Ben Jonson: Playwright and Poet

1. Ben Jonson (1572-1637) was an actor, playwright and a poet. During his day he was a very highly regarded playwright, even more so than his contemporary, William Shakespeare! He lived through many traumas: not only did his son die at a young age but he was also convicted of murdering a fellow actor, Gabriel Spencer! As well as writing plays he also wrote two collections of poetry.

2. About the poet Name: Ben Jonson b.1572 d.1637 Occupation: Actor, playwright and poet Education: The young Jonson attended Westminster School, a rigorous, classics-minded grammar school. He did not go to university, probably for reasons of money, training instead in his step-father's trade as a bricklayer. However, at some point in the 1590s he chose to try his luck as a soldier in the Low Countries where English troops were involved in the continuing wars between the Dutch and the Spanish. Other: The records of the Tylers and Bricklayers' Companies seem to indicate that Jonson worked in their trade from 1595 to around 1602 the same years which saw Jonson establish himself as both actor and writer.

3. What is an elegy? An elegy is a mournful poem or song, a lament for the dead. What does lament mean? Lament means to express sorrow, remorse or regret. A poem or song in which a death is lamented.

4. On My First Sonne Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy;My sinne was too much hope of thee, lov'd boy.Seven yeeres tho'wert lent to me, and I thee pay,Exacted by thy fate, on the just day.O, could I loose all father, now. For whyWill man lament the state he should envie?To have so soone scap'd worlds, and fleshes rage,And, if no other miserie, yet age?Rest in soft peace, and, ask'd, say here doth lyeBen. Jonson his best piece of poetrie. For whose sake, hence-forth, all his vowes be such,As what he loves may never like too much. On My First Son – Modern Goodbye, you child of my right hand, and joy; My sin was hoping too much for your future, beloved boy. Seven years you were lent to me, and I pay you in my grief, Caused by your fate on that just day. O, could I loosen all fatherliness now. Why Will people feel sad about death when they should envy it? To have escaped the world and unhappiness of the world, And to have escaped the misery of age? Rest in soft peace, and, if asked, say here doth lie Ben. Johnson’s best piece of poetry. For my own sake, from now on, all my vowes be, To never love something too much.

5. On my first Sonne Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy; My sinne was too much hope of thee, lov’d boy. Seven yeeres tho’wert lent to me, and I thee pay, Exacted by thy fate, on the just day. O, could I loose all father, now. For why Will man lament the state he should envie? To have so soone scap’d worlds, and fleshes rage, And, if no other miserie, yet age? Rest in soft peace, and, ask’d, say here doth lye Ben. Jonson his best piece of poetrie. For whose sake, hence-forth, all his vows be such, As what he loves may never like too much. Ben Jonson 1616

6. Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy; What kind of a statement is this? Who is he speaking to?

7. ”Thou” second person singular pronoun. used here rather than “you’ to express closeness of relationship. Religion was really important in the 17th Century. Who sat at the right hand of God? Is there a connection? Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy; In Hebrew, Benjamin means "son of the right hand.” Jonson is playing on the name. How did he feel about his son?

8. The church had very strict rules in the 17th Century. Your relationship with your loved ones should have been seen as second to your relationship with God. Maybe Jonson feels that his relationship with God was not as it should have been and that as a result, God has taken his son away? My sinne was too much hope of thee, lov’d boy. Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy; Jonson believes that he has sinned by loving his son too much. He feels responsible for his son’s death.

9. Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy; Seven yeeres tho’wert lent to me, and I thee pay, My sinne was too much hope of thee, lov’d boy. Why use this word? How is he paying?

10. Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy; My sinne was too much hope of thee, lov’d boy. Exacted by thy fate, on the just day. Seven yeeres tho’wert lent to me, and I thee pay, That had to be paid back with the boy’s life ‘just’ means – morally right and fair. Jonson believes his punishment to be fair.

11. Bank of GOD You owe ME one child! Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy; My sinne was too much hope of thee, lov’d boy. Seven yeeres tho’wert lent to me, and I thee pay, In the first four lines of the poem, Jonson forms the beginnings of an ‘extended metaphor’. His child’s life has been a seven year loan. The day that his son died is the day that he paid back the loan. Exacted by thy fate, on the just day. Did you know that Jonson’s child was called Benjamin and that ‘child of my right hand’ is the English translation of this Hebrew name?

