21st century reader more related to gossip or greed

‘A twenty-first century audience would find Jonson’s satire on greed more relevant than Sheridan’s satire on gossip’. Discuss whether you would agree this view expressed above.

Both Jonson and Sheridan present their moral message through various satirical techniques infused throughout ‘Volpone’ and ‘The School for Scandal’. Each emphasise the corrupt flaws in society in the current time frame in which they were written. Arguably Volpone’s representation of the greed in his dark sinister satire holds more relevance to a twenty-first century audience. He presents this society, dominated by avarice, through the satirical device of humour and irony to exploit the flaws in a ‘comedy of manners’. In contrast Sheridan’s ‘School for Scandal’ uses a lighter tone to portray society’s obsession with gossip and therefore presents them with a delicate subtly that enables the twenty-first century reader to fully engage and relate to the situations. Therefore perhaps ‘A School for Scandal’ holds more relevance to a contemporary audience.

Through ‘Volpone’ we witness the focus on material possession, greed and avarice, exemplified through Volpone’s comic blasphemy in Act one, Scene one where Volpone exclaims ‘God of Gold’. His repetition of possessive pronouns such as ‘my’ and ‘mine’ also enhance this theme. Jonson satirises this effectively to convey his moral message; displaying the corrupt nature and dependence on possessions in order to be content. The emphasis on wealth and reputation for social status and well being presents Jonson’s message of moral depravity and hedonistic behaviour. Arguably this theme relates to a twenty-first century audience as society’s ideals still embody the lust for wealth, and the indulgence of processions and the social status that prevails, the modern satirical work of F. Scott Fitzgerald highlights this desire in his critique of the corrupt, materialistic society through The Great Gatsby. However Jonson’s presentation of greed may perhaps have lost its satirical appeal and relevance as his presentation of hedonism is perhaps too disillusioned and corrupt to adapt to modern societies ‘civilised’ attitudes.

Greed defines the major conflict of ‘Volpone’. Volpone's scam is born of his own greed and fed by the greed of his "clients."Volpone’s character is defined by a callous desire for gold, exemplified when Mosca compares Celia's beauty to that of gold, Volpone's greed inspires unconquerable desire for her. Because greed is all that he knows, Volpone even resorts to it as a tactic for seducing Celia. Ultimately, it is greed which causes Volpone and Mosca's downfall as the characters are blinded with the need to gain possessions. However Jonson allows the characters to be aware of their corruption as Volpone admits, "What a rare punishment / is avarice to itself." Jonson’s overall message, The punishment—and the central irony of the play—is that while greed drives the search for money, power, and respect, it ends up making everyone in the play look foolish, contemptible, and poorer, both spiritually and financially. This message exposes the theory underpinning Chaucer’s ‘radix malorum est cupiditas’ where money is the root of all evil. Arguably this message still holds relevance to twenty-first century readers as in today’s society we are also drawn in by ‘get-rich-quick’ schemes such as the lottery and with the scam and corruption of bankers bonuses, Jonson’s satirical critique of greed is undoubtedly relevant to the twenty-first century reader.

Sheridan’s use of wit and humour coupled with light hearted ridicule contrasts with Volpone’s dark sinister ridicule with its aggressive connotations. Arguably Sheridan’s comedic approach to satire is more aptly suited to a twenty-first century audience as we can possibly relate ‘A School for Scandal’ with programmes such as “Have I Got news for You” where political figures and their reputations are set to ridicule and judge and the audience are encouraged to laugh at their failures. This relates to Sheridan’s satirical representation of malicious gossip-mongering in which reputations are destroyed by an intrusive media.

To conclude, Jonson’s satirical presentation of greed holds greater relevance to a twenty-first century reader as its theme of money, wealth and possession is still prominent in today’s society. However it can be said that although Sheridan’s moral message of the corruption gossip-mongering also holds some relevance to a twenty first society audience however due to the fact it is less forcefully presented we feel that it has lost some of its satirical appeal, reducing its engagement with the twenty-first century reader.

By Jenny Patterson