On My First Son
Ben Jonson
Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy;
My sin was too much hope of thee, loved boy:
Seven years thou wert lent to me, and I thee pay,
Exacted by thy fate, on the just day.
5 O could I lose all father now! for why
Will man lament the state he should envy,
To have so soon ’scaped world’s and flesh’s rage,
And, if no other misery, yet age?
Rest in soft peace, and asked, say, “Here doth lie
10 Ben Jonson his best piece of poetry.”
For whose sake henceforth all his vows be such
As what he loves may never like too much. a
1 child of my right hand: Jonson’s
son was also named Benjamin, which
literally means “son of my right
hand” in Hebrew.
4 just: required; exact.
5 lose all father: lose all of the
feeling or hope of being a father.
a EPITAPH
What mood does Jonson convey
in lines 11–12?
Analyze Visuals
What elements of this painting
help convey the subject’s
vulnerablity?
Text Analysis
1. Clarify Reread lines 1–2. What is the speaker’s “sin”?
2. Interpret How do you interpret the statement in
lines 9–10, “Here doth lie / Ben Jonson his best piece
of poetry”?
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Portrait of Master Bunbury (1780), Sir Joshua Reynolds.
Oil on canvas, 30⅛˝ × 25⅛˝. The John Howard McFadden Collection,
1928. © The Philadelphia Museum of Art/Art Resource, New York.
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Song: To Celia
Ben Jonson
Portrait of Lady Brownlow (1600s),
William Wissing. Oil on canvas, 127 cm × 103.2 cm.
Private collection. © Bridgeman Art Library.
Drink to me only with thine eyes,
And I will pledge with mine;
Or leave a kiss but in the cup,
And I’ll not look for wine. b
5 The thirst that from the soul doth rise
Doth ask a drink divine:
But might I of Jove’s nectar sup,
I would not change for thine.
I sent thee late a rosy wreath,
Not so much honoring thee,
10
As giving it a hope that there
It could not withered be.
But thou thereon didst only breathe,
And sent’st it back to me;
15 Since when it grows and smells, I swear,
Not of itself, but thee. c
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b COMPARE SPEAKERS
Reread lines 1–4. What emotion
does the speaker express?
7 Jove’s nectar: the special drink of
the Greek and Roman gods. Jove is
another name for Jupiter, chief of
the Roman gods.
c
RHYME
Which end rhyme in the poem
is an example of slant rhyme?
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