Short biography of ben jonson works

Born in early June of 1572 (probably the 11th) in London, Ben Jonson never knew his father, a minister, who had died two months before he was born.

No real trace of Jonson’s father has been found; the name was hardly uncommon, and its spelling was Ben’s invention—his father was likely one of many Johnsons in London at this time.

Short biography of ben jonson works

His mother remarried early in his childhood. His stepfather was a bricklayer named Robert Brett.

Jonson was educated briefly at Westminster School, where he was introduced to the humanist culture that dominated English thought at the time.

Jonson said later that he was “taken from” his education and “put to another craft,” which was likely an apprenticeship of some kind, followed by a short spell as a soldier at war in the Netherlands.

Jonson returned to London in about 1594 and married Anne Lewis on November 14, 1594.

Nothing is known of her except from a contemporary source that she w