An Execration upon Vulcan (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Ben Jonson
- First Published: 1640
- Type of Work: Meditation
- Genres: Poetry, Meditation, Cavalier poetry
- Subjects: Mythology or myths, Books, England or English people, War, Seventeenth century, Gods or goddesses, London, Fire, Greek or Roman times, Rome
The Poem
This 216-line poem of heroic couplets was written on the occasion of a fire that destroyed Ben Jonson’s house and—most important—his books, in November of 1623. It derives its form from an attack on the Roman god Vulcan (Hephaestus in Greek myth), the god of fire and metalworking. A denigrated and crippled god, rejected by his mother, Juno, thrown from heaven by his father, Jupiter, Vulcan was married to, and cuckolded by, Venus, the goddess of love.
The poem starts with Jonson protesting his innocence. He has never ridiculed Vulcan or courted his wife. It...
[The entire page is 1408 words long]
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