Editing Ben Jonson (section)

==Decline and death==
Jonson's productivity began to decline in the 1620s, but he remained well-known. In that time, the [[Sons of Ben (literary group)|Sons of Ben]] or the "Tribe of Ben", those younger poets such as [[Robert Herrick (poet)|Robert Herrick]], [[Richard Lovelace (poet)|Richard Lovelace]], and [[John Suckling (poet)|Sir John Suckling]] who took their bearing in verse from Jonson, rose to prominence. However, a series of setbacks drained his strength and damaged his reputation. He resumed writing regular plays in the 1620s, but these are not considered among his best. They are of significant interest, however, for their portrayal of [[Charles I of England|Charles I]]'s England. ''[[The Staple of News]]'', for example, offers a remarkable look at the earliest stage of English journalism. The lukewarm reception given that play was, however, nothing compared to the dismal failure of ''[[The New Inn]]''; the cold reception given this play prompted Jonson to write a poem condemning his audience (''An Ode to Himself''), which in turn prompted [[Thomas Carew]], one of the "Tribe of Ben", to respond in a poem that asks Jonson to recognise his own decline.<ref>Maclean, p. 88.</ref>

The principal factor in Jonson's partial eclipse was, however, the death of James and the accession of King Charles I in 1625. Jonson felt neglected by the new court. A decisive quarrel with Jones harmed his career as a writer of court masques, although he continued to entertain the court on an irregular basis. For his part, Charles displayed a certain degree of care for the great poet of his father's day: he increased Jonson's annual pension to £100 and included a [[English units of wine casks#Tierce|tierce]] of wine and beer.

Despite the strokes that he suffered in the 1620s, Jonson continued to write. At his death in 1637 he seems to have been working on another play, ''[[The Sad Shepherd]]''. Though only two acts are extant, this represents a remarkable new direction for Jonson: a move into [[pastoral]] drama. During the early 1630s, he also conducted a correspondence with [[James Howell]], who warned him about disfavour at court in the wake of his dispute with Jones.

According to a contemporary letter written by Edward Thelwall of [[Gray's Inn]], Jonson died on 18 August 1637{{Sfn|Bland|2004|p=398}} (O.S. 6 August).<ref>{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JVJtDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22ben+jonson%22+death+1637+calendar&pg=PA318 |title=Chase's Calendar of Events 2019: The Ultimate Go-to Guide for Special Days, Weeks and Months |date=2018-09-30 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-64143-264-1 |page=318 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2" />{{Sfn|Ward|1911|p=505}} He died in London.<ref name=":3">{{cite web |last=Ghazi |first=Ahmed |title=Ben Jonson |url=https://www.bibalex.org/libraries/presentation/static/Jonson_Ben_eng_1302.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250207092008/https://www.bibalex.org/libraries/presentation/static/Jonson_Ben_eng_1302.pdf |archive-date=7 February 2025 |access-date=22 April 2025 |website=Bibliotheca Alexandrina}}</ref> His funeral was held the next day. It was attended by "all or the greatest part of the nobility then in town".<ref name=":0" /><ref name="ID2008" /> He is buried in the north aisle of the nave in [[Westminster Abbey]], with the inscription "O Rare Ben Johnson [''sic'']" set in the slab over his grave.{{sfn|Ward|1911}}<ref name=DCWA>{{cite web |title=Monuments & Gravestones: Ben Jonson |work=Westminster Abbey 1065 to today |publisher=Dean and Chapter of Westminster Abbey |url=http://www.westminster-abbey.org/history-research/monuments-gravestones/people/12177 |access-date=26 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080107172342/http://www.westminster-abbey.org/history-research/monuments-gravestones/people/12177 |archive-date=7 January 2008}}</ref> [[John Aubrey]], in a more meticulous record than usual, notes that a passer-by, John Young of [[Great Milton]], [[Oxfordshire]], saw the bare grave marker and on impulse paid a workman eighteen pence to make the inscription. Another theory suggests that the tribute came from [[William Davenant]], Jonson's successor as Poet Laureate (and card-playing companion of Young), as the same phrase appears on Davenant's nearby gravestone, but essayist [[James Henry Leigh Hunt|Leigh Hunt]] contends that Davenant's wording represented no more than Young's coinage, cheaply re-used.<ref name=DCWA/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Hunt |first=Leigh |date=9 April 1828 |title=Life of Sir William Davenant, with specimens of his poetry |series=The Companion |volume=XIV |page=187 |chapter=His epitaph, and Ben Jonson's |oclc=2853686}}</ref> The fact that Jonson was buried in an upright position was an indication of his reduced circumstances at the time of his death,<ref>[[Joseph Quincy Adams|Adams, J. Q.]] ''The Jonson Allusion Book''. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1922. pp. 195–6.</ref> although it has also been written that he asked for a grave exactly 18&nbsp;inches square from the monarch and received an upright grave to fit in the requested space.<ref name="world and its people">{{Cite book |last=Dunton |first=Larkin |year=1896 |title=The World and Its People |publisher=Silver, Burdett |page=34}}</ref><ref>Donaldson (2011:1).</ref>

It has been pointed out that the inscription could be read "Orare Ben Jonson" (pray for Ben Jonson), possibly in an allusion to Jonson's acceptance of [[Roman Catholic theology|Catholic doctrine]] during his lifetime (although he had returned to the Church of England); the carving shows a distinct space between "O" and "rare".<ref name="ID2008"/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Stubbs |first=John |date=24 February 2011 |title=Reprobates |publisher=Viking Penguin |location=London |isbn=978-0-670-91753-2 |page=[https://archive.org/details/reprobatesthacav0000stub/page/182 182] |quote=... a plea for the passerby's prayers (the Latin imperative ''orare'')... |url=https://archive.org/details/reprobatesthacav0000stub/page/182 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Fletcher |first=Angus |year=2007 |title=Time, space, and motion in the age of Shakespeare |url=https://archive.org/details/timespacemotiona00flet |url-access=limited |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge, MA |isbn=978-0-674-02308-6 |page=[https://archive.org/details/timespacemotiona00flet/page/n103 95] |chapter=Structure of an epitaph |quote=At first sight the words seem clear enough…but some…have believed that the words intended to say, in Latin, "Pray for Ben Jonson"…}}</ref>

A monument to Jonson was erected in about 1723 by the Earl of Oxford and is in the eastern aisle of Westminster Abbey's [[Poets' Corner]].<ref>[[Arthur Penrhyn Stanley|Stanley, A. P.]], ''Historical Memorials of Westminster Abbey'' (London; [[John Murray (publishing house)|John Murray]]; [[1882]]), p. 222.</ref> It includes a portrait medallion and the same inscription as on the gravestone. It seems Jonson was to have had a monument erected by subscription soon after his death but the [[English Civil War]] intervened.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://westminster-abbey.org/our-history/people/ben-jonson |title=Ben Jonson |access-date=2014-08-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819083717/http://westminster-abbey.org/our-history/people/ben-jonson |archive-date=19 August 2014 |df=dmy }}</ref>