ABSTRACT
In early modern England, the family was viewed as a microcosm of the kingdom and a metaphor for the nation; as such, clear lines of patrilineal descent were constructed as fundamental to cultural continuity. In recent decades, scholars have underscored the degree to which Jonson, perhaps more than any other writer of his era, sought to produce a lasting, classically resonant body of work. Written in 1603 and printed in 1605, Sejanus provides one of the most striking examples of the Jonsonian desire to fix the printed page. Jonson was a frequent visitor to the print shop and may have supervised the printing of this play. Volpone is explicitly concerned with descent inheritance, sexuality, and legality. With a plot premised on the Magnifico's fabrication that he is near death and so in search of an heir, the play immediately raises issues of lineage.
