Ben Jonson

(1572-1637)

Ben Jonson, born June 11,1572 was a famous dramatist,poet and actor.He was raised in Westminster and attended St. Martin’s parish school and Westminster school. While in school Jonson learned to write prose exercises and how to turn them into poetry so that he could learn to express upoetical ideas in verse. He left Westminster school in 1589 and worked with his stepfather as a bricklayer before fleeing to the military at Flanders. Not long after, Jonson returned to London and became a writer and author where he loved to translate classics. In November 1594 Jonson married Anne Lewis and had later had “at least” two kids.

Ben Jonson, best known for his artistic form and control wrote many plays. His first play The Isle of Dogs (1597), was forbidden because it was said to be offensive and slandering. Jonson also wrote a play called Every Man in His Humor which was published in 1597 as well. After the play was released Jonson was tried with murder because he killed Gabriel Spencer, a fellow actor, in a duel but was released by pleading “benefit of clergy”. He only spent a few weeks in prison before he was released and arrested again for failing to pay an actor. Some of Jonson’s plays included Volphone, The Staple of News, and A Tale of a Tub . Jonson wrote many other works, but these are just a few.

Ben Jonson became known as England’s first Poet Laureate with a pension from the king and received honorary degrees from Oxford and Cambridge. Most of Jonson’s work came from tension with collaborators and contemporaries. His contemporaries did not get published because some were for small audiences and others were written for theater companies . The contemporaries written for theater companies did not get published because they did not want to release the script.

After the death of the King James, in 1625 Jonson dealt with many mishaps and the new king did not appreciate his writings. Closer to the ending of his life Jonson began to write information about his personal life and character. Jonson’s health began to weaken which caused his career to fade away in the early 1600s. In 1628 Jonson was paralyzed and was restricted to his home. On August 6, 1637 Ben Jonson died and was buried at Westminster Abbey with a tombstone that read “O Rare Ben Benson”. Ben Jonson died a legend and was known as one of the most significant dramatist of the seventieth century.

“True happiness Consists not in the multitude of friends, But in the worth and choice.”-Ben Jonson

Fun Facts about Ben Jonson

Ben Jonson and William Shakespeare had a very close relationship, yet there are rumors about his rivalry with Shakespeare.
Ben Jonson was known as the most intellectual poet of the age, because there was not a subject too hard for him to master.
Ben Jonson was converted to Catholicism.

Work Cited

Greenblatt, Stephen. “The Norton Anthology English Literature.” Volume B. Ninth edition, 2012, Ben Jonson, pg.14441-1443

Editors, The FamousPeople.com. “Ben Jonson Biography”. TheFamousPeople, 24 Oct. 2017, https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/ben-jonson-4657.php

Halleck, Reuben Post. Halleck’s New English Literature. New York: American Book Company, 1913. Shakespeare Online. 20 Feb. 2011. http://www.shakespeare-online.com/biography/benjonson.html

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