Ben Jonson (1572-1637)

• Jonson was a friend and rival of Shakespeare's.
• Jonson's plays were just as if not more popular than Shakespeare's in the first decade of the 1600s. His plays have not passed the test of time, however.
• Jonson was famous (notorious) for his wit and his dexterity with puns, double meanings, and rhymes.
• Jonson was a scholar. His plays are filled with allusions to Greek and Roman literature. This is probably why his plays are not read today (except by scholars)-- the allusions in them are too obscure and the wordplay is dated.

Jonson was a celebrity in his time and had many followers and imitators. The Cavaliers are often called "the sons of Ben" because of their thematic and stylistic similarity to Jonson.

Note the 'Cavalier" themes in the poems

carpe diem

seduction

playful wit

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