Embedded Files
Response question
Ben Jonson (157?-1637) was both Shakespeare’s friend and his only rival in English drama; it was rumored that Shakespeare died after one of their drinking bouts. He also lost both a son and a daughter--an experience that was quite common in the early modern era, when it is estimated 30% of children died before age 15 (http://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/primary-sources/166). The poems "On My first Daughter" and "On my first son" were written to commemorate the poet's dead children. As you examine these two poems, develop a thesis about how the two lyrics differ. How does the poet’s reaction to the death of his son differ from his reaction to the death of his daughter? The bulk of your paper should focus in detail on how the poem’s language and meter convey the struggle to accept the child’s death.
Background:
“On My First Daughter”: We know nothing about the death of Jonson’s daughter, a fact that reflects her age as much as her gender; infants in Jonson’s time often died young, and parents used the same name again and again.
“On my First Son” commemorates the death of a son called Benjamin who died of the plague in 1603; his name in Hebrew means “child of the right hand” and in the Bible the right hand is the hand of blessings. Think about the poem’s situation and its speaker. To whom does he speak? When? How does the first line achieve its effect? What does the speaker mean by “my sin”?
Suggestions for gathering textual evidence:
1. Which poem is longer?
2. How do the poems differ metrically, and what effects do the metrical features create?
3. How does each poem view the death of the child (and how do the parents differ)?
-What are some of the specific words used (‘ruth’; ‘lent’; ‘pay’)?
-What are some of the syntactical forms (types of sentence structure) used?
-How do the poems end? How do the endings differ?
Helpful hints for organizing the paper:
Compare/contrast: In any compare/contrast, there are two possibilities: simultaneous comparison, in which you develop a list of elements, and examine details from each poem; and sequential comparison, in which you examine one poem first and then the other. Simultaneous comparison tends to be more effective because it foregrounds your argument rather than specifics & details.
No matter which organizational approach you select, you should be focusing on specific textual details: 1) memorable words or metaphors; 2) specific syntax; 3) the endings; etc.
Remember, your goal is to develop a claim--supported by specific textual examples--about how the two poems differ.
Background / Contexts
Caroline Viola:
Ben Jonson was both a poet and a playwright, and was close friends with William Shakespeare. Shakespeare actually performed a lead role in Jonson’s play, “Every Man in His Humor”. Jonson’s most famous play was “The Alchemist”. He earned the title of England’s Poet Laureate in 1616. He is viewed as the second greatest playwright, behind William Shakespeare. Jonson’s family history may serve to explain his poems “On My First Son” and “On My First Daughter”. Jonson’s father died when Jonson was very young, and he grew up with a stepfather that his mother married not long after Jonson was born. His stepfather was a bricklayer, and Jonson tried to follow in that profession, but ended up leaving it to join the military. His leaving his stepfather’s profession possibly implies that he didn’t feel a strong connection to his stepfather, and lacked a strong father-son relationship. So, when Jonson finally had a son of his own, it would be logical for Jonson to feel a strong need to fill his role as a father well. Putting this extra emphasis on his son would cause his son’s death to be particularly impactful on Jonson. This additional emphasis on being a father figure in general may have sparked writing these poems about his children.
https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/ben-jonson
http://www.shakespeare-online.com/biography/benjonson.html
http://www.biography.com/people/ben-jonson-40950
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ben-Jonson-English-writer
Briana:
Infant Mortality http://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/primary-sources/166
In 21st century America, death in children or infants seems foreign Diseases were commonplace in the 1500s and 1600s and killed roughly 30% of England’s children before they were 15 years of age. Additionally, approximately one fifth of London’s population died on account of plagues in 1563, 1603 (year in which Ben Jonson’s son died in the plague), 1625, and 1655. As people of that era became desensitized to death, parents often refrained from investing any emotion or money into their children until they reached an age where their chance of living greatly increased.
History of the Elegy https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/text/elegy-poetic-form
The Elegy “began as an ancient Greek metrical form.” Ultimately, it is usually a written poetic response to a death. Traditionally, they follow a format that mimics three stages of grief: lament, praise, and consolation. Many modern elegies detach themselves from traditional structure and are written out of a broader sense of loss or sadness rather than be focused on the death of a single person.
Current Statistics on Infant Mortality: https://ourworldindata.org/child-mortality/
While infant mortality rates were inconceivable in the 16th and 17th centuries, the global mortality rate reported in 1960 was 18.2%. Only 50 years ago, 182 out of every 1,000 births ended in death within the first five years of life. By 2015 that number has dropped to 4.3%, which is a huge step yet wealthy countries in our world typically have a infant mortality rate under 1%.
Chris Marjorie:
Growing up, Ben Johnson lacked relationship stability. His biological father, who was a religious minister, died before the birth of his son. Ben Johnson was raised by his mom and stepfather, but he was emotionally bruised for the rest of his life. In recent studies, alcoholism is much more prevalent in victims, who have lost a parent at a young age. In his time, Ben Johnson was known as a drinker, which sourced from the loss of his father.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/our-fathers-ourselves/200908/the-face-fatherloss
The loss of a child severely impacts the parent long-term emotional health. Generally, the death of a child crushes a parent’s emotion stability, since parents often feel guilty for the death. Even though parents often do not cause the death of their children, the lasting impacts can stretch for months, years, or even decades. These effects can be seen in Ben Johnson’s writings. When focusing on the tone of his poems, they seem to be dark, gloomy, and sorrowful. His writings exemplify the effects a death of a child can impact the parents emotional health.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2841012/
While Ben Johnson was hurt by the death of his new-born daughter, he seemed to be in deeper grieving due to the death of his son. Ben Johnson could have been impacted more by the death of his son for multiple reasons. First, the son was of an older age, so Johnson would have known him more. Second, a son would solidify the chances of the family heritage continuing. Third, the death of the son was the death of his last children. Seeing his son die, Johnson came to the realization that his days of being a father were over.
Page updated
Report abuse