ABSTRACT
On February 3rd, 1617, Ben Jonson was granted by the King a pension of one hundred marks which, though the title had not yet been invented or the position created, made him in effect the first poet laureate of England. The visit to Scotland is the first important event of this middle period. Winding up the old year with a Mask for Christmas, presented at Court in 1616, he started the New Year with The Mask of Lethe, written for Lord Hay, who was entertaining the French Ambassador at his house on February 22nd, 1617. Then came A Vision of Delight, Lovers Made Men, Pleasure Reconciled to Virtue, and For the Honour of Wales, all presented at Court previous to his departure. In 1619 he set forth on his valiant pilgrimage.
