ABSTRACT
Ben Jonson (I573?–I637) was a life-long friend and rival of Shakespeare. His tribute in the First Folio was dismissed by Dryden as ‘An Insolent, Sparing, and Invidious Panegyrick’ (Preface to Juvenal's Satires,I693, iii), and that judgment has been echoed many times. But Jonson's only reservation is on the grounds of Shakespeare's knowledge of classical languages and, properly understood, means that Shakespeare equalled the achievement of the Greek and Roman dramatists without having the learning to be indebted to them; he excelled by Nature, not Art. For the rest, Jonson's praise is both perceptive and generous.