12. The boy’s in heaven - why grieve about this I wish I could give up acting like a father O, could I loose all father, now. For why Will man lament the state he should envie? Father is him & GOD. What could this statement be suggesting? (Who has his son gone to be with?)

13. Now spelt ‘lose’ O, could I loose all father, now. For why Will man lament the state he should envie? Wanting what his son has got. Father is him (Jonson) & GOD. What could this statement be suggesting? (Who has his son gone to be with?) Be sad about something

14. Escaped To have so soone scap’dworlds, and fleshes rage, And, if no other miserie, yet age? O, could I loose all father, now. For why Will man lament the state he should envie? His son has managed to escape the earthly misery of ageing. There is a real CONTRAST to his feelings in the first part of the poem. Why do you think he uses the phrases ‘escaped worlds’ and ‘fleshes rage’? The misery is on earth

15. To have escaped the demands of passion O, could I loose all father, now. For why Will man lament the state he should envie? In the first part of the poem we saw Jonson blame himself for his son’s death. He created the image that his son had only been lent to him. In the next four lines we see a contrast to his earlier feelings. He now displays a little jealousy at the fact that his son has escaped the miseries of earth and found the peaceful and envious place of Heaven. To have so soone scap’d worlds, and fleshes rage, And, if no other miserie, yet age? And the misery of age Jonson is trying to convince himself that the boy is better off dead

16. This contrasts with”fleshes rage” in the previous couplet An Epitaph? Rest in soft peace, and, ask’d, say here doth lye Ben. Jonsonhis best piece of poetrie. Is he talking about this poem or something else? Poetry is a creation.This is a metaphor for something he created. What? Who is he talking about here?

17. promises Rest in soft peace, and, ask’d, say here doth lye Ben. Jonson his best piece of poetrie. For whose sake, hence-forth, all his vows be such, As what he loves may never like too much. He got too close to his son and was hurt badly. He promises never to get that close to the ones he loves again!

18. Rest in soft peace, and, ask’d, say here doth lye Ben. Jonson his best piece of poetrie. In the final four lines of the poem, Jonson says farewell to his son – ‘rest in peace’. He says that his son was the best thing he ever had a hand in creating. He has also learnt that getting close to the people you love can cause immense grief; something he vows to avoid in the future. For whose sake, hence-forth, all his vows be such, As what he loves may never like too much.

19. http://www.marrasouk.com For whose sake, hence-forth, all his vowes be such, As what he loves may never like too much. He’s telling himself not to like, too much, the things he loves Because loving them too much is a “sinne” and could cause their death “what he loves” could refer to people or to his poetry Why? Because it’s painful when you lose the things you love

20. http://www.marrasouk.com The final couplet picks up on idea earlier in the poem This suggests that loving too much could have caused the death of the boy My sinne was too much hope of thee This links with For whose sake, hence-forth, all his vowes be such, As what he loves may never like too much.

21. Iambic Pentameter Iambic pentameter consists of one short syllable followed by one long syllable – these pairs are Iambs. There are five groups of Iambs – hence pentameter. When read aloud such verse naturally follows a beat, similar to that of a human heart beat at rest. In written form it looks like this: da-dum da-dum da-dum da-dum da-dum So Jonson's work would follow the pattern: Fare-well thou-child of-my right-hand and-joy

22. A gift from heaven Addressed to his dead son His son’s name was Ben, Hebrew for “right hand” Bidding goodbye What was the sin? The hand of god Died at 7 years What emotion is portrayed by the “O”? Hoped for so much, but fate made him pay Questions why we should fear death Escaped the pain of growing old Gone to a better place Euphemism, makes death sound comforting Wants to avoid being hurt again so much On my first sonne  Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy; My sin was too much hope of thee, loved boy. Seven years thou wert lent to me, and I thee pay, Exacted by thy fate, on the just day. Oh, could I lose all father now. For why Will man lament the state he should envy? To have so soon 'scaped world's and flesh's rage, And if no other misery, yet age! Rest in soft peace, and asked, say, Here doth lie Ben Jonson his best piece of poetry. For whose sake henceforth all his vows be such As what he loves may never like too much.