On My First
Sonne
by Ben Jonson
F/H
The Poet
• Ben Jonson (1572-1637) was an actor,
playwright and a poet at the same time as
Shakespeare.
• His reputation was greater than Shakespeare’s
during his life
• His son died at a young age
• He was convicted of murdering a fellow actor,
Gabriel Spencer, but escaped punishment by
claiming holy orders
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The poem
• The poem is an elegy which is a mournful
poem written to lament the dead
• In it Jonson contrasts his sadness with
what his faith teaches he should feel, joy
• Jonson’s strong Christian faith comes
through in this poem
• The speaker in the poem is most definitely
Jonson himself
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The poem
• Themes:
• Parent-child
relationships)
• Death of a child
• Guilt
• Loss
• Religion/Faith
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Key terms:
Monologue
Rhyming Couplets
Enjambment & Endstopping
Iambic pentameter
Epitaph
Extended metaphor
Contrast/Paradox
What is the poet saying and to
whom?
Stresses the importance of the child
Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy;
My sinne was too much hope of thee, lov'd boy
Seven yeeres thou wert lent to me, and I thee pay,
Exacted by thy fate, on the just day.
The language
used clearly
O, could I loose all father, now. For why
shows his
Will man lament the state he should envie?
love for his
son
To have so soone scap'd worlds, and fleshes rage,
And, if no other miserie, yet age?
Rest in soft peace, and, ask'd, say here doth lye
Ben. Jonson his best piece of poetrie.
For whose sake, hence-forth, all his vowes be such,
As what he loves may never like too much.
F/H
Religious
image:
Jesus sits at
the right
hand of
God. This
emphasises
not just the
poet’s view
of the son
but also his
religious
nature
‘fate’ used as an instrument of God, it can’t be helped.
‘just’ he sees it as fair, would you agree?
What is the
poet’s sin? Is
he to blame
for his son’s
death?
Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy;
My sinne was too much hope of thee, lov'd boy
Seven yeeres thou wert lent to me, and I thee pay,
Exacted by thy fate, on the just day.
O, could I loose all father, now. For why
The church had very strict rules in the 17th
Will man Your
lament
the state he
envie?ones
Century.
relationship
withshould
your loved
should have been seen as second to your
To have so soone scap'd worlds, and fleshes rage,
relationship with God. Maybe Jonson feels that his
And, if no other
relationship
with miserie,
God wasyet
notage?
as it should have
been and that as a result, God has taken his son
Rest in soft peace, and, ask'd, say here doth lye
away?
Ben. Jonson his best piece of poetrie.
FACT: Jonson’s son was also called
For whose sake, hence-forth, all his vowes be such,
Benjamin and this Hebrew name means
As what he loves may never like too much.
‘child of my right hand’
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The boy’s
life is a
‘loan’ from
God which
must be
repaid.
The
extended
metaphor is
that all
people
belong to
God. What
does this tell
us of the
poet?
‘father’ is lost or he wants to lose a ‘father’. Who could
this father be?
‘father’ could
be God; is
Jonson
struggling with
or questioning
his faith?
Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy;
He has lost
being a father
with the death
of his son
My sinne was too much hope of thee, lov'd boy
Seven yeeres thou wert lent to me, and I thee pay,
Exacted by thy fate, on the just day.
Again, questioning
the contrast he
O, could I loose all father, now. For why
feels. He is upset
Will man lament the state he should envie?
but his faith tells him
to be pleased that
To have so soone scap'd worlds, and fleshes rage,
his son has returned
And, if no other miserie, yet age?
to God and heaven
Rest in soft peace, and, ask'd, say here doth lye
Ben. Jonson his best piece of poetrie.
For whose sake, hence-forth, all his vowes be such,
As what he loves may never like too much.
F/H
His questioning/wondering continues, he should be
pleased that his son has escaped the ‘rage’ of the
world and the flesh
Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy;
My sinne was too much hope of thee, lov'd boy
Jonson blames
himself in the
opening of the
poem. Is he
now trying to
relieve his guilt
and comfort
himself with the
notion of a
‘better place’
for his son or is
he genuinely
questioning his
faith? Could it
be both?
