Fourth part

Jessie Segura
Published on October 10, 2014

Ben Jonson was an English playwright, poet, and lit- erary critic. . He is best known for the satirical plays Every Man in His Humour (1598), The Foxe (1605), The Alche- mist (1610), and Bartholo- mew Fayre and A Comedy (1614). In 1598, Jonson wrote what is considered his first great play, Every Man in His Humor. In a 1616 production, Wil- liam Shakespeare acted in one of the lead roles. Jonson’s influence was enormous for he has been described as 'One of the most vigorous minds that ever added to the strength of English literature’ There are many legends about Jonson's rivalry with Shakespeare, some of which may be true. He is generally regarded as the second most impor- tant English dramatist, af- ter William Shakespeare, during the reign of James I Did you know that… Jonson was jailed in Marshalsea Prison and char- ged with "Leude and mutynous behavior". Jonson killed Gabriel Spencer in a duel and was tried for murder. He spent only a few weeks in pri- son, but he was again arrested for failing to pay an actor. Ben Jonson