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:

    Sweet Swan of Avon! what a sight it were
    To see thee in our waters yet appear,
    Ben Jonson (1572–1637)

    We are persons of quality, I assure you, and women of fashion, and come to see and to be seen.
    Ben Jonson (c. 1572–1637)

    Thou art not, Penshurst, built to envious show,
    Of touch or marble; nor canst boast a row
    Of polished pillars, or a roof of gold;
    Thou hast no lantern whereof tales are told,
    Or stair, or courts; but stand’st an ancient pile,
    Ben Jonson (1572–1637)

    ‘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)