Summary:
A biography of English author and playwright Ben Jonson (1572-1637), including a description of his works. Well known for his "outgoing" nature and controversial yet popular writings, Jonson influenced Elizabethan theater as much as it influenced him.
Theatre Through One Man
Ben Jonson was born around June 11, 1572 near London. He was the son of a Protestant clergyman that was persecuted for being Protestant during the Catholic Tudor reign. Ben's father was imprisoned and died a month before his son was born. His mother was left without money and she married a bricklayer for support. When Ben started school at Westminister, William Camden noticed the young boy's brilliance and Camden became his official tutor. Jonson never received an education from a university but "he became one of the most learned men of the Elizabethan times and eventually received honorary degrees from [two] universities" (imagi-nations.com). His life being unfulfilled as a bricklayer, he joined the army in Flanders in the Netherlands. In memory of his father, he fought for the Protestant liberties against Catholicism and Spanish rule. In 1592, he went back to London. Sources disagree about when he got married. However, the registers at St. Martin's Church state that he had a daughter, Mary, who died in November 1593 when she was six months old. His son, Benjamin, also died but of the plague ten years later. He went on to name another so Benjamin, but he, too, died but not until 1635. The theatrical company of Philip Henslowe hired him on as an actor and a playwright before 1597. Ben Jonson influenced the Elizabethan theatre as much as it influenced him and it shows in the way that he contributed his gift of writing to the world, the drama of theatre affecting his everyday life, and the way he was admired by the people of Europe.
Jonson wrote a lot of plays, poems, and other works of literary art. His playwrights were famous early on. None of the tragedies that he wrote early on survived. The Case is Altered is his earliest surviving play (comedy). Jonson wrote his first great success in 1598. It was called Every Man in his Humor. The first time he casted that play, William Shakespeare was among the cast. Jonson impressed his friends and family with this great success and left them all hungry for more. He, however, did not fulfill their hunger for Every Man Out of his Humor, (1599) while attempting to follow Aristophanes, (a Greek dramatist) was a stage failure. Later, Jonson wrote the poem "On My First Sonne" after the death of his eldest son Benjamin in 1603. It was a way to let go and bid Benjamin farewell. In the poem, Jonson blames himself for the death of his seven year old son. In 1603, masques were Jonson's new conquest in life. "The masques displayed his erudition, wit, and versatility and contained some of his best lyric poetry" (Jokinen, Luminarium). Along with other extensive work, Jonson was very well known for his "outgoing" nature and controversial writings.
When writing, Jonson was very fond of producing things that led to controversy. He also was a very passionate person in day-to-day life. In 1597, Ben was thrown into jail for being involved in the writing of a satire called The Isle of Dogs. A year later, (1598) Ben got into a duel with another actor in the Henslowe Company named Gabriel Spenser. It resulted in the death of the latter actor and Jonson found himself in danger of the gallows. In order to save himself, he converted to Catholicism and pleaded "benefit of the clergy." He remained devout for twelve years. After which, he returned to being Anglicism. In place of the hanging, he told forfeited all of his property and had his left thumb branded with a felon's brand. No one really looked upon this occurrence in a negative manner and soon he was back at the Henslowe Company. Jonson went on to write Eastward Ho! alongside John Marston and George Chapman that made some ill references to the Scottish King James I. The king did not like this display and he threw Chapman and Marston in jail. Jonson voluntarily joined them. Because of Jonson's popularity, they were freed from prison. He became popular for his new and enlightened ideology.
In the late 1500's and early 1600's, medieval times and the dark ages were in full swing. People lived their lives day in and day out for God and religion alone. People were utterly blown away when Ben Jonson came around with his enlightened thinking and blasphemous writing and plays. It was very hard for these pious people to fully grasp Jonson's ideas. They did, however, and soon the people wanted more of Ben Jonson and his work. Even through all of his imprisonments and murders, Ben was still very much admired by the people of Europe until his death on August 6, 1637. Jonson was buried in Westminister Abbey. The inscription "O Rare Ben Jonson" (Pray for Ben Jonson) was put over his grave.
Jonson led a trivial, controversial life. He wrote poems, satires, masques, plays, and other works. He moved people as well as made them laugh with these writings. He tried to model himself after classical authors like Theophrastus. He was loved by many and scorned many as well. He gave his knowledge (and criticism) to the world and was very much influenced in his daily life by the Elizabethan theatre.
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