ABSTRACT
MOSCA He will not hear of drugs. CORBACCIO Why? I myself
Stood by while 'twas made; saw all th' ingredients; 15 And know it cannot but most gently work. My life for his, 'tis but to make him sleep.
VOLPONE [Aside] Aye, his last sleep, if he would take it. MOSCA Sir,
* Volpone portrays a dying man by adding new postures of decrepitude for each successive visitor. For Voltore, he was blind and weakly coughing. For Corbaccio, he is drowsy and incapable of speech. For Corvino, in the next scene, he adds deafness. Part of the comedy depends (a) on the tension between the two scheming actors as Mosca gives cues for Volpone's performance, and (b) on the contrast between Volpone's apparent illness and his hearty mirth at his successful acting, exploding with laughter after each visitor exits.
