Ruzante's Moscheta as a New Possible Source for Ben Jonson's Volpone

This paper sheds light on the intertextuality of Ben Jonson's Volpone (1605) by looking at the textual affinities between the Volpone and Celia subplot in acts I-II-III of Jonson's play and the Moscheta (1528), a play written and directed by Italian actor and playwright Angelo Beolco, also known as Ruzante. Considering the current impossibility of documenting the presence of Ruzante's works in England, this essay also takes into account the series of relationships that link Angelo Beolco to England and to Ben Jonson specifically, via the commedia dell'arte on the one hand and the figure of Inigo Jones on the other. This essay begins by describing the framework of known performances and textual influences of Italian, and especially Veneto, theater on English theater and of known personal contacts between Englishmen and Italians active in and around the theater, including visits of both to the others’ country. The paper will then move to specific comparisons between the two plays in their multi-layered complexity.