But Frye also adds that Don John in Much Ado about Nothing belongs in the eiron category as well (Anatomy 173). Frye’s examples often stretch the definition to such an untenable extreme that it no longer is of any use.
A much better defining example of this stock type that appears outside of Shakespeare’s plays is the character of Mosca in Ben Jonson’s Volpone.6 In this popular (and popularly anthologized) comedy familiar to practically every student of English literature, the character of Mosca serves Volpone, a nobleman of Venice. Volpone, a figure of greed, increases his wealth by perpetrating a clever and extended piece of knavery or fraud. By pretending to be on his deathbed, Volpone tricks several citizens of Venice who desire to inherit the riches from the childless (and, hence, heirless) Volpone. Each of these citizens brings Volpone lavish gifts or purses of money because each one thinks he or she is the sole heir to Volpone’s fortune. As Volpone lies in feigned languishment on his bed, the servant Mosca becomes solely responsible for conversing with the would-be heirs and for convincing them to deliver up more of their wealth or possessions to Volpone since his death, so Mosca reports, is imminent. Mosca is clearly the clever and witty star of this play, and he exhibits a sense of superiority – often through the use of asides. And, as the play progresses, Mosca decides to turn the tables even on his own master. When Volpone decides that the time is ready to stage even his own death, Mosca takes possession of the keys and the