Authors

British · 1637

Ben Jonson

Ben Jonson was Shakespeare's greatest contemporary and rival, whose comedies Volpone (1606), The Alchemist (1610), and Bartholomew Fair (1614) are among the finest in English literature. He worked as a bricklayer, actor, soldier, and spy before establishing himself as a playwright. He killed a fellow actor in a duel and escaped the gallows by claiming benefit of clergy. He was the dominant figure of Jacobean court culture, writing masques for James I and shaping literary taste through his circle ('the Sons of Ben'). His collected works (1616) were the first time an English author had presented plays as literature worthy of permanence.