Jonson does not shy away from a more formal style of playwriting that draws heavily on classical (Greco-Roman) theater. The play contains numerous classical references, including a portion (Lady Would-Be and Volpone's confrontation in Act 3, Scene 4) drawn directly from a Greek source. Such allusions lend Jonson's dialogue a degree of formality that aligns with the upper-class cast of characters.
With that being said, Jonson's style of writing shifts consistently throughout the play according to who is speaking. Volpone's dialogue, depending on if he is feigning illness or in disguise and at the height of his powers, is either short and perfunctory or flowery and overwrought. Mosca is always a consummate craftsman with his speech, the better to manipulate his victims through the power of persuasive language. Sir Politic Would-Be is written as a bumbling goofball, while his wife Lady Would-Be has a verbose and overtly sophisticated style of speech. The avocatori, the men ultimately responsible for delivering justice in Venice, are highly formal and decorous.
One of the main themes of Volpone is the ability of language to change one's own identity and even one's fate, and Jonson's ability to switch between a wide variety of styles is at once proof of language's capacity to change the audience's perception of a character and proof enough of Jonson's own formidable capacity as a playwright. He wrote Volpone shortly after his imprisonment for an alleged role in a plot to kill the King of England, after all, and he needed to prove his worth as an artist.
