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:

    ‘Tis no sin love’s fruit to steal;
    But the sweet theft to reveal,
    To be taken, to be seen,
    These have crimes accounted been.
    Ben Jonson (1572–1637)

    Hear me, O God!
    A broken heart,
    Is my best part:
    Use still thy rod,
    That I may prove
    Therein, thy Love.

    If thou hadst not
    Beene stern to mee.
    But left me free.
    I had forgot
    My selfe and thee.
    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)

    The wheel of fortune guide you,
    The boy with the bow beside you
    Run aye in the way
    Till the bird of day
    And the luckier lot betide you.
    Ben Jonson (1572–1637)

    He stood, a soldier, to the last right end,
    A perfect patriot and a noble friend,
    But most a virtuous son.
    All offices were done
    By him, so ample, full, and round
    In weight in measure, number, sound,
    As, though his age imperfect might appear,
    His life was of humanity the sphere.
    Ben Jonson (1572–1637)