ABSTRACT
Chapman apart, the dramatists we now turn to were born later than Shakespeare and their mature work belongs to the Jacobean and Caroline periods. Throughout the seventeenth century Ben Jonson (1572-1637) was considered by some to be England’s leading dramatist and by many to share an equality with Shakespeare. It is sometimes said that he has now been unjustly overshadowed by Shakespeare; but his plays lack certain qualities which have made Shakespeare’s appeal a lasting one. In particular Shakespeare’s poetry makes a profound exploration of the connotative, associative and symbolic power of words and consequently operates at a level of human interest that transcends historicity and topicality. No one would claim this gift for Jonson to anything like the same degree.
