What is an elegy?

An elegy is a mournful poem or song, a lament for the dead.

What does lament mean?Lament means to express sorrow, remorse or regret. A poem or song in which a death is lamented.

Objectives

By the end of today’s lesson you will be able to:

Complete a MITSL analysis of On My First Sonne.

Name:

About the poet

Occupation:Actor, playwright and poet

Education:

The young Jonson attended Westminster School, a rigorous, classics-minded grammar school. He did not go to university, probably for reasons of money, training instead in his step-father's trade as a bricklayer. However, at some point in the 1590s he chose to try his luck as a soldier in the Low Countries where English troops were involved in the continuing wars between the Dutch and the Spanish.

The records of the Tylers and Bricklayers' Companies seem to indicate that Jonson worked in their trade from 1595 to around 1602 the same years which saw Jonson establish himself as both actor and writer.

Other:

b.1572 d.1637Ben Jonson

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,  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.

Ben Jonson1616

On my first Sonne

How can we be sure that Jonson is speaking for and as himself?

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,  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.

What cause does the poet give as to why the boy died?

What’s the poem about?

The poem records and laments the death of the poet's first son.

Jonson writes as if talking to his son - and as if he assumes that the boy can hear or read his words.

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,  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.

What does Jonson mean by ‘here doth lye / Ben. Jonson his best piece of poetrie’?

Comment on the poem’s form and style?

His son is the best thing he ever made.

The poem is 12 lines long and is written using iambic pentameter. Jonson arranges the lines in rhyming pairs, which we call couplets.

Explain the paradox ‘Will man lament the state he should envie?’

The boy is going to escape the hardships of life and the misery of aging.

Iambic PentameterIambic pentameter consists of one short syllable followed by one long syllable – these pairs are Iambs. There are five groups of Iambs – hence pentameter.

da-dum da-dum da-dum da-dum da-dum

When read aloud such verse naturally follows a beat, similar to that of a human heart beat at rest. In written form it looks like this:

So Jonson's work would follow the pattern:

Fare-well thou-child of-my right-hand and-joy

On my first sonne

 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. Oh, 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 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.

Bidding goodbye

Addressed to his dead son

What was the sin?

His son’s name was Ben, Hebrew for “right hand”

Hoped for so much, but fate made him pay

The hand of god

Died at 7 years What emotion is portrayed by the “O”?

Questions why we should fear deathGone to a

better place

Escaped the pain of growing old

Euphemism, makes death sound comforting

A gift from heaven

Wants to avoid being hurt again so much