Who was Ben Jonson?
Dramatist.
Date and Place of Birth:
11th June 1572, Westminster, London, England.
Family Background:
Father died two months before he was born. Stepfather
was a bricklayer. Jonson himself claimed that he came from a Scottish
family the Johnstones.
Education:
Westminster School. He was taught by William
Camden.
Chronology/Biography of Ben Jonson:
1574: His mother
remarries.
1592: Returned to
England after serving in the army in Flanders in Francis Vere's
regiment. He had joined the army to escape the bricklaying trade
of his stepfather.
1593: Death of his
eldest daughter Mary.
1597: Joins up with
Philip Henslowe in a theatrical company as playwright and performer
at the Rose Theatre. Sent to prison for collaborating on a seditious
satire called "The Isle of Dogs." by Queen Elizabeth's
interrogator, Richard Topcliffe. Jonson was imprisoned in Marshalsea
Prison and charged with "Leude and mutynous behavior".
1598: Jonson's second
known play, "Every Man in His Humour", was performed at
the Globe Theatre by the Lord Chamberlain's Men and had William
Shakespeare in the cast. Jonson accidentally kills Gabriel Spencer,
another actor, in a duel in Hogsden Fields, in Shoreditch. He is
tried at the Old Bailey for murder but is not hanged due to pleading
the benefit of clergy. (He had to recite a short bible verse). He
converts to Roman Catholicism whilst in prison. When released from
Newgate Prison he had a felon's brand placed on his thumb.
1600: The satire
"Cynthia's Revels" was put on at the Blackfriars Theatre
by the Children of the Chapel Royal.
1601: The so called
"War of the Theatres" broke out with Jonson arrogantly
assuming his superiority and [performing "The Poetaster"
which satirised other writers. Other dramatists such as Thomas Dekker
and John Marston struck back by writing plays about him.
1603: Accession of
King James the FIrst and Jonson and other writers welcomed the new
king. Briefly imprisoned by the authorities again for his play "Sejanus:
His Fall" which offended the Privy COuncil. Death of his eldest
son Benjamin from the plague,
1604: Jonson ceased
his feuding with Dekker and worked together with him on "The
King's Entertainment" and with Marston and George Chapman on
"Eastward Ho". He was sent to prison for his his views
which are thought to be controversial by the Establishment
1605: As a catholic
Jonson was now a suspect after the Gunpowder Plot of Guy Fawkes.
1610: Converts back
to the Anglican religion.
The Globe Theatre, Southwark,
reconstructed from an idea by Sam Wannamaker
(© Anthony Blagg)
1616: Publication
of his complete works in a folio edition. Appointed as the first
actual Poet Laureate and given a pension of 100 Marks by the King.
The play "The Devil is an Ass" was a comparative failure
and Jonson then turned his attention to writing masques.
1618: Travels to
Scotland by foot.
1619: The Scottish
poet Drummond recorded a conversation with him on the banks of the
River Esk. He was made an honary citizen of Edinburgh. Receives
an honary degree from Oxford University on his return to England.
1623: Death of Camden.
1625: Death of King
James the First and the Accession of King Charles the First. Jonson
felt pushed out at the new court. Quarreled with Inigo
Jones which curtailed his writing of masques.
1628: Jonson is appointed
as the City Chronologer of London. Suffers a stroke later in the
year.
1635: Death of his
second son, also called Benjamin. Jonson became the leader of a
group of writers later in life called the "Sons of Ben".
Men such as Thomas Carew, Robert Herrick, Richard Lovelace and Sir
John Suckling gathered at the Mermaid Tavern in Cheapside to toast
his success. THe group later called themselves the "Cavalier
Poets".
Written Works:
- 1598: "Every
Man in his Humour".
- 1599: "Every
Man out of his Humour".
- 1600: "Cynthia's
Revels"
- 1601: "The
Poetaster"
- 1603:
"The Entertainment of the Queen and Prince at Althorp".
"Sejanus, His Fall".
- 1604: "The
Coronation Triumph". "The King's
Entertainment"
- 1605:
"The Masque of Blackness"
- 1606:
"Hymenaei" (Masque). "Volpone, or the Fox".
- 1608:
"Two Royal Masques". ("Masque
of Beauty" and "Masque of Queens")
- 1609: "Epicoene,
or the Silent Woman". "The Masque of Queens".
- 1610: "The
Alchemist"
- 1611: "Catiline
His conspiracy". "Love Freed from Ignorance and Folly".
(Masque). "Oberon the Fairy Prince".
- 1614: "Bartholomew
Fair"
- 1615:
"The Golden Age Restored".
- 1616:
"The Devil is an Ass". "Mercury Vindicated from
the Alchemists at Court".
- 1617:
"The Vision of Delight".
- 1620: "News
from the New World Discovered in the Moon".
- 1623: "Time
Vindicated to Himself and to his Honours". (Masque).
- 1624:
"Neptune's Triumph for the Return of Albion". (Masque).
- 1625: "The
Staple of News".
- 1629:
"The New Inn or the Light of the Heart".
- 1631:
"Chlorida: Rites to Chloris and her Nymphs". (Masque).
- 1632:
"The Magnetic Lady or Humours Reconciled".
- 1633: "The
Tale of a Tub"
- 1640:
"Complete Works": Vol 2 of First Folio.
- 1641: "Sad
Shepherd's Tale" (left unfinished at his death and published
posthumously).
- (1692):
"Complete Works": Second Folio.
Marriage:
Probably 14 November 1594
to Anne Lewis at St Magnus-the-Martyr, near
London Bridge according to Parish Registers.
Date and Place of Death:
6th August 1637, London, England.
Age at Death:
65.
Site of Grave:
Poet’s Corner, Westminster Abbey, London,
England in an upright grave with the inscription "O Rare Ben
Johnson" on his slab.
Westminster Abbey, London
(© Anthony Blagg)
Places of Interest:
LONDON:
Globe Theatre.
