Second Only To Shakespeare: A Ben Jonson Biography

Ben Johnson is noted as one of the most influential playwrights of the seventeenth century, but his controversial life is almost as entertaining as his work. Throughout his life, he toyed with the court system and somehow escaped imprisonment through wit and royal favoritism. He was apart of the “War of the Theatres”, a movement in England where playwrights would satirize each other in plays. He also created the Apollo club, inspiring other young playwrights by his satirical writing style. The “Devil’s” and “Mermaid’s” Taverns were noteworthy places that Jonson spent his time. This man swayed the way plays were written and enjoyed by many, despite being a miscreant.

Ben Jonson was born in London in 1572. His biological father was a minister but died when Ben was very young. The social status of his father would later be a valuable asset to keep Ben out of jail. After attending school he decided to try working as a bricklayer with his stepfather. Then he joined the military for a while but decided he wanted to try being a playwright and an actor. He married Anne Lewis, but they had a rough marriage after losing both of their children. After establishing himself as a playwright, Ben killed Gabriel Spencer in a duel and was tried for murder. He was able to read and write in Latin and pleaded “benefit of clergy”. He was only in prison for a few weeks but was later in and out of jail. However, King James I gave him a royal favor of parsonage and he produced many more plays including some in the poet’s war (Academy of American Poets. )The war on theatres was a time in England where Elizabethan playwrights wrote satirical plays about each other. It’s said the conflict arose from opinions over what a drama really was.

After the poet’s settled their differences Ben was seen as the funny poet. However, during the poet’s war, he made others out to be inferior copycats. In the end, this dispute helped sculpt the definition of dramas in their time and solidify Ben’s reputation. The young men and actors involved with this were thought to tour around because audiences enjoyed them so much. (Britannica). During this time Ben’s followers started to congregate at taverns calling themselves “the sons of Ben”. This is might be because Ben had lost his son. Ben and his wife Anne had two children named Mary and Ben. Both of them, unfortunately, ended up dying at a young age. Mary died when she was 6 months old but it’s not clear why, the poem dedicated to her is called “On My First Daughter”. Ben’s son died when he was eight years old from illness, leaving his father devastated and without an heir. The poem dedicated to his son is titled “On My First Son. ” (Luminarium: Anthology of English Literature) Ben’s troupe and admirers were thought to call themselves this because he no longer had a son. Cavalier poets were poets who preferred writing about light-hearted pleasures instead of the typical serious form of poetry in England. They mirrored Johnson’s satirical style and were heavily influenced by his work. Many of their poems included clever humor and erotic profanity.

A few recognizable cavalier poets include Thomas Carew, Richard Lovelace, Robert Herrick, and John Suckling (Cavalier Poets, Lynch). These men often gathered around taverns to form an intellectual club of sorts. In this case, many were apart of Ben’s club at the Devil’s Tavern. The Mermaid Tavern was a popular gathering place for poets, politicians, and other intellectual figures. It was located on Bread street and Friday street, it was only popular for a couple years. Ben and his followers later made a home at the Devil’s Tavern or “Devil’s Head”. They were given a private back room where Ben had listed his clubs commandments on the wall. There was a bust of Apollo in the room, so the club was nicknamed the “Apollo Club”. The Devil’s Tavern has been demolished since then, and a government building has taken its place. However, they still display a plaque on the building to mark it as the historical sight of the Tavern (Leges Convivales).

In the year of his death, Ben is thought to have suffered a paralytic stroke due to an illness he contracted (Academy of American Poets). Somewhere I heard he died in a knife fight at the tavern, but I could not find a source that said that. Ben was not as wealthy as other poet’s and he could not afford to be buried in the Westminster Abbey also known as “the Poet’s Corner”. Instead, he was buried in a cheap plot, standing up, in the northern aisle of the Nave. According to one story, he was quoting saying “I am too poor for that and no one will lay out funeral charges upon me. No, sir, six feet long by two feet wide is too much for me: two feet by two feet will do for all I want". Ben’s grave was disturbed in 1849 by a clerk digging a grave next to him. The clerk said he saw Jonson’s leg bones and the skull rolled off into the newly dug grave (Westminster Abbey).

Some of Jonson’s most notable works include “Volpone” and “The Alchemist”(Academy of American Poets). Many people consider him one of the greatest playwrights of the time, second only to Shakespeare himself. Ben helped to shape the theater that we know today. Despite having a troubled life, he used humor to bring joy to himself and others.