8-3Jonson

 WHO IS BEN JONSON, AND HOW DID HIS LIFE INTERSECT WITH SHAKESPEARE’S? Ben Jonson Ben Jonson, an English dramatist and poet, was born in 1572. He began his life working as a bricklayer and then became a soldier. He has a “no nonsense” attitude and had a confrontational persona.

After serving in the army in the Netherlands, Jonson became an actor. He was not a very good actor, but he co-authored “Isle of Dogs” with Nashe, a poet and satirist. He was imprisoned because the play was accused of sedition, which is rebellious disorder.

Jonson’s first box office was “Every Man in His Humor,” which starred William Shakespeare. It is thought that Shakespeare was the one who first championed Jonson’s work as a writer of note. After that, Jonson’s writing became more renowned and accepted. His writing grew to have more “biting satire” with a lot of “farce,” which is thought to be inspired by Shakespeare. In the early 1600’s, Jonson’s work was a phenomenon. As his work became more popular, he ridiculed other writers’ works.

Shakespeare and Jonson got into a fight over the Boys Companies, a theatre company and everyone in the company was boys. The boys were so youthful and their voices were highly trained so they could play the parts of a girl. In the fight between Shakespeare and Jonson, the “War of the Poets” began, with them ridiculing each other’s works and throwing insults back and forth.

Shakespeare was considered gentle while Jonson was considered to be brusque. It didn't help that Jonson drank; in fact, some of his works included drinking alcohol and his favorite types of alcohol. Even though they had their differences, there was sort of a "brotherly relationship" between Shakespeare and Jonson. Though they competed continuously, they both seemed to recognize the talent that the other writer had. It is believed that Shakespeare became ill before he died because of a wild night drinking with Jonson.

Overall, Jonson was a superb writer, even though he is not as renowned for his work as Shakespeare. Today, many people do not know Jonson, but he was popular during the time period that he wrote in. 

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