in purpose /
To disinherit you”, and he accepts Mosca’s invitation to go with him where he may overhear his father
disowning him as his son.
13.8 LADY WOULD-BE AND VOLPONE
While Volpone is impatiently waiting to know whether Mosca has succeeded in persuading Corvino
regarding Celia, as a comic anticlimax Lady Would-be comes to visit him. Her manner and behaviour are in
complete contrast with Celia’s. Her very harsh scolding of her waiting-women makes Volpone refer to her as
a “storm”. Amusingly, she addresses him as if he were an old friend of hers, shortening his name: “How does
my Volp?” (3.4.39). Sarcastically referring to her loud and harsh voice, he replies: “Troubled with noise, I
cannot sleep; I dreamt / That a strange fury entered, now my house, / And, with the dreadful tempest of her
breath, / Did cleave my roof asunder” (3.4.40-43). Without understanding the comment on her, she starts
rattling off a number of remedies for disturbed sleep. This makes Volpone remark in an ‘aside’: “Before I
feigned [i.e. pretended] diseases, now I have one” (3.4.62); as Jonas A. Barish observes, this is a comic
foretaste of Volpone’s final punishment.

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 Indirectly advising her to become quiet, Volpone says: “The poet [Sophocles, 5th century BC], / As
old in time as Plato, and as knowing, / Says that your highest female grace is silence” (3.4.76-78). However,
in her eagerness to make a show of wide reading, she asks, “Which o’ your poets?’’, and starts rattling off the
names of well-known contemporary Renaissance writers of Italy.
When Mosca enters, Volpone says to him: “Rid me of this my torture quickly, there, / My madam
with the everlasting voice” (3.5,3-4). When Mosca asks him, “Has she presented?” Volpone says: “Oh, I do
not care; / I’ll take her absence upon any price, / With any loss” (3.5.12- 14). As a comic contrast with the
other legacy-hunters’ expensive gifts, she has brought for Volpone “A toy, a cap here, of mine own work”
(3.5.15). To make her leave, Mosca tells her a lie: he says he saw her husband “Where yet, if you make haste,
you may apprehend him, / Rowing upon the water in a gondole, / With the most cunning courtesan of
Venice” (3.5.18-20). She immediately leaves, and Mosca remarks: “I knew ’twould take [i.e. succeed], / For
lightly [i.e. usually], they that use themselves most licence [i.e. excessive liberty, especially in sexual matters],
/ Are still most jealous” (3.5.22-24). Lady Would-be trusts Mosca fully and is so driven by jealousy that
when in Act 4 she finds her husband talking to Peregrine, she is convinced that this must be the prostitute in
the disguise of a man. And when Mosca tells her that this is a man indeed and that the particular prostitute
has been arrested and produced before the court, she passionately gives false evidence in the court against
Celia whom she had never seen. Blinded by their greed, all the legacy-hunters believe Mosca completely,
though there is no reason why he should care for any of them.
13.9 CORVINO, CELIA AND VOLPONE
13.9.1 Corvino and Celia
Mosca hides Bonario behind a curtain from where he may overhear his father disowning him. As
one knocks, Mosca assumes that it must be Bonario’s father, Corbaccio, with the will made in Volpone’s
favour. However, it is Corvino who has brought his wife Celia along. It would upset everything if Bonario
were to overhear Volpone talking to Celia; so Mosca says to Bonario that his father “hath sent word, / It will
be half an hour ere he come”, and asks him to go to the gallery: “at the upper end / There are some books to
entertain the time” (3.7.10-14). Volpone is not aware of Bonario’s presence in the house, and a little later
when he forcibly “seizes” Celia and she prays aloud to God for help, “O! just God!”, Volpone confidently
asserts “In vain—”, but is immediately frustrated as Bonario, on hearing Celia’s cry for help, “leaps out of
where Mosca had placed him” and saves her (3.7.266-67). All this is a consequence of Mosca’s overconfidence
and his compulsive desire to get greater thrill with elaborately complex fooling of as many people as possible.
However, with his cunning Mosca manages to wriggle out of unpleasant and unwanted complications, till
his own greed gets the better of him in Act 5.
Celia thinks that Corvino’s asking her to sleep with Volpone is a distorted way to test her chastity,
but her merchant husband sternly tells her: “show yourself / Obedient, and a wife”, “if you be / Loyal and
mine, be won, respect my venture” (3.7.30-31, 36-37). For the merchant Corvino it is all a venture or a
business plan to earn profit by investing his wife. When horrified Celia asks him whether business is more
important for him than his honour, the husband, who was terrifyingly jealous in Act 2, now says that the
word “Honour” is just “a breath. / There’s no such thing in nature; a mere term / Invented to awe fools”
(3.7.38-40). When chaste Celia says to her husband, “Sir, kill me rather. I will take down poison, / Eat
burning coals [to commit suicide], do anything—”, Corvino once again becomes ferocious in anger as he
had been in jealousy in Act 2 and threatens her with terrible physical torture: “Be damned! / Heart! I will
drag thee hence home by the hair, / Cry [i.e. proclaim] thee a strumpet [i.e. prostitute] through the streets, rip
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up [i.e. cut up] / Thy mouth unto thine ears, and slit thy nose ....’’ When Celia remains unmoved by such
physical threats, Corvino offers her material rewards if she obeys his command: “thou shalt have jewels,
gowns, attires [i.e. dresses]” (3.7.94-110). Corvino lives entirely on the physical plane, and considers
everything in terms of money and possessions, so he is unable to understand Celia’s moral virtue. At this
point Mosca suggests that Corvino should leave Celia in Volpone’s room: “If you were absent, she would be
more coming” (3.7.127).
13.9.2 Celia and Volpone
Left alone with Volpone, Celia exclaims: “Oh God ...! whither, whither, / Is shame fled human
breasts? /... / And modesty an exile made, for money?” (3.7.133-34,138). Volpone “leaps off from the
couch” and says that her words apply only to “Corvino, and such earth-fed minds / That never tasted the true
heaven of love” (3.7.139-40). His words highlight her merchant husband’s debasement: “he that would sell
thee, / Only for hope of gain, and that uncertain” (3.7.141-42). However, Volpone’s own ‘love’ too is purely
physical as he too lives only on the materialistic plane. As Celia is surprised to see the supposedly dying
Volpone to be hale and hearty,’he tells her it is her “beauty’s miracle” that had also made him rise from the
bed “this morning, like a mountebank, / To see thee at thy window” (3.7.146-50). He tries to impress her by
claiming that he is as youthful and cheerful now as when he had acted a certain raid in a play on the stage and
“attracted / The eyes and ears of all the ladies present” (3.7.162-63)—the focus is only on the appeal to
senses, and on his joy in playing roles.
Then Volpone sings a song to win Celia’s love. The eloquent flow of the song is deceptive, because
this song talks of only the physical aspect:
Come, my Celia, let us prove,
While we can, the sports of love;
Time will not be ours forever,
……………………………….
Suns that set may rise again;
But if once we lose this light [i.e. youthfulness],
Tis with us perpetual night.
Why should we defer [i.e. postpone] our joys? (3.7.166-68,171-74)
In the Renaissance period this theme—to make the most of the present time—used to be referred to
as carpe diem’ (a Latin phrase meaning ‘seize the day’). In this song Volpone invites Celia to enjoy an illicit
relationship with him secretly: “Tis no sin love’s fruits to steal, / But the sweet thefts to reveal: / To be taken,
to be seen, / These have crimes accounted been” (3.7.180-83). His own words indicate the sinfulness of the
relationship he seeks with Celia; his confidence is based on the belief that what he is attempting will never
be known to public; and when a little later in this scene his evil attempt is exposed, he immediately gives
way to despair: “Fall on me, roof, and bury me in ruin” (3.7.276).
Celia does not attach any value to her physical beauty and would rather like to die or have “dire
lightning strike / This my offending face [i.e. the beauty of her face that has aroused offending, sinful desire
in Volpone’s mind]’’ (3.7.184-85).

