Editing Ben Jonson (section)

===Poetry===
Jonson has been called "the first poet laureate".<ref>Schmidt, Michael. ''Lives of the Poets'', Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1998 {{ISBN|978-0-7538-0745-3}}.</ref> If Jonson's reputation as a playwright has traditionally been linked to Shakespeare, his reputation as a poet has, since the early 20th century, been linked to that of [[John Donne]]. In this comparison, Jonson represents the [[Cavalier poet|cavalier]] strain of poetry, emphasising grace and clarity of expression; Donne, by contrast, epitomised the [[Metaphysical poets|metaphysical]] school of poetry, with its reliance on strained, [[baroque]] metaphors and often vague phrasing. Since the critics who made this comparison ([[Herbert Grierson]] for example), were to varying extents rediscovering Donne, this comparison often worked to the detriment of Jonson's reputation.

In his time Jonson was at least as influential as Donne. In 1623, historian [[Edmund Bolton]] named him the best and most polished English poet. That this judgment was widely shared is indicated by the admitted influence he had on younger poets. The grounds for describing Jonson as the "father" of cavalier poets are clear: many of the cavalier poets described themselves as his "sons" or his "tribe". For some of this tribe, the connection was as much social as poetic; [[Robert Herrick (poet)|Herrick]] described meetings at "the Sun, the Dog, the Triple Tunne".{{sfn|Ward|1911}} All of them, including those like Herrick whose accomplishments in verse are generally regarded as superior to Jonson's, took inspiration from Jonson's revival of classical forms and themes, his subtle melodies, and his disciplined use of [[wit]]. In these respects, Jonson may be regarded as among the most important figures in the prehistory of English [[Augustan literature|neoclassicism]].

The best of Jonson's lyrics have remained current since his time; periodically, they experience a brief vogue, as after the publication of Peter Whalley's edition of 1756. Jonson's poetry continues to interest scholars for the light which it sheds on English literary history, such as politics, systems of patronage and intellectual attitudes. For the general reader, Jonson's reputation rests on a few lyrics that, though brief, are surpassed for grace and precision by very few Renaissance poems: "[[On My First Sonne]]"; "[[To Celia]]"; "To Penshurst"; and the [[epitaph]] on Salomon Pavy, a [[boy player]] abducted from his parents who acted in Jonson's plays.