The Poetry of Jonson (Masterplots, Definitive Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Ben Jonson
- First Published: 1616
- Genres: Poetry, Lyric poetry, Cavalier poetry
- Subjects: Authors or writers, Literature, Poetry or poets, England or English people, Seventeenth century
Critical Evaluation:
Ben Jonson was an overpowering individual. People who knew him were rarely neutral: they liked him, some almost to idolatry, or they disliked him with an intensity that vibrates through the centuries. His vigorous personality intrudes and makes dispassionate appraisal of his poetry difficult. A second factor which interferes with cool judgment of his work is the time-hallowed tradition of contrasting portraits of Shakespeare and Jonson. In these conventional portraits, Shakespeare stands for genius, humanity, and native woodnotes; Jonson for labor, bookish...
[The entire page is 2661 words long]
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