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 Volpone tries to assure her that unlike her worthless husband Corvino who ‘sold’ her, Volpone
would care for her: “Why droops my Celia [i.e. feels sad]? / Thou hast in place of a base husband found / A
worthy lover; use thy fortune well, / With secrecy and pleasure” (3.7.185-88). He invites her to see “What
thou art queen of, i.e. she would actually be able to enjoy his great wealth—she can wear very expensive
ornaments and carelessly lose them without any worry about the loss; they will enjoy very expensive dishes
even at the cost of causing harm to the environment. Celia is unmoved by all this and tells him:
Good sir, these things might move a mind affected
With such delights; but I, whose innocence
Is all I can think wealthy, or worth th’ enjoying,
Cannot be taken with these sensual baits. (3.7.206-08,210)
She appeals to him, “If you have conscience—”, but for Volpone “Tis the beggar’s virtue” (3.7.211),
and he goes on talking about pleasures of senses.
Then comes Celia’s long speech in which she appeals to Volpone to let her go, or kill her, or destroy
the beauty of her face which has provoked sinful lust in him—”anything / That may disfavour me [i.e. make
her ugly], save [i.e. except] in my honour”, and in gratitude she will always pray for him and for his health,
and will not only tell people that he is virtuous but will also believe it herself:
If you have ears that will be pierced, or eyes That can be opened, a heart may be touched,
Or any part that yet sounds man about you;
Do me the grace to let me ‘scape. If not, Be bountiful and kill me.
If you will design [i.e. grant] me neither of these graces, Yet feed your wrath, sir, rather than your
lust,
And punish that unhappy crime of nature,
Which you miscall my beauty: flay [i.e. remove the skin of] my face,
Or poison it with ointments for seducing Your blood to this rebellion. (3.7.240-45,248-54)
In this speech she is like the pathetic tragic heroine of Jacobean drama—very virtuous, morally
upright, but ineffective in that she is unable to influence the action of the play.
13.9.3 Volpone as a villain-hero
Inhuman Volpone remains unmoved by this appeal of Celia to the “man” in him, and tries to
assault her: “Yield, or I’ll force thee. (He seizes her.)” (5.7.266). This brutality of Volpone makes him a
villain and totally alienates the spectators and readers from him.
For a tragic figure there is some empathy, but in case of Volpone even when we admire his cunning
in fooling those who are trying to fool him or when we appreciate his eloquence or his skill in role-playing,
we never feel any empathy for him—partly because of his moral inversion noticed even in the opening
speech of the play, and partly because he remains entirely materialistic in his attitude (concerned only with
wealth and pleasure). His stature is further diminished by his helpless despair when Bonario saves Celia
and his sinfulness is exposed.
Volpone is the central figure of the play and is its ‘hero’ in that sense, but his villain-like acts
make him a villain-hero, a kind of protagonist found in several Renaissance plays such as Shakespeare’s
early history play Richard III and his later tragedy Macbeth.

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 13.9.4 Volpone collapsing, and Mosca despairing
When Bonario hears Celia’s cry for help, “O! just God!”, “He leaps out from where Mosca had
placed him’’ and saves Celia. Yet the speech given to him here is lifeless, and in the Court Scenes in Acts 4
and 5 he and Celia both remain ineffective in the gold-worshipping society.
Volpone feels dejected because his secret sinfulness has been exposed:
I am unmasked, unspirited, undone,
Betrayed to beggary, to infamy— (3.7.278-79)
When Mosca enters, “wounded and bleeding”, he also feels despair for a brief while and thinks their
game is up; he suggests that they should commit suicide to avoid being punished by the court:
Let’s die like Romans,
Since we have lived like Grecians. (3.8.14-15)
Ancient Greek civilization focused on life on this earth and was associated with pleasures of senses.
Roman generals, in case of defeat, would commit suicide to prevent arrest by the victorious enemy, as in
Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar. Mosca implies that they have been enjoying pleasures of the senses like
ancient Grecians, but now in this moment of defeat it would be more appropriate to commit suicide like
ancient Romans in order to avoid public humiliation and punishment.
Just then there is a knock at the door; frightened Volpone thinks that officers have come to arrest
them, and he imagines himself being punished with red-hot rods of iron: “I do feel the brand / Hissing
already at my forehead [marking his crime there]; now, / Mine ears are boring” (3.8.17-19). This extreme
fear of Volpone further diminishes his stature and makes him an appropriate character for a comedy rather
than a tragic figure.
13.10 MOSCA’S QUICK ORCHESTRATION OF THE RIVAL LEGACY-HUNTERS TO SAVE
HIMSELF AND VOLPONE
Mosca recovers from despair quickly, and advises Volpone to lie on the couch, pretending to be
critically ill, because the person(s) knocking at the door might not be officers of the state: “Guilty men /
Suspect what they deserve still” (3.8.20-21). This remark draws attention to their having been guilty. But
Mosca’s alertness pays off because the visitor is Corbaccio with the will, and Mosca quickly spins a story to
ensure that all the legacy-hunters together save him and Volpone from punishment.
Mosca says to Corbaccio that his son, having learnt about his will in favour of Volpone, “Entered
our house with violence, his sword drawn, / Sought for you, called you wretch, unnatural, / Vowed he would
kill you” (3.9.3-7). Because of greed and the hope of inheriting Volpone’s wealth with Mosca’s help,
Corbaccio’s judgement is clouded to such an extent that he immediately believes this false statement of
Mosca and declares about his son, “This act shall disinherit him indeed” (3.9.8), and later in the court calls
him “Monster of men, ... parricide, ... viper [a very poisonous snake]” (4.5.111-12). It is surprising that he
does not trust his own son whom he has known all these years, and instead completely trusts cunning
Mosca’s lies—this folly of Corbaccio becomes a satire on his greed.
Mosca’s success in fooling Corbaccio is upset when Voltore enters unnoticed, and overhears Mosca
assuring Corbaccio, “I am only yours” (3.9.11). Voltore realizes that Mosca is “a knave [i.e. a dishonest
person]” (3.9.15), and he confronts Mosca, saying “You are his, only? And mine, also, are you not?” (3.9.19).
However, as soon as Mosca says that he had fooled Corbaccio in order to make Voltore doubly rich so that
he may inherit the wealth of both Cobaccio and Volpone, greed so overwhelms the judgement of this
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experienced advocate that he fully believes Mosca, and apologises to him for having judged him harshly: “I
cry thee mercy, Mosca” (3.9.40). Mosca says that he had persuaded Cobaccio to make a will in favour of
Volpone and then deliberately brought his son there so that in anger he might do some violence to his father,
so that with Corbaccio’s death his wealth would pass on to Volpone and on his death Voltore would inherit
the Wealth of both: “My only aim was to dig you a fortune / Out of these two old, rotten sepulchers” (5.9.38-
39). Having intensified the greed of the advocate—whose services would be needed to defend both Volpone
and Mosca himself—Mosca goes on to invent details which may help them in the court. He says that when
“Corvino’s wife, sent hither by her husband ... on visitation”, came in, Cobaccio’s son became impatient,
seized the lady and on threat of murder made her “swear /... / T’ affirm my patron to have done her rape, /...
and hence, / With that pretext, he’s gone t’ accuse his father, / Defame my patron, defeat you” (3.9.43-53).
Overpowered by greed, Voltore believes Mosca fully and immediately sets about the task of defending
Volpone; he directs Mosca to send for Corvino so that he may be told what false statement to make in the
court. It is interesting that when in Act 5 Volpone gives out that he has died and that Mosca is the heir,
dejected Voltore submits a written statement in the court, admitting that he had pleaded the case falsely;
however, as soon as Volpone disguised as an officer assures him that Volpone is alive and that Voltore can
still become his heir, this greedy advocate retracts his confessional statement—his fluctuating behaviour is
conditioned by greed, and because of his hope of inheriting great wealth he refuses to see how he is being
fooled. As Mosca remarks about these legacy-hunters in Act 5, “Too much light [of greedy hope] blinds
“em” (5.2.23).
13.11 SUMMING UP
The subplot consists of conversations and interaction of Sir Politic and Peregrine in the beginning
of Acts 2, 4 and 5. Sir Politic is obviously foolish but considers himself to be politic or worldly-wise, and so
becomes amusing in his statements and assertions of cleverness. The subplot has hardly anything to do with
the action of the main plot; however the theme of folly is common to both plots, as Volpone also, in spite of
all his cunning, ultimately proves to be foolish. Sir Politic appears like a comic parody of Volpone when he
claims in Act 4 that if he finds a person whom he likes he will make him very rich with the help of certain
‘projects’. His mild punishment early in Act -5 foreshadows the much severe punishment of Volpone towards
the end of the play. Lighthearted humour arising from harmless folly of Sir Politic in the subplot makes the
more grim satire of the main plot bearable, and also makes the darker social reality of the main plot more
striking. Peregrine, whose name refers to a kind of hawk, is quite perceptive, but gets so carried away by his
confidence in his ability to see through pretences that he misjudges Sir Politic’s intentions when his wife
makes overtures.
In order to have a glimpse of Corvino’s beautiful wife, Celia, Volpone in disguise performs the role
of a mountebank effectively just outside the house of Corvino. He offers a free gift to the first buyer of his
medicinal oil which, he claims, can cure all diseases, and asks the buyers to throw their handkerchiefs. As
Corvino’s wife Celia comes to the window of the house and drops her handkerchief, Volpone looks up and
sees her. Just then Corvino enters, and in anger beats him away. The sight of Celia’s face so inflames
Volpone’s desire that he asks Mosca to arrange her company at any cost.
Corvino, the merchant, is a jealous husband who threatens his wife Celia with dire physical torture
if she ever again even goes towards the window. However, this merchant becomes eager to make his wife
sleep with Volpone in the hope of being named his heir, when Mosca falsely says to him that the doctors
called by Corobaccio and Voltore have recommended that a young woman should be made to sleep with
Volpone to help him recover.
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 Mosca’s success in this matter thrills him with overconfidence, and he unnecessarily complicates
matters by inviting Corbaccio’s son Bonario to come with him to Volpone’s house where he may overhear
his father Cobaccio disowning him and making Volpone his heir.
While Volpone waits for news about Celia, as a kind of comic punishment he is visited by Lady
Would-be whose constant talking becomes a torment for him. When Mosca returns, he makes her leave by
saying to her falsely that her husband was in the company of a courtesan. Though she herself would do
anything for gaining Volpone’s wealth, she is so jealous about her husband, that she rushes out and on seeing
him in the company of Peregrine, assumes that young man to be a prostitute in disguise; and when Mosca
tells her that the prostitute has been produced in the court, she rushes there and angrily starts condemning
Celia whom she had never even seen earlier. Her angry manner because of her jealousy convinces the judges
wrongly that she is speaking the truth.
Mosca hides Bonario from where he may overhear his father disowning him; but before Corbaccio’s
arrival Corvino brings his wife Celia there; so Mosca asks Bonario to go to the gallery where in the far end
there are books to pass time. The merchant Corvino asks his chaste wife Celia to “respect [his] venture” and
sleep with Volpone for her husband’s profit. The extreme debasement of Corvino is highlighted when Mosca
says to Volpone that Gorvino “is come to offer, / Or rather, sir, to prostitute [his wife]—” and Corvino says:
“Thanks, sweet Mosca.” At Celia’s persistent refusal to go to Volpone’s bed, Corvino starts threatening her
with dire physical torture and public humiliation. At Mosca’s suggestion he leaves her alone with Volpone.
While Celia values virtue, innocence and honour above everything else, Volpone (like Corvino)
lives entirely on the physical plane. He says to Celia that she has “in place of a base husband found / A
worthy lover”; but his idea of love is purely physical as he invites her to enjoy “the sports of love” in
secrecy. He offers her use of his wealth for expensive ornaments, dresses, and delicacies of food. However,
these “sensual baits” have no meaning for Celia; she appeals to the human element in him and requests him
to let her go with her honour; she says that he may destroy the beauty of her face and hands etc. which has
provoked his sinful desire, but if he still lets her go with her honour she will always pray for his well-being,
“Report, and think you virtuous.” However, inhuman Volpone remains unmoved by this pathetic appeal of a
helpless virtuous woman, and “seizes her”—this act alienates the spectators and readers from him and
makes him appear like a villain. As Celia cries for help, “O! just God!”, Bonario “leaps out from where
Mosca had placed him,” draws his sword and saves her.
Volpone becomes desperate at having been exposed: “I am unmasked, unspirited, undone,/ Betrayed
to beggary, to infamy—”. For a short while even Mosca loses hope; as he enters, “wounded [by Bonario]
and bleeding”, he suggests to Volpone that it would be appropriate for them to commit suicide. However, he
soon recovers, and when there is a knock at the door, he advises Volpone to lie in bed as if critically ill. The
visitor is Corbaccio, and Mosca starts spinning false stories to save himself and Volpone. He convinces
Corbaccio that his son had come there to kill him. And when the advocate Voltore overhears him assuring
Corbaccio, “I am only yours”, Mosca succeeds in convincing him that he has fooled Corbaccio so that
Voltore may inherit the wealth of both Corbaccio and Volpone. He says to Voltore that Bonario has taken
Celia to the court, forcing her to accuse Volpone of rape. Voltore sets about preparing the case to defend
Volpone, because otherwise his own hope of inheriting Volpone’s wealth would be defeated. Greed makes
these legacy-hunters believe Mosca blindly, and drives them to indulge in all kinds of wrong acts and
statements which come close to destroying the lives of virtuous Celia and Bonario, as the court believes the
false pleading and false evidence in Act 4 and again in Act 5.
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13.12 GLOSSARY
Note: In the quotations from the play, where necessary, the meanings of some words have been
explained in square brackets within the quoted parts.
13.13 QUESTIONS
(A) Questions requiring short answers in about 100 words each:
1. Discuss the role of any one of the following in the play Volpone:
(a) Lady Would-be
(b) Sir Politic Would-be
(c) Peregrine
(d) Celia
(e) Bonario
2. Comment on the dramatic significance of the Mountebank Scene.
3. Discuss Mosca’s soliloquy at the beginning of Act 3.
4. Comment on Volpone’s wooing of Celia.
5. In what way is Celia like a tragic heroine of Jacobean drama? (Virtuous and innocent, but ineffective)
6. In what sense is Volpone a villain-hero?
7. Comment on any one of the following:
(a) I fear I shall begin to grow in love
With my dear self and my most prosp’rous parts ....
(b) I know not how,
Success hath made me wanton.
(c) Let’s die like Romans,
Since we have lived like Grecians.
(d) Guilty men
Suspect what they deserve still.
(B) Questions requiring full-length answers:
1. Discuss the significance of the sub-plot in the play Volpone.
Note: Also see the questions given at the end of Lessons 11-12.
13.14 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS ANSWERS
A. The conversations and interaction of Sir Politic and Peregrine.
B. No.
C. Folly.
D. The lighter spirit of the subplot makes the more grim action of the main plot bearable by providing
relief to emotions, and also throws into relief the darker social reality portrayed in the main plot.
13.15 SUGGESTED READINGS
See the list given at the end of Lesson 11.

