Ben Jonson

Ben Jonson

Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – 6 August 1637) was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems. A man of vast reading and a seemingly insatiable appetite for controversy, Jonson had an unparalleled breadth of influence on Jacobean and Caroline playwrights and poets.

Read more about Ben Jonson:  Relationship With Shakespeare, Reception and Influence, Biographies of Ben Jonson

Famous quotes by ben jonson:

    And have sought, to give new birth,
    In baths to steep him;
    But, being so much too good for earth,
    Heaven vows to keep him.
    Ben Jonson (1572–1637)

    Though beautie be the marke of praise,
    And yours of whom I sing be such
    As not the world can praise too much,
    Yet is’t your vertue now I raise.
    Ben Jonson (1572–1637)

    For I loved the man and do honour his memory, on this side of idolatry, as much as any.
    Ben Jonson (1573–1637)

    I now thinke, Love is rather deafe, than blind,
    For else it could not be,
    That she,
    Whom I adore so much, should so slight me,
    And cast my love behind:
    I’m sure my language to her, was as sweet,
    And every close did meet
    In sentence, of as subtile feet,
    As hath the youngest Hee,
    Ben Jonson (1572–1637)

    Give me a look, give me a face,
    That makes simplicity a grace;
    Robes loosely flowing, hair as free:
    Such sweet neglect more taketh me,
    Than all the adulteries of art;
    They strike mine eyes, but not my heart.
    Ben Jonson (c. 1572–1637)