To the Memory of My Beloved Master William Shakespeare (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Ben Jonson
- First Published: 1623
- Type of Work: Lyric
- Genres: Poetry, Lyric poetry, Cavalier poetry
- Subjects: Genius, Seventeenth century, Creative process, Gods or goddesses, Heroes or heroism, Drama or dramatists, Birds, Shakespeare, William, or Shakespearean plays, Honor
The Poem
In 1616, “rare Ben Jonson,” the unofficial poet laureate under James I, published his collected works, the first time an English author had done so. In 1623, William Shakespeare’s plays were collected in the first folio, which contained this prefatory tribute to Shakespeare by Jonson, who was determined to give his contemporary his due as a universal literary genius.
The title conveys Jonson’s high estimation of Shakespeare as his beloved master, his superior whom he admires and loves to the point of idolatry. Shakespeare died in 1616; seven years...
[The entire page is 1467 words long]
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