Literary Birthday – 11 June – Ben Jonson
Ben Jonson was born on 11 June 1572 and died on 6 August 1637.
Ben Jonson Quotes
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Language most shows a man; speak that I may see thee.
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To speak and to speak well, are two things. A fool may talk, but a wise man speaks.
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He that is taught only by himself has a fool for a master.
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A prince without letters is a pilot without eyes. All his government is groping.
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He knows not his own strength that has not met adversity.
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Drink to me only with thine eyes, And I will pledge with mine; Or leave a kiss but in the cup And I’ll not look for wine.
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There was never a great genius without a touch of madness.
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I remember, the players have often mentioned it as an honour to Shakespeare, that in his writing (whatsoever he penned) he never blotted out a line. My answer hath been, would he had blotted a thousand.
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Art hath an enemy called ignorance.
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Memory, of all the powers of the mind, is the most delicate and frail.
Ben Jonson was an English dramatist, lyric poet, and literary critic. He is regarded as the second most important English dramatist, after William Shakespeare, during the reign of James I. He is remembered primarily for his satirical comedies, but he also distinguished himself as a poet and as the originator of English literary criticism. According to The Poetry Foundation: “Many critics now regard him as a fore-runner in the 17th-century movement toward classicism, and his plays are often admired for their accurate depictions of the men and women of his day, their mastery of form, and their successful blend of the serious and the comic, the topical, and the timeless.” He popularised the comedy of humours. In 1616, Jonson received a yearly pension of 100 marks (about £60), leading some to identify him as England’s first Poet Laureate. He is best known for the satirical plays Every Man in His Humour, Volpone, or The Fox, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair. He is remembered for his lyric and epigrammatic poetry. He is buried in the north aisle of the nave in Westminster Abbey.
Source for image: After Abraham van Blijenberch, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Benjamin_Jonson_by_Abraham_van_Blyenberch.jpg
by Amanda Patterson
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