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Ben Jonson (1572-1637)

LINKS

http://www.poets.org/poets/poets.cfm?prmID=301

This link connects you to the Academy of American Poets. Here you will find an exhibit on Ben Jonson including a biography, online primary texts, criticism, bibliographic information, and additional links.

http://www.accd.edu/sac/english/bailey/jonsonb.htm

This link connects you to a web site containing Ben Jonson's poetry, essays, a biography of the poet's life, and additional links.

http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/jonson/

This link connects you to the Luminarium web site containing Ben Jonson's poetry, essays, a biography of the poet's life, and additional links.

BIOGRAPHY

The son of a minister, who died before the poet was born, Jonson was brought up by his mother and a stepfather who was a bricklayer. Raised in Westminster, Jonson attended St. Martin's parish school where he was mentored by the classicist William Camden. After a brief stint working in his stepfather's vocation, Jonson served in the military. He returned to London in 1592 and two years later married Anne Lewis with whom he would have two sons. In 1598, Jonson wrote his first successful play, Every Man In His Humor and its 1616 production included William Shakespeare in the cast. The year it opened, however, Jonson killed a fellow actor Gabriel Spencer in a duel and barely escaped the gallows for murder by pleading "benefit of clergy" owing to his ability to read and write Latin. During the first decade of the 17th century, Jonson enjoyed the patronage of James I and produced a number of entertaining and witty court masques such as the Masque of Blacknesse (1605) and the Masque of Queens (1608) in addition to such popular masterpieces as Volpone (1606) and The Alchemist (1610). At this time, he also presided—mainly at the Mermaid Tavern in Fleet Street and later at the Devil's Tavern—over a circle of protégés and admirers who became known as the "Tribe of Ben" and counted among its numbers such writers as Thomas Carew, Richard Lovelace, and Robert Herrick. Jonson was appointed Poet Laureate in 1616 and wrote lyric verse, odes, and epigrams in a classical mode. Among his other offices was his appointment in 1628 to City Chronologer of London. That same year, Jonson suffered a debilitating stroke; he died nine years later and was buried in Westminster Abbey under a tombstone whose epitaph "O Rare Ben Jonson!" testifies to his unique place in English letters. His final, unfinished play Sad Shepherd's Tale was published posthumously in 1641.

SECONDARY SOURCES

Butler, Martin, Ed. Representing Ben Jonson: Text, History, Performance. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999.

Harp, Richard, and Stanley Stuart, Eds. The Cambridge Companion to Ben Jonson. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000.

Hirsh, James E., Ed. New Perspectives on Ben Jonson. London: Associated University Presses, 1997.

Loxley, James. The Complete Critical Guide to Ben Jonson. New York: Routledge, 2002.

Summers, Claude J. and Ted-Larry Pebworth. Ben Jonson Revised. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1999.

Watson, Robert N., Ed. Critical Essays on Ben Jonson. New York: G.K. Hall, 1997.

SECONDARY SOURCES BY CHAPTER