Jonson, Ben

Jonson, Ben
(1572-1637)
   English dramatist. Born in Westminster and educated at Westminster School, after a period of soldiering in Flanders he became an actor and playwright in 1597. Imprisoned for killng another actor in a duel, he was converted to Roman Catholicism in prison but 12 years later returned to the Church of England. His most highly regarded plays, all comedies, were Volpone, or The Fox (1606), The Alchemist (1610) and Bartholomew Fayre (1614). Also influential were two tragedies inspired by classical models, Sejanus (1603) and Catiline (1611). Jonson was a learned and prolific author, not only of plays but also of of poetry and literary criticism. Although his published works were sometimes critical of his contemporary William Shakespeare, he also wrote a number of passages acknowledging the greatness of his older friend. Many of his plays and several masques were published in a folio edition dated 1616. In later life his works fell out of fashion, and he died in poverty, but he was buried in Westminster Abbey.

Historical Dictionary of Renaissance. . 2004.

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  • Jonson, Ben — ▪ English writer Introduction byname of  Benjamin Jonson   born June 11?, 1572, London, Eng. died Aug. 6, 1637, London       English Stuart dramatist, lyric poet, and literary critic. He is generally regarded as the second most important English… …   Universalium

  • JONSON, Ben — (1572/73 1637) Although Ben Jonson began his literary career as a playwright, he successfully marketed himself as England s first professional poet. He produced plays and poems sufficient to fill eleven volumes in the Oxford edition. Although he… …   Renaissance and Reformation 1500-1620: A Biographical Dictionary

  • Jonson, Ben — (1572 1637)    Benjamin Jonson is generally regarded as the second most important English dramatist, after William Shakespeare, during the reign of James I. His brickJordan layer stepfather managed to send Ben to Westminster School for a time,… …   British and Irish poets

  • JONSON, BEN —    dramatist, born at Westminster, posthumous son of a clergyman of Scottish descent; was in his youth first a bricklayer, afterwards a soldier in the Netherlands, whence he returned about 1592; married a shrew, and became connected with the… …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Jonson, Ben or Benjamin — (1573 1637)    Poet and dramatist, was probably b. in Westminster. His f., who d. before Ben was four, seems to have come from Carlisle, and the family to have originally belonged to Annandale. He was sent to Westminster School, for which he… …   Short biographical dictionary of English literature

  • Jonson, Ben(jamin) — born June 11?, 1572, London, Eng. died Aug. 6, 1637, London British playwright, poet, and critic. After learning stagecraft as a strolling player, he wrote plays for Philip Henslowe s theatres. In 1598 his comedy Every Man in His Humour… …   Universalium

  • Jonson, Ben — ► (1573 1637) Dramaturgo y poeta inglés. Empezó a trabajar y participar en la vida teatral londinense como actor y escritor mercenario. Consiguió su primer éxito en 1598 con la comedia Cada hombre en su humor. El valor de su obra reside en las… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Jonson, Ben —  (1572–1637) Not John . English dramatist and poet …   Bryson’s dictionary for writers and editors

  • Jonson, Ben —    not Johnson, for the English dramatist and poet …   Dictionary of troublesome word

  • Jonson, Ben(jamin) — (¿11? jun. 1572, Londres, Inglaterra–6 ago. 1637, Londres). Dramaturgo, crítico y poeta británico. Aprendió el oficio teatral como actor ambulante, y tiempo después escribió obras que se representaron en los teatros de Philip Henslowe. En 1598 se …   Enciclopedia Universal

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