Gold
Gold clearly symbolizes wealth in the play, but it also symbolizes greed and vice. Volpone and the other legacy-hunters are obsessed with gold and acquiring wealth; they desire it so much that they are willing to prostitute their own wives in order to be financially secure. Throughout the play, gold is portrayed as a seductive but dangerous substance that corrupts men's minds.
Venice
Venice is a symbol of excess and indulgence. This was a prejudice held by many Englishmen at the time Jonson was writing: Italians were often seen as living luxurious and flamboyant lifestyles, and as such the city of Venice developed a symbolic meaning in early modern English literature. Much like Egypt in William Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, Venice is portrayed in Volpone as the hotbed of indulgence and pleasure as compared to the austerity and temperate culture of England (according to the English).
Animals
Though it may not be obvious to readers, Volpone is fundamentally a fable about a group of animals: a fox (Volpone), aided by a fly (Mosca) in tricking a number of carrion-birds (the legacy-hunters). The prevalence of animals in the play emphasizes its focus on parasitism, or the phenomenon of one life form living off another. It also satirizes the greedy behavior of men whose primary concern is wealth and inheritance.
Names
Names are an important motif in the play. Jonson uses the Italian words for each respective animal as the names for his chief characters: Volpone is a fox, Mosca is a fly, Voltore is a vulture, Corvino is a crow, and Corbaccio is a raven. These names – along with maintaining the fable that underlies the entire play – also communicate the qualities that each character will exude as the plot develops.
Disguise
Like most early modern comedies, Volpone makes frequent use of disguise as a plot device. However, disguise also serves as commentary on some of the characters' true natures. When Volpone dresses as Scoto Mantua, for example, he reveals more of his true self (his healthy self) than he does as Volpone. In this way, disguise is both a means of concealment and truth-telling, depending on which character is donning it.
