Benjamin Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – 6 August 1637) was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone and The Alchemist which are considered his best, and his lyric poems. A man of vast reading and a seemingly insatiable appetite for controversy, Jonson had an unparalleled breadth of influence on Jacobean and Caroline playwrights and poets.
patterns
I walk down the garden-paths,
And all the daffodils
Are blowing, and the bright blue squil...[read poem]
And all the daffodils
Are blowing, and the bright blue squil...
if by dull rhymes our english must be chain'd
If by dull rhymes our English must be chain'd,
And, like Andromeda, the Sonnet sweet
...[read poem]
And, like Andromeda, the Sonnet sweet
...
a celebration of charis: i. his excuse for loving
Let it not your wonder move,
Less your laughter, that I love.
Though I now write fifty yea...[read poem]
Less your laughter, that I love.
Though I now write fifty yea...
meg merrilies
Old Meg she was a Gipsy,
And liv'd upon the Moors:
Her bed it was the brown heath tur...[read poem]
And liv'd upon the Moors:
Her bed it was the brown heath tur...
ode to psyche
O Goddess! hear these tuneless numbers, wrung
By sweet enforcement and remembrance dear,...[read poem]
By sweet enforcement and remembrance dear,...
come, my celia
Come, my Celia, let us prove
While we may, the sports of love;
Time will not be ours forev...[read poem]
While we may, the sports of love;
Time will not be ours forev...
robin hood
TO A FRIEND
No! those days are gone away
And their hours are old and gray,
And...[read poem]
No! those days are gone away
And their hours are old and gray,
And...
fancy
Ever let the Fancy roam,
Pleasure never is at home:
At a touch sweet Pleasure melteth,...[read poem]
Pleasure never is at home:
At a touch sweet Pleasure melteth,...
ode on melancholy
No, no, go not to Lethe, neither twist
Wolf's-bane, tight-rooted, for its poisonous wine;...[read poem]
Wolf's-bane, tight-rooted, for its poisonous wine;...
the human seasons
Four Seasons fill the measure of the year;
There are four seasons in the mind of man:...[read poem]
There are four seasons in the mind of man:...
on first looking into chapman's homer
Much have I travell'd in the realms of gold,
And many goodly states and kingdoms seen;...[read poem]
And many goodly states and kingdoms seen;...
when i have fears that i may cease to be
When I have fears that I may cease to be
Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain,...[read poem]
Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain,...
to autumn
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Con...[read poem]
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Con...
the eve of st. agnes
St. Agnes' Eve--Ah, bitter chill it was!
The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold;
...[read poem]
The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold;
...
to sleep
O soft embalmer of the still midnight,
Shutting, with careful fingers and benign,
Ou...[read poem]
Shutting, with careful fingers and benign,
Ou...
hyperion
Deep in the shady sadness of a vale
Far sunken from the healthy breath of morn,
Far from t...[read poem]
Far sunken from the healthy breath of morn,
Far from t...
endymion
A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into not...[read poem]
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into not...
on sitting down to read king lear once again
O golden-tongued Romance with serene lute!
Fair plumed Syren! Queen of far away!
...[read poem]
Fair plumed Syren! Queen of far away!
...
ode on a grecian urn
Thou still unravish'd bride of quietness,
Thou foster-child of silence and slow time,...[read poem]
Thou foster-child of silence and slow time,...
la belle dame sans merci
Ah, what can ail thee, wretched wight,
Alone and palely loitering;
The sedge is withe...[read poem]
Alone and palely loitering;
The sedge is withe...
lines on the mermaid tavern
Souls of Poets dead and gone,
What Elysium have ye known,
Happy field or mossy cavern,...[read poem]
What Elysium have ye known,
Happy field or mossy cavern,...
to homer
Standing aloof in giant ignorance,
Of thee I hear and of the Cyclades,
As one who si...[read poem]
Of thee I hear and of the Cyclades,
As one who si...
ode to a nightingale
My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains
My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk,...[read poem]
My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk,...
to one who has been long in city pent
To one who has been long in city pent,
'Tis very sweet to look into the fair
A...[read poem]
'Tis very sweet to look into the fair
A...
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