Volpone, the 17th-century Renaissance drama is a sharp comment on society, that underscores elements of dark humor, greed and lust. Partially classified as a beast-fable, its central character Volpone, a wealthy old man, is bedridden. Drawn to him are three legacy hunters - voltore, a lawyer, corbaccio, an old gentleman and corvino, a merchant - who lavish gifts on him in the hope of inheriting the estate from a grateful Volpone upon his death.