BBL 3