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by Ben Jonson On My First Sonne

1743 1

Ben Jonson (1572-1637) was an actor, playwright and a poet. During his day he was a very highly regarded playwright, even more so than his contemporary, William Shakespeare!

He lived through many traumas: not only did his son die at a young age but he was also convicted of murdering a fellow actor, Gabriel Spencer!

As well as writing plays he also wrote two collections of poetry.

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1743 2

On my first Sonne

Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy;My sinne was too much hope of thee, lov’d boy.Seven yeeres tho’wert lent to me, and I thee pay,Exacted by thy fate, on the just day.O, could I loose all father, now. For whyWill man lament the state he should envie?To have so soone scap’d worlds, and fleshes rage,And, if no other miserie, yet age?Rest in soft peace, and, ask’d, say here doth lyeBen. Jonson his best piece of poetrie.For whose sake, hence-forth, all his vows be such,As what he loves may never like too much.

Ben Jonson 1616



1743 3

Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy;

What kind of a statement is this? Who is he speaking to?



1743 4


How did he feel about his son?

Religion was really important in the 17th Century. Who sat at the right hand of God? Is there a connection?



1743 5

Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy;My sinne was too much hope of thee, lov’d boy.

Jonson believes that he has sinned by loving his son too much. He feels responsible for his son’s death.

The church had very strict rules in the 17th Century. Your relationship with your loved ones should have been seen as second to your relationship with God. Maybe Jonson feels that his relationship with God was not as it should have been and that as a result, God has taken his son away?



1743 6

My sinne was too much hope of thee, lov’d boy.


Seven yeeres tho’wert lent to me, and I thee pay,

Why use this word?How is he paying?



1743 7

Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy;My sinne was too much hope of thee, lov’d boy.

Seven yeeres tho’wert lent to me, and I thee pay,Exacted by thy fate, on the just day.

‘just’ means – morally right and fair. Jonson believes his punishment to be fair.



1743 8

Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy;My sinne was too much hope of thee, lov’d boy.Seven yeeres tho’wert lent to me, and I thee pay,

Exacted by thy fate, on the just day.

In the first four lines of the poem, Jonson forms the beginnings of an ‘extended metaphor’. His child’s life has been a seven year loan. The day that his son died is the day that he paid back the loan.

Bank of GOD

You owe ME one child!Did you know that Jonson’s child was called Benjamin and that ‘child of my right hand’ is the English translation of this Hebrew name?



1743 9

O, could I loose all father, now. For whyWill man lament the state he should envie?

Father is him & GOD. What could this statement be suggesting? (Who has his son gone to be with?)

Now spelt ‘lose’



1743 10

O, could I loose all father, now. For why

Will man lament the state he should envie?

Father is him (Jonson) & GOD. What could this statement be suggesting? (Who has his son gone to be with?)

Be sad about something

Wanting what his son has got.

Now spelt ‘lose’



1743 11


To have so soone scap’d worlds, and fleshes rage,And, if no other miserie, yet age?

Escaped

There is a real CONTRAST to his feelings in the first part of the poem. Why do you think he uses the phrases ‘escaped worlds’ and ‘fleshes rage’?

The misery is on earth

His son has managed to escape the earthly misery of ageing.



1743 12


To have so soone scap’d worlds, and fleshes rage,And, if no other miserie, yet age?

In the first part of the poem we saw Jonson blame himself for his son’s death. He created the image that his son had only been lent to him.

In the next four lines we see a contrast to his earlier feelings. He now displays a little jealousy at the fact that his son has escaped the miseries of earth and found the peaceful and envious place of Heaven.



1743 13

Rest in soft peace, and, ask’d, say here doth lye

Ben. Jonson his best piece of poetrie.

An Epitaph?

Who is he talking about here?

Is he talking about this poem or something else? Poetry is a creation.This is a metaphor for something he created. What?



1743 14

Rest in soft peace, and, ask’d, say here doth lyeBen. Jonson his best piece of poetrie.For whose sake, hence-forth, all his vows be such,

As what he loves may never like too much.

promises

He got too close to his son and was hurt badly. He promises never to get that close to the ones he loves again!



1743 15

Rest in soft peace, and, ask’d, say here doth lyeBen. Jonson his best piece of poetrie.

For whose sake, hence-forth, all his vows be such,As what he loves may never like too much.

In the final four lines of the poem, Jonson says farewell to his son – ‘rest in peace’. He says that his son was the best thing he ever had a hand in creating.

He has also learnt that getting close to the people you love can cause immense grief; something he vows to avoid in the future.

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