*****
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 LESSON-14
VOLPONE: CRITICAL ANALYSIS-III

STRUCTURE
14.1 INTRODUCTION
14.2 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
14.3 THE COURT SCENE IN ACT 4: TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE
14.3.1 TRAVESTY (OR DISTORTION) OF JUSTICE
14.3.2 MOSCA’S ROLE
14.3.3 THE MAGISTRATES’ INITIAL OBSERVATIONS
14.3.4 VOLTORE’S PLEADING, THE ‘EVIDENCE’ GIVEN BY CORBACCIO,
CORVINO AND LADY WOULD-BE, AND THE JUDGES’ LACK OF
DISCERNMENT
A, B, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
14.3.5 ‘SO RARE A MUSIC OUT OF DISCORDS’
C, D, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
14.3.6 WHY THE PLAY IS ARTISTICALLY INCOMPLETE AT THE END OF ACT 4
14.4 VOLPONE’S DEPENDENCE ON THRILLS, AND HIS FATAL MISTAKE
14.4.1 ‘HUMOURS’AND VOLPONE AND MOSCA
14.4.2 VOLPONE NOT AT ALL A TRAGIC FIGURE
14.4.3 VOLPONE’S COMPULSIVE NEED FOR “A VIOLENT LAUGHTER”
WITH THE HELP OF “INGENIOUS KNAVERY’’
14.4.4 VOLPONE’S FATAL MISTAKE
E, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
14.5 THE FOX-TRAP
14.6 THE COURT SCENES IN ACT 5
14.6.1 THE FLAWED APPROACH OF THE JUDGES
14.6.2 MOSCA’S EXCESSIVE GREED
14.6.3 VOLPONE’S FEAR OF PHYSICAL PAIN
F, SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTION
14.6.4 THE PUNISHMENTS IN THE NATURE OF POETIC JUSTICE, IN
KEEPING WITH THE SPIRIT OF COMEDY
14.6.5 THE EPILOGUE
14.7 SUMMING UP
14.8 GLOSSARY
14.9 QUESTIONS
14.10 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS’ ANSWERS
14.11 SUGGESTED READINGS