He imagines
his son would
have had a
happy life with
old age his
only misery
Seven yeeres thou wert lent to me, and I thee pay,
Exacted by thy fate, on the just day.
O, could I loose all father, now. For why
Will man lament the state he should envie?
To have so soone scap'd worlds, and fleshes rage,
And, if no other miserie, yet age?
Rest in soft peace, and, ask'd, say here doth lye
Ben Jonson his best piece of poetrie.
For whose sake, hence-forth, all his vowes be such,
As what he loves may never like too much.
F/H
End-stopping
with question
marks
stresses the
confused,
questioning
nature in this
section of the
poem
Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy;
My sinne was too much hope of thee, lov'd boy
Seven yeeres thou wert lent to me, and I thee pay,
Exacted by thy fate, on the just day.
O, could I loose all father, now. For why
An epitaph for
his son?
Laying to rest
his own grief
and guilt?
Will man lament the state he should envie?
He links his
son to his
poetry.
His two
creations
The greatest
of which is
his son
To have so soone scap'd worlds, and fleshes rage,
And, if no other miserie, yet age?
Rest in soft peace, and, ask'd, say here doth lye
Ben Jonson his best piece of poetrie.
For whose sake, hence-forth, all his vowes be such,
As what he loves may never like too much.
F/H
His ‘best
piece of
poetry’
Could this be
praise of God
for a
wonderful
creation?
Links back to the poet’s earlier admission of sin, he promises not to make the
same mistake again. Could this be a plea for another chance or a warning to
others or a guard against being hurt again?
Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy;
My sinne was too much hope of thee, lov'd boy
Seven yeeres thou wert lent to me, and I thee pay,
Exacted by thy fate, on the just day.
O, could I loose all father, now. For why
Will man lament the state he should envie?
To have so soone scap'd worlds, and fleshes rage,
For his son’s
or God’s
sake?
Vows are
traditionally
promises to
God
And, if no other miserie, yet age?
Rest in soft peace, and, ask'd, say here doth lye
Ben Jonson his best piece of poetrie.
For whose sake, hence-forth, all his vowes be such,
As what he loves may never like too much.
F/H
Written in
iambic
pentameter,
the most
popular metre
of the time.
Does it lend a
conversational
or informal
tone?
Written as a
monologue,
suggesting
inner thoughts
and personal
reflection or
possibly prayer
Is this a prayer to God?
Is this a conversation with
his son?
Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy;
My sinne was too much hope of thee, lov'd boy
Seven yeeres thou wert lent to me, and I thee pay,
Exacted by thy fate, on the just day.
What evidence
can you find to
support either
view?
O, could I loose all father, now. For why
Will man lament the state he should envie?
To have so soone scap'd worlds, and fleshes rage,
And, if no other miserie, yet age?
Rest in soft peace, and, ask'd, say here doth lye
Enjambment
gives this a
grief-stricken,
rambling feel
Ben Jonson his best piece of poetrie.
For whose sake, hence-forth, all his vowes be such,
As what he loves may never like too much.
Could this poem be said to be as much about
Jonson’s father/son relationship with
F/H
God as with his own son?
Comparisons
• Song of the old mother
• First person monologue
• OMFS uses the poet’s
voice whereas Song is
fictional
• Youth and age/parent
child
• Both lament lost youth
• Song could be seen as
bitter towards youth
whereas OMFS idolises
the youth that will never
grow
• Mid-term Break
• Father-son relationships
• Grief and loss of a
relative
• Different reactions to grief
Can you add any more possible
comparisons?
Can you think of any other poems to
use?
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Review
•
•
•
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What do you do when sad things happen?
Do we reach for some sort of faith or explanation
Do we turn away from these?
This poem is written from the viewpoint of the
father. You will all be someone's child but won’t
have your own children yet.
• Does this affect the way you read the poem?
• Do you see it from the poet's point of view, or
identify with the child who has died?
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