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14.1 INTRODUCTION
This lesson takes you through the action of the main plot in the last two acts of the play, and brings
out how Jonson presents a rather dark picture of society where even the judges are easily fooled by false
pleading and false evidence, and show undue respect to rich persons. Usually even in satiric comedies at the
end power passes into the hands of good persons, but in this play power remains with the magistrates who
love wealth as much as the rogues who get punished. Virtuous persons not only remain ineffective but are
declared to be monstrous criminals, and happen to be saved at the end only because of excessive greed of
Mosca who tries to grab the entire wealth of Volpone while he is still alive and does not accept Volpone’s
offer of half his wealth. Even though justice is done at the end, the spirit of the play at the end is not festive;
there is only a sense of relief that the villains, who were passionately and ruthlessly pursuing their selfish
goals, are defeated and punished.
This lesson discusses the dramatic significance of the fifth act, and brings out how, in spite of some
features partly like the pattern of action in a tragedy, this play is not at all tragic but is a comedy, though a
rather grim comedy. It also examines the pattern of themes in the play and brings out the overpowering
tendencies in the minds of Volpone and Mosca which ultimately lead to their deserved punishment: both of
them enjoy role-playing, and at times get so carried away by their success in fooling others or by their
overconfidence in their approach to the situation in which they happen to be, that they make mistakes which
complicate matters for them and ultimately bring about their fall.
14.2 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
This lesson aims at helping you appreciate how Jonson combines amusement with bitter satire as
the villainous characters of the main plot passionately pursue their self-centred desires for money and pleasure,
etc. It also seeks to help you see the pattern of themes and overall structure of the action of the play.
14.3 THE COURT SCENE IN ACT 4: TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE
14.3.1 Travesty (or distortion) of justice
The court scenes in Acts 4 and 5 offer a biting satire on the way courts function. In this play the
magistrates, trying the case in the “Scrutineo, or Senate House”, are unable to sift truth from falsehood and
rely only on witnesses’ statements which are accepted as correct if consistent. Mosca manages a totally false
but consistent defence by exploiting the greed of the legacy-hunters as well as their respective weaknesses,
e.g., Lady Would-be’s jealousy, Corvino’s fear of being shamed in public if it is accepted by the court that he
was forcing his chaste wife to sleep with Volpone, and Corbaccio’s anger at his son’s supposed attempt to
murder him—-interestingly Cobaccio’s fierce anger and Lady Would-be’s furious jealousy both result from
their believing Mosca’s false statements about Bonario and Sir Would-be respectively. Justice is subverted
as the magistrates depend on the false witnesses and not only exonerate Volpone but also order arrest of
innocent Celia and Bonario as monstrous criminals, because they cannot produce any witnesses to support
their allegations: “Take ’em to custody, and sever them [i.e. keep them in separate cells, lest the ‘dreaded
criminals’ should together plan escape from jail]” (4.6.54). Even though in the beginning the magistrates are
convinced about the virtuousness of both Celia and Bonario (4.5.3- 4), the false pleading and false evidence
make them describe these virtuous persons as “prodigies” or monsters: “’Tis pity two such prodigies should
live” (4.6.55).

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 14.3.2 Mosca’s role
When Voltore, Corbaccio, Corvino, and Mosca enter the Senate House where the trial is to be held,
Voltore has already explained to Corbaccio and Corvino what they should say in the court, and now tells
them : “Your constancy is all that is required, / Unto the safety of it” (4.4.2-3). To emphasise the satire,
Jonson makes Mosca say: “Is the lie / Safely conveyed amongst us?” (4.4.3- 4). Together the words of
Voltore and Mosca here (“constancy”, “the lie”) provide an interesting comment on the way cases are
presented and judged in courts even today, false witnesses being believed by the court if their versions
remain consistent with the version given by other witnesses— in this play Lady Would-be’s angry denunciation
of Celia as a prostitute fits in with Corvino’s description of his wife as “a whore”, and so also Corbaccio’s
anger towards his son supports the advocate Voltore’s description of Bonario as an immoral person, and for
this reason the Avocatori or the magistrates accept the totally false defence.
Mosca’s cunning manipulation of three legacy-hunters, Corvino, Voltore and Corbaccio, is remarkable
in the way within a few lines he succeeds in assuring each one of them that all this false defence is only for
his benefit and that the other two are foolishly helping him: “Sir, only you / Are he that shall enjoy the crop
of all, / And these not know for whom they toil” (4.4.17-19).
14.3.3 The magistrates’ initial observations
When the Avocatori or the magistrates enter, commenting on the allegations levelled by Bonario
and Celia against Volpone, Corbaccio and Corvino, they are convinced about the moral uprightness of Celia
and Bonario and describe the conduct of their opponents as “unnatural” and morally wicked:
4th Avocatore: The gentlewoman [Celia] has been ever held
Of unreproved name.
3rd Avocatore: So the young man.
4th Avocatore: The more unnatural part that of his father.
2nd Avocatore: More of the husband.
…………………………………….
4th Avocatore: But the impostor [i.e. a person who pretends to be different from what he is, in order
to deceive others], he is a thing created
T’ exceed example.
1st Avocatore: And all after-times!
2nd Avocatore: I never heard a true voluptuary [i.e. a person who pursues and enjoys sensual pleasure]
Described but him. (4.5.3-11)
So it is all the more disturbing when a little later these magistrates are so influenced by false pleading
and false ‘evidence’ that they reverse their opinion.
14.3.4 Voltore’s pleading, the ‘evidence’ given by Corbaccio, Corvino and Lady Would-be
and the judges’ lack of discernment
The advocate Voltore spins a false account to defend the guilty persons and to put the blame on the
innocent accusers. He says that Bonario had been carrying on an illicit affair with Celia, which her “easy
husband” Corvino “pardoned” (4.5.34-41); when angered at the son’s loose conduct, Corbaccio disowned
him and made Volpone his heir, Bonario went to Volpone’s house “to murder” his father, and not finding him
there, dragged Volpone out of bed, “wounded / His servant in the face; and with this strumpet [i.e. prostitute]
... thought at once to stop / His father’s ends, discredit his free choice / In the old gentleman [Volpone],
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redeem themselves / By laying infamy upon this man [Corvino] ...” (4.5.53-91). Bonario rightly comments
on this disgusting false pleading by Voltore: “His soul moves in his fee” (i.e. this advocate has no moral
values, he would say and do anything for money) (4.5.96).
When a judge asks Voltore to “produce [his] proofs”, he calls Corbaccio as the first witness. When
the Notario says to Corbaccio, “Your testimony’s craved [i.e. desired]”, Corbaccio’s being hard of hearing is
amusingly brought into play, as he replies, “not hearing: “Speak to the knave? / I’ll ha’ my mouth first
stopped with earth. ... I disclaim in him.” As he goes on to tell the magistrates that Bonario is not his son but
an illegitimate child, shocked Bonario says to his father, “Have they made you to this?” Fully believing
Mosca’s falsehoods, Corbaccio says to his son in anger: “I will not hear thee, / Monster of men, swine, goat,
wolf, parricide [i.e. father-killer]! / Speak not, thou viper [a poisonous snake]” (4.5.105-12). His anger
convinces the magistrates, though it has been unjustly provoked by Mosca’s false statements.
The next witness is Corvino who uses highly offensive language to describe his wife Celia as “a
whore” and himself as a cuckold (4.5.117-26). As horrified Celia “swoons” (i.e. faints), Corvino describes it
as a mere pretence: “Prettily feigned!” What is more disturbing is that the magistrates, who are expected to
see through falsehood and judge matters fairly, start believing the false witnesses and begin to disbelieve
Celia: the 4th Avocatore says about her, “This woman has too many moods” (4.5.142). When the advocate
Voltore says that Mosca has seen Celia tempting “A stranger, a grave knight, with her loose eyes / And ...
kisses”, Mosca states that that knight’s wife had also seen all this and is waiting outside (4.5.146-51); the 1st
magistrate directs him to “Produce that lady” in the court, and the 3rd Avocatore says, “I am turned a
stone!” (4.5.154)—which is odd because a judge is supposed to remain mentally alert to detect falsehood.
Lady Would-be fully believes Mosca’s false stories that her husband was in the company of a prostitute
and that the prostitute has now been produced in the court; therefore, when she enters the court she is so
driven by furious jealousy that, “pointing to Celia” whom she has never seen before, she Immediately starts
accusing her: “Ay, this same is she. / Out, thou chameleon harlot! Now thine eyes / Vie [i.e. compete] tears
with hyena [like ‘crocodile tears’]” (4.6.1-3). In her fury she does not even address the magistrates as is
required before speaking in a court, and begs their pardon after this baseless outburst against Celia. The
imperceptive judges are completely deceived by her anger and believe her condemnation of Celia.
Giving Bonario and Celia a chance to support their version, the 1st Avocatore says to them: “What
witnesses have you / To make good your report?” They reply:
Bonario: Our consciences.
Celia: And heaven, that never fails the innocent.
When the 4th Avocatore says, “These are no testimonies”, Bonario retorts: “Not in your courts, /
Where multitude and clamour overcomes” (i.e. the witnesses are believed if their number is large and if
they make loud and forceful assertions: 4.6.15-19). Bonario’s words perfectly describe the distortion in the
judicial system, the way these magistrates are being guided by the passionate words of the legacy-hunters,
against their own assessment of the moral virtue of Celia and Bonario as expressed by them before Voltore’s
false pleading.
Just then “Volpone is bought in, as impotent, and Voltore refers to his seeming weakness to support
his stand that the charge of attempted rape against Volpone is false; to convince the court, Voltore says,
“Perhaps he doth dissemble [i.e. disguise the reality]!”, knowing full well that the magistrates will accept his
version. Bonario has actually seen Volpone seizing Celia, so he asserts: “So he does.” When Voltore asks,
“Would you ha’ him tortured?”, Bonario insists, “I would have him proved.” Voltore then says that instruments

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of torture like the rack (which pulls one’s legs and arms in opposite directions) are said to cure gout, and may
“help him [Volpone] of a malady (4.6.29-34). He concludes his defence with the following words about
Celia and Bonario which have dramatic irony in that they apply actually to Voltore himself and to the other
villainous characters—Volpone, Mosca, Corbaccio, Corvino, and Lady Would-be:
... vicious persons, when they are hot and fleshed
In impious acts, their constancy abounds:
Damned deeds are done with greatest confidence. (4.6.51-53)
The judges fully believe this false version presented by Voltore, and the spectators and readers are
disgusted by the triumph of evil as innocent Celia and Bonario are thrown into prison and the guilty rascals
are let off:,
1st Avocatore: Take ’em [Celia and Bonario] to custody, and sever them.
(Celia and Bonario are led away)
2nd Avocatore: ’Tis pity two such prodigies should live.
1st Avocatore: Let the old gentleman [Volpone] be returned with care.
I’m sorry our credulity [i.e. readiness to believe Celia and Bonario] wronged him. (4.6.54-57)
The punishment for those held guilty is to be announced by the court later in the day.
After this highly unjust ‘judgement’ Mosca manages to assure each one of the legacy- hunters that
he/she is going to be Volpone’s heir in recognition of his/her role in saving Volpone, and each one believes
him fully.
Self Assessment Questions
A. What witnesses do Bonario and Celia mention in support of their allegations?
B. According to Bonario, what matters in the courts?
14.3.5 ‘So rare a music out of discords’
In Act 5, back in the safety of home, Mosca and Volpone gloat over their success in fooling the
court, and in the process highlight the distortion of justice in the magistrates’ judgement—this is how Jonson
keeps emphasising what is wrong with a materialistic society:
Mosca: Was it not carried learnedly?
………………………………………
To gull [i.e. fool] the court—
Volpone: And quite divert the torrent
Upon the innocent.
Mosca: Yes, and to make
So rare a music out of discords— (5.2.5,16-18)
Mosca’s self-praise is justified in that he has skilfully brought together competing rivals and made
them support one another’s stand. The conflicting interests of the legacy-hunters (as each of them is trying
to become the sole heir of Volpone) are the discords, which Mosca orchestrates to create a rich harmony to
save Volpone and himself. When Volpone wonders why these legacy-hunters did “not scent somewhat, or in
me or thee, / Or doubt their own side [i.e. their rivals]”, Mosca rightly points out:

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 Too much light blinds ’em, I think. Each of ’em
Is so possessed and stuffed with his own hopes
That anything unto the contrary,
Never so true, or never so apparent,
Never so palpable, they will resist it— (5.2.19-27)
However, this particular feat in the court is so unusually remarkable that Mosca is right when he
observes:
Here we must rest. This is our masterpiece;
We cannot think to go beyond this. (5.2.13-14)
And it is precisely because Volpone cannot rest at this success and wants to have “a rare meal of
laughter” at the cost of the greedy legacy-hunters, and Mosca too gets carried away by the greed of possessing
the entire wealth of Volpone while he is still alive, that they lose everything and get the punishments they
deserve.
Self Assessment Question
C. According to Mosca, why did no legacy-hunter suspect anything?
D. How does Mosca describe his success in fooling the court?
14.3.6 Why the play is artistically incomplete at the end of Act 4
Sometimes it is said that the punishment of most of the characters of the main plot in Act 5 is
contrary to the spirit of comedy, and that the play reaches artistic completeness at the end of Act 4. However,
the judgement of the court towards the end of Act 4, holding the innocent persons guilty and throwing them
into jail, is so revolting that the play would be artistically incomplete if it were to end there. Not only our
moral sense, but the needs of artistic completeness require that the fast pace of Mosca and Volpone’s cunning
tricks should reach its logical culmination in some kind of justice resulting from their own mistakes because
of their overconfidence arising from unexpected success in fooling the court. Events of Act 5, therefore,
give artistic completeness to this satiric comedy by showing evil characters getting duly punished because
of the conscious acts of the most cunning of them, Volpone and Mosca.
14.4 VOLPONE’S DEPENDENCE ON THRILLS, AND HIS FATAL MISTAKE
14.4.1 ‘Humours’ and Volpone and Mosca
While the legacy-hunters are controlled and driven by the ‘humour’ (or overpowering tendency) of
greed, Volpone and Mosca are more complex characters. Greed overwhelms Mosca in the last Act and
clouds his judgement, causing his undoing; however, before that he is driven mainly by the desire to have
fun by fooling others in as comprehensive and complicated a way as possible, and he thoroughly enjoys
role-playing in this process. Volpone worships gold as we see in the opening speech; he pursues sensual
pleasure as a voluptuary; he also enjoys playing different roles in disguise; but his overpowering weakness
is his need for thrills, and this leads him to make a fatal mistake in signing a will in favour of Mosca and
getting it announced that he himself has died—in his eagerness to have fun by observing the dejection of
disappointed legacy-hunters, Volpone forgets his own view (expressed in the opening speech of the play)
that gold is “The price of souls”, “far transcending / All style of joy in children, parents, friends” (1.1.24,16-
17), and places in Mosca’s hands an opportunity to grab all his wealth when Mosca is not even his friend.

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 14.4.2 Volpone not at all a tragic figure
In a tragedy a protagonist suffers because of some great error of judjement, usually resulting from
some limitation of his/her temperament; often this weakness is hubris or excessive pride. Volpone and
Mosca both fall because of their own errors of judgement resulting partly from their overconfidence and
partly from their respective overpowering tendencies—compulsive desire for more and more thrills in case
of Volpone, and excessive greed in case of Mosca (when he turns down Volpone’s offer of half his wealth
[5.12.67-70]). They are also much above average in their unusual cunning. Yet neither of them is a tragic
figure. A tragic protagonist evokes empathy as we see him or her as a human being like us, but Volpone and
Mosca are hardly human, and we feel no empathy for them even as we admire their fooling those who try to
fool them. Also, tragic figures’ suffering is far greater than what their mistakes or wrong acts deserve; but
Volpone and Mosca (as also the legacy-hunters) fully deserve their respective punishments—as such there
is nothing tragic about the punishments, which represent poetic justice in keeping with the spirit of comedy.
Further, in a tragedy the protagonist’s suffering is intense and prolonged; and he/she rises to greater dignity
in the process of facing and accepting suffering—none of these factors is seen in this play. Volpone is calm
when, on being cornered, he reveals his identity in the court (5.12.89) and when he accepts his punishment
(“This is called mortifying [i.e. humbling] of a Fox”— 5.12.125); however, his suffering is not tragic, and
we feel no empathy for him even as we appreciate his calm manner at this point.
14.4.3 Volpone’s compulsive need for “a violent laughter” with the help of “ingenious knavery”
Volpone lacks moral courage, and mentions how fear of exposure and punishment almost paralysed
him in the court. He tries to dispel this depressing feeling with the help of “a bowl of lusty [i.e. strong] wine”
and by playing some clever trick which may give him back self-assurance:
Any device, now, of rare, ingenious knavery
That would possess me with a violent laughter,
Would make me up again. (5.1.14-16)
Because of his compulsive need of thrills to sustain him, he ignores Mosca’s observation that their
recent fooling of the court “is our masterpiece; / We cannot think to go beyond this” (5.2.13-14), and goes
ahead with another cunning deception which leads to his fall. Later he realizes his mistake when he gets
trapped in his own trick: “What a vile wretch was I, that could not bear / My fortune soberly” (5.11.15-16).
14.4.4 Volpone’s fatal mistake
As part of his latest trick Volpone calls his servants, Castrone and Nano, and tells them to go out and
announce that he has died: “I shall have instantly my vulture, crow, / Raven, come flying hither- on the news
/ To peck for carrion, my she-wolf and all, / Greedy and full of expectation—” (5.2.60- 67). In his eagerness
to get greater pleasure from their disappointment, Volpone not only asks Mosca to put on a gown of the kind
only a magnifico or noble was entitled to wear in Venice, so that he may appear to have inherited Volpone’s
title and wealth, he makes the fatal mistake of actually signing a will in favour of Mosca. Volpone thinks that
on being shown an actual will the greedy legacy-hunters will feel more bitter, and that will give him greater
pleasure. However, by signing the will he makes it possible for Mosca to grab his wealth while he is still
alive, his death having been announced at his own directive. Mosca immediately senses this opportunity for
him, and encourages Volpone in this: “It will be rare, sir” (5.2.73). Volpone is unaware of the thought rising
in Mosca’s mind, and talks of how he will have great fun in listening to the legacy-hunters’ despair from
behind a curtain and sometimes peeping over to “see how they do look, / With what degrees their blood doth
leave their faces. / O, ’twill afford me a rare meal of laughter!” (5.2.85- 88). His compulsive desire to have
great fun makes him blind to the risk to which he is exposing himself by signing the will in Mosca’s favour.
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 As the legacy-hunters rush in, Mosca sits making an inventory (or list) of the items of wealth inherited:
he shows them the will and treats them with contempt, exactly as Volpone has directed him. Enjoying all
this, Volpone observes in an ‘aside’: “Rare, Mosca! How his villainy becomes [i.e suits] him!” (5.3.61).
There is unconscious dramatic irony in this remark because in fact Mosca is planning to be far more villainous
to Volpone himself than he is being to the legacy-hunters.
When the disappointed legacy-hunters leave, Volpone remarks: “Who would have lost this feast?”
Mosca observes: “I doubt it will lose them”, i.e. they might turn against them in the court, since they had
supported the false defence only because of the hope of inheriting Volpone’s wealth. Volpone, however,
assures him: “O, my recovery shall recover all” (5.3.107-09). Later both the views prove correct: when the
court re-assembles for pronouncing the punishment for the guilty, Voltore submits a written statement that
his pleading earlier in the day had been false; then Volpone, present there in the disguise of a commendatore,
assures him that Volpone is alive and that he is still likely to be made the heir, and then Voltore disowns his
written statement, so that the case is back where it was earlier.
To have more fun, Volpone wants to go out in some disguise to torment the disappointed legacy-
hunters further in the streets with embarrassing questions and remarks. Mosca immediately offers to get for
him the dress of a commendatore, who is like Volpone in physique. Volpone remains in that disguise until he
reveals his identity in the court.
Self Assessment Questions
F. What is Volpone’s fatal mistake?
14.5 THE FOX-TRAP
As soon as Volpone goes out disguised as a commendatore, Mosca expresses his thoughts about
exploiting Volpone’s mistakes for his own advantage:
My fox
Is out on his hole, and ere he shall re-enter,
I’ll make him languish [i.e. remain powerless] in his borrowed case [i.e. disguise],
Except he come to composition [i.e. settlement] with me. (5.5.6-9)
Then he calls the three trusted servants of Volpone, Androgyno, Castrone, and Nano, takes the keys
of Volpone’s treasure from them, and asks them to go out and have fun. Then, alone on the stage, he describes
clearly his own intention and Volpone’s folly even in the use of cunning:
So, now I have the keys and am possessed [i.e. in possession of Volpone’s wealth].
Since he will needs be dead afore his time,
I’ll bury him [i.e. insist that he is dead], or gain by him. I’m his heir,
And so will keep me, till he share at least.
To cozen [i.e. cheat] him of all were but a cheat
Well placed; no man would construe [i.e. consider] it a sin.
Let his sport pay for’t. This is called the fox-trap. (5.5.12-18)
For a while disguised Volpone enjoys teasing the legacy-hunters in the streets. There is dramatic
irony when he says to Corbaccio with mock-sympathy that something in Mosca’s looks indicted that he
would ruin a ‘clarissimd or noble (5.87-9); while Volpone is referring to the ruin of Corbaccio, actually
Mosca is planning the ruin of Volpone himself. Volpone makes use of the beast fable when he says to

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Corvino whose name means ‘crow’: “you ... the fine bird Corvino, / That have such moral emblems on your
name, / Should not have sung your shame, and dropped your cheese, / To let the Fox laugh at your emptiness”
(5.8.10-14). There is unconscious irony when Volpone says to Voltore, “’tis fit / That wealth and wisdom
still [i.e. always] should go together” (5.9.19-20); Volpone himself is going to lose his wealth precisely
because of his lack of wisdom in having signed the will in favour of Mosca and having declared himself
dead.
Volpone first realizes his folly when he goes to the court in disguise and finds that the advocate
Voltore is seeking pardon of the court for having pleaded the case falsely against the “innocents” (Celia and
Bonario) earlier in the day. In an ‘aside’ Volpone says: “I’m caught /1’ my own noose” (5.10.13-14). When
Voltore says that the “parasite, / That knave has been the instrument of all”, and the court orders that he be
brought there, Volpone, disguised as a commendatore or officer, goes out to fetch Mosca. Alone on the
street, he criticizes himself:
To make a snare for mine own neck! And run
My head into it willfully, with laughter!
When I had newly ’scaped, was free and clear!
Out of mere wantonness! (5.11.1-4)
Just then he meets his servants who tell him that Mosca had taken the keys from them and sent them
all out to “go play”; now he realizes the extent of damage caused by his compulsive desire to have fun:
Did Master Mosca take the keys? Why, so!
I am farther in. These are my fine conceits [i.e. ideas]!
I must be merry, with a mischief to me!
What a vile wretch was I, that could not bear
My fortune soberly ……… (5.11.12-16)
Volpone still has a faint hope—”His [Mosca’s] meaning may be truer than my fear”—and asks the
servants to tell Mosca to come to the court (5.11.18-19). He thinks of persuading the advocate to again
change his stand “upon new hopes” and observes: “When I provoked him, then I lost myself (5.11.21-22).
14.6 THE COURT SCENES IN ACT 5
14.6.1 The flawed approach of the judges
Towards the end of the play two scenes are set in the court. Here also the judges remain incapable of
judging rightly. Ultimately truth comes out and justice is done, but not because of the judges. Jonson satirises
the judges not only because they lack perception, but also because they attach value to money—they show
undue respect to Mosca when they think that he has inherited Volpone’s title and wealth, and one of them
considers him “A fit match” for his daughter (5.12.51). At the end of the play these money-worshipping
judges continue to be in control; so the play does not offer hope of a better society in future. For this reason
the ending of the play is not very cheerful, even as the villainous characters get punished.
When the court reassembles in Act 5 to sentence Bonario and Celia, the advocate Voltore seeks
forgiveness of the court and of “these innocents ... Whom equally / I have abused, out of most covetous
ends” (5.10.3-4,7-9). Corvino fears that his highly disgusting behaviour towards his wife will get exposed,
so he insists that Voltore “is mad! ... He is possessed” by some evil spirit (5.10.10). Voltore asserts: “It is ...
only conscience, conscience, my good sires, / That makes me now tell truth. That parasite [Mosca], / That

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knave, hath been the instrument of all” (5.10.16-19). As the Avocatori say, “Where is that knave? Fetch
him,” Volpone, disguised as a commendatore or officer, says, “I go,” and leaves (5.10.20). Corvino tries to
discredit Voltore by saying that he is jealous of Mosca who has inherited Volpone’s wealth, frustrating his
(Voltore’s) own hope “to be old Volpone’s heir, / Who now is dead—” (5.10.26-28, 21-23). The moment the
judges learn that Volpone is dead and the “knave”, “the parasite” Mosca is the heir, they feel they should
treat him with respect because of his inherited wealth, even though he may have been guilty of misleading
the court with false evidence. 4th Avocatore says, “We have done ill, by a public officer / To send for him, if
he be heir,” and 3rd Avocatore agrees, “’Tis true, / He is a man of great estate now left” (5.10.36-39), as if
wealth could condone a serious crime.
When disguised Volpone returns to the court, he “whispers” to Voltore: “Sir, the parasite / Willed
me to tell you that his master lives; / That you are still the man; your hopes the same; / And this was only a
jest ... to try / If you were firm ...” (5.12.15-19). The renewed hope of becoming Volpone’s heir makes
Voltore forget his conscience, and as prompted by disguised Volpone he falls down and pretends to be
possessed. Volpone carries on a running commentary on the supposed effects of being possessed by a devil,
and then exclaims that the -devil is flying out of Voltore “In shape of a blue toad, with a bat’s wings!”
(5.12.24-31). Corbaccio, who has very poor eyesight, and Corvino both claim that they see it. As Voltore
pretends to become normal again, the judges ask him about his written statement; he replies that the
handwriting is his, “But all that it contains is false”, and also says that neither the parasite nor “his good
patron, old Volpone” is guilty; he also insists that Volpone is alive. It is odd that the judges keep changing
their assessment of the matter in accordance with the changing statements of this advocate, Voltore, without
suspecting anything.
As Mosca enters dressed like a clarissimo (i.e. like a noble of Venice), 4th Avocatore says, “make
him way”, and 3rd Avocatore says, “A stool!” No person appearing in a court during a trial is allowed to sit
down, but these judges are making an exception in case of Mosca because of the wealth he might have
inherited. 4th Avocatore thinks about him: “A proper man and, were Volpone dead, / A fit match for my
daughter” (5.12.49-51). When Mosca ignores disguised Volpone’s direction that he should tell the court that
he (Volpone) is alive and instead goes on to talk about preparations for the funeral of his patron, 4th Avocatore
says in an ‘aside’: “It is a match, my daughter is bestowed” (5.12.62).
The turns and twists in the trial leave the judges in a daze, who are unable to sift truth from falsehood.
2 Avocatore remarks, “Still stranger! / More intricate!” and 1st Avocatore says, “And come about again”
nd

(5.12.60-61), not realizing that deception is becoming triumphant again and again in this trial.
14.6.2 Mosca’s excessive greed
Mosca asks Volpone “aside”, “Will you gi’ me half?” Volpone is shocked by this demand of Mosca,
and his first reaction is “First I’ll be hanged” (5.12.63). However, he soon realizes that he will lose everything
if Mosca keeps insisting in the court that he (Volpone) has died; so just four lines later he accepts Mosca’s
demand and says to him: “Thou shalt have half (5.12.67).
By now Mosca has become so blind with greed that he complains to the court about an ordinary
officer’s misbehavior towards a rich man like him (“Whose drunkard is this same?”), and says to Volpone,
“I cannot now / Afford it you so cheap,” (5.12.68-70). As the disguised Volpone himself tells the court that
“he [Volpone] lives with mine own life, / And that this creature [i.e. Mosca] told me” (5.12.72-73), Mosca
expresses his annoyance at this “insolence” of an ordinary court officer referring to him as a “creature”. The
judges who are treating Mosca with undue respect for being rich, order that this rude commendatore (disguised

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Volpone) be whipped by way of punishment. As other “officers seize [disguised] Volpone, Mosca in his
overconfidence thanks the judges: “I humbly thank your fatherhoods” (5.12.75-81). This impels Volpone to
reveal himself in the court, and then justice is done, innocent Celia and Bonario being freed and the villains
duly sentenced.
However, gross injustice would have triumphed if Volpone had immediately accepted Mosca’s
demand for half his wealth, or if half a minute later Mosca had accepted Volpone’s offer to give him what he
had demanded. Of course, the reactions of both are in keeping with their natures and the state of their minds
at particular moments—though Volpone had started suspecting Mosca’s intentions when he learnt that Mosca
had taken the keys from the trusted servants, yet Mosca’s outright demand for half his wealth makes him so
angry that he does not immediately accept it; and by the time he does accept the demand, Mosca gets so
carried away by his hope of grabbing all the wealth of Volpone, that he does not realize that if Volpone were
to lose everything he would certainly not let Mosca enjoy his wealth. So it is the natures of these cunning
rogues that ultimately lead to their exposure and punishment. At the end of the play, by way of summing up,
1st Avocatore observes: “Mischiefs feed / Like beasts, till they be fat, and then they bleed” ([Link]- SI:
animals reared for meat are fed well, but as soon as they are quite fat, they are killed; similarly, wicked
people keep succeeding for some time in their villainy, but as they get carried away by their successes, in
overconfidence they make mistakes which bring about their downfall). However, the incompetence of the
judges is disturbing who are not able to see through deception at any stage. Also there is a feeling that in this
play the innocent persons are saved from punishment by the skin of their teeth and that in real life there may
not be such poetic justice. This grim awareness modifies the joy at the just punishments to the guilty, and
that is why the ending of this comedy is not quite festive.
14.6.3 Volpone’s fear of physical pain
When the court orders that the commendatore, who is actually Volpone in disguise, be whipped as
punishment for not having shown respect to “a person of... rank”, he thinks:
Soft, soft [i.e. wait]. Whipped?
And lose all that I have? If I confess,
It cannot be much more. (5.12.81-83)
Even towards the end of Act 3 when Bonario saved Celia, Volpone’s biggest fear was that as
punishment he would be deprived of all his wealth and would be subjected to physical pain. Now he realizes
that if he does not reveal his identity and confess his crime, he would still lose all his wealth to Mosca and
also suffer physical pain of being whipped.
Just when Volpone thinks of confessing, the money-worshipping 4th Avocatore asks Mosca, “Sir, are
you married?’’, though Mosca has been repeatedly described as a knave or dishonest person in this session
of the court, and though it has still not been conclusively shown that Volpone has died and that Mosca has
actually inherited his wealth. Volpone realizes that “They’ll be allied anon [i.e. soon]” and then the judge
will use his influence to ensure that his would-be son-in-law remains in possession of his (Volpone’s) wealth.
So he decides: “I must be resolute: / The Fox shall here uncase [i.e. throw off his disguise]” (5.12.83-85).
Fear of physical pain, as in Faustus’s case, plays a crucial role in influencing Volpone’s decision.
As Volpone “puts off his disguise, Mosca can no longer claim to have Inherited his title and wealth,
and so immediately reverts to his usual humble manner, addressing Volpone as his “Patron!” In his excessive
greed to grab the entire wealth of Volpone and in his eagerness to have him punished by the court, Mosca has
pushed Volpone to this situation where he has to confess, and with that Mosca also loses everything and gets
severe punishment. Volpone confesses to the court:
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 I am Volpone, and this [Mosca] is my knave;
This [Voltore], his own knave; this [Corbaccio], avarice’s fool;
This [Corvino], a chimera [i.e. a monster whose body is made of parts of different animals] of wittol
[i.e. cuckold], fool, and knave. (5.12.89-91)
Self Assessment Question
F. Why does Volpone decide to reveal his identity in the court and confess?
14.6.4 The punishments in the nature of poetic justice, in keeping with the spirit of comedy
After confessing, Volpone calmly says to the judges: “since we all can hope / Nought but a sentence,
let’s not now despair it” (5.12.92-93). 1st Avocatore observes, “The knot is undone by miracle!” and orders
that Celia and Bonario be given “their liberty” (5.12.95,97). Corvino and Voltore “beg favour”, while Celia
requests, “And mercy” (5.12.105), still caring for her wicked husband. 1st Avocatore tells her, “You hurt
your innocence, suing for the guilty” (5.12.106), and goes on to pronounce appropriate sentences for the
guilty, which, being just, are in keeping with the spirit of comedy.
For Mosca, who has “been the chiefest minister, if not plotter” of the base deceptions, and who has
“abused” the court by coming there in the dress of a noble to which he had no right, the “sentence is, first
thou be whipped; / Then live perpetual prisoner in our galleys” (5.12.108-14).
For Volpone the “judgement... / Is that thy substance [i.e. wealth] all be straight confiscate / To the
hospital for the Incurabill and he is “to lie in prison” in chains till he actually gets the diseases he has been
pretending to have to deceive others, “Till thou be’st sick and lame indeed” (5.12.118-24). He accepts this
punishment coolly and says: “This is called the mortifying [i.e. humbling] of a Fox” (5.12.125); however,
this does not give him the dignity of a tragic figure; and his describing himself as a fox keeps this remark
amusing, in line with the spirit of satiric comedy.
Voltore is “banished from ... fellowship [of advocates], and our state” (5.12.126-28). Cobaccio’s
wealth is handed over to his son and he is sent to a monastery where he will be taught “to die well” (5.12.129-
33). Corvino is to be “rowed / Round about Venice, through the Grand Canal [Venice has canals in place of
streets], wearing a cap with long ass’s ears,” and so to be pilloried with a paper pinned to his breast, describing
his evil doings: “And to expiate / Thy wrongs done to thy wife, thou are to send her / Home to her father,
with her dowry trebled” (5.12.134-39,142-44).
All these punishments, being duly deserved, are in the nature of poetic justice appropriate for a
comedy and give the play artistic completeness.
14.6.5 The epilogue
As all others go out, the actor playing Volpone “comes forward” and in a brief epilogue justifiably
appeals to the spectators to express their appreciation if they have enjoyed the play: “fare jovially, and clap.”
And when you finish reading the play you will find the ending lively in spite of the rather grim developments
in Acts 3 and 4, and in spite of the biting satire directed at gold-worshipping persons from different spheres
of society, because all the evildoers are appropriately punished at the end.
14.7 SUMMING UP
The court scenes in Acts 4 and 5 show distortion of justice, as the Avocatori or magistrates are
unable to sift truth from falsehood, and believe the false pleading of the advocate Voltore because it is
supported by the false statements of the other legacy-hunters as witnesses. Mosca manages a totally false

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but consistent defence (“So rare a music out of discords”) by exploiting the greed of the legacy-hunters as
well as their respective weaknesses, e.g., Lady Would-be’s jealousy, Corvino’s fear of being shamed in
public if it is accepted by the court that he was forcing his chaste wife to sleep with Volpone, and Corbaccio’s
anger at his son’s supposed attempt to murder him. Celia and Bonario are not only disbelieved by the court
as they cannot produce any witnesses to support their allegations, they are held to be guilty and thrown into
jail, because with the help of false witnesses Voltore convinces the magistrates that these two have been
having an illicit affair and have accused Volpone falsely to get nullified Corbaccio’s will in favour of Volpone.
The sentencing is to done later in the day.
Volpone, who is brought on a stretcher to the court in Act 4, is unnerved by the experience, and in
Act 5 tries to regain confidence by playing some cunning trick of villainy to have “a rare meal of laughter”.
Mosca says that their success in fooling the court is their “masterpiece; / We cannot think to go beyond this.”
However, Volpone goes ahead to have his own death announced in the streets, and signs a will in favour of
Mosca, so that when the legacy-hunters come there with hope of having inherited Volpone’s wealth, Mosca
may show them the will and treat them with contempt. Mosca’s greed is wakened and so he supports the
idea. Volpone enjoys the frustration of legacy- hunters on finding that Mosca is the heir. To tease the legacy-
hunters in the streets for fun, Volpone goes out disguised as a commandatore or officer. Mosca takes the keys
of Volpone’s treasure from his trusted servants and decides to cheat him of his wealth.
Disappointment wakens Voltore’s conscience and, when the court reassembles for sentencing the
guilty, he submits a written statement that he had pleaded falsely in the morning and that Bonario and Celia
are innocent. Volpone realizes how his desire for fun has landed him in trouble. He assures Voltore that
Volpone is alive and he (Voltore) is likely to be his heir. Voltore pretends as if he has been possessed by a
devil and disowns the confessional statement. As Mosca comes to the court, the judges show undue respect
to him for the wealth he is supposed to have inherited on Volpone’s assumed death, and one of them thinks
of making him his son-in-law. Mosca asks Volpone for half his wealth in return for helping him. Shocked
Volpone refuses, but a moment later agrees to give him what he has demanded. By now Mosca gets so
carried away by greed that he refuses that offer of Votpone and protests to the court against the misbehaviour
of the officer (who is Volpone is disguise). As the court orders that he should be whipped, Volpone realizes
that if he remains quiet now he will lose all his wealth and also be punished with whipping; so he decides to
confess, because even then the consequences would be the same for himself but Mosca would not able to
benefit from his wealth. So Volpone throws off his disguise and mentions the guilt of all the wrongdoers.
The innocent Celia and Bonario are set free, and each guilty person is appropriately punished. Poetic justice
at the end is pleasing, but the guilty get punished only because of Volpone’s and Mosca’s own weaknesses
and headlong speed. The total inability of the judges to see through deception, and their respect for wealth
are disturbing elements; as these judges continue to be in position, there is no hope of society becoming
better, and that grim reality qualifies the joy at due punishments to the evildoers.
14.8 GLOSSARY
Note: In the quotations from the play, where necessary, the meanings of some words have been
explained in square brackets within the quoted parts.
travesty : a distorted from of something
voluptuary : a person devoted to pursuing and enjoying sensual pleasure

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14.9 QUESTIONS
(A) Questions requiring short answers in about 100 words each:
1. Discuss the role of the Avocatori or the Magistrates in the play Volpone.
2. Is the ending of the play in keeping with the spirit of comedy as Jonson claims in the Dedicatory
Epistle? Would it be appropriate to say that this play ends tragically? (Hint:
Because the punishments at the end are all fully deserved, their poetic justice makes them in line
with the spirit of comedy. In contrast, in a tragedy suffering is much more than deserved.)
3. Comment on any one of the following:
(a) Is the lie
Safely conveyed amongst us?
(b) Any device, now, of rare, ingenious knavery That would possess me with a violent laughter,
Would make me up again.
(c) Here we must rest. This is our masterpiece;
We cannot think to go beyond this.
(d) Too much light blinds ’em.
(e) Rare, Mosca! How his villainy becomes him!
(f) My fox
Is out on his hole, and ere he shall re-enter,
I’ll make him languish in his borrowed case,
Except he come to composition with me.
………………………………………….
To cozen him of all were but a cheat
Well placed; no man would construe it a sin.
Let his sport pay for’t. This is called the fox-trap.
(g) ’tis fit
That wealth and wisdom still should go together.
(h) To make a snare for mine own neck! And run My head into it willfully, with laughter!...
Out of mere wantonness!
(i) Soft, soft. Whipped?
And lose all that I have? If I confess,
It cannot be much more.
(B) Questions requiring full-length answers:
(1) Is the view of society presented in Volpone too grim for a comedy?
(2) Discuss the distortions in the judicial system as presented in the play Vo/pone. How does justice get
done in the end (because of the efficiency of the judges or the weaknesses of the evil characters
themselves)? Do the turns and twists in the action in Acts 4 and 5 suggest that justice is always
done?
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 (3) In what ways does Volpone differ from tragic figures?
(4) What is the dramatic significance of the fifth act in Volpone Does it undermine the spirit of comedy
or reinforce it? Would the play be artistically satisfying if it ended with Act 4?
Note: Also see the questions given at the end of Lessons 11-13.
14.10 SELF ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS’ ANSWERS
1. Their consciences and heaven.
2. Multitude and clamour, that is, a large number of witnesses loudly affirming their statements, though
these may be entirely false.
3. Too much light of hope blinds them. Because of greed they refuse to believe anything that goes
against the fulfillment of their hopes, howsoever obvious it might be.
4. As their masterpiece—‘so rare a music out of discords’.
5. His signing a will in favour of Mosca while getting it declared that he himself has died.
6. He realizes that even if does not confess he will lose all his wealth and suffer physical pain as
punishment, while Mosca will get his wealth and status in society. By confessing he can at least
prevent Mosca from possessing his wealth and benefiting from it.
14.11 SUGGESTED READINGS
See the list given at the end of Lesson 11.
*****

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 CONTENTS
[Link]. Topic Page No.

Unit-I
Lesson-1 INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE 2
Lesson-2 DOCTOR FAUSTUS: THE MAIN ASPECTS 13
Lesson-3 DOCTOR FAUSTUS: CRITICAL ANALYSIS-I 27
Lesson-4 DOCTOR FAUSTUS: CRITICAL ANALYSIS-II 41
Unit-II
Lesson-5 TWELFTH NIGHT: THE MAIN ASPECTS 57
Lesson-6 TWELFTH NIGHT: CRITICAL ANALYSIS-1 72
Lesson-7 TWELFTH NIGHT: CRITICAL ANALYSIS-II 85
Unit-III
Lesson-8 THE TEMPEST AS A DRAMATIC ROMANCE 99
Lesson-9 THE TEMPEST: CRITICAL ANALYSIS-I 112
Lesson-10 THE TEMPEST: CRITICAL ANALYSIS-II 126
Unit-IV
Lesson-11 VOLPONE: THE MAIN ASPECTS 142
Lesson-12 VOLPONE: CRITICAL ANALYSIS-I 153
Lesson-13 VOLPONE: CRITICAL ANALYSIS-II 165
Lesson-14 VOLPONE: CRITICAL ANALYSIS-III 181

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M.A. English Semester-I Course : 103

Shakespeare and his

Contemporaries
Lessons 1- 14
Revised by: Dr. Arun Guleria

International Centre for Distance Education & Open Learning

Himachal Pradesh University, Gyan Path
Summer Hill, Shimla - 171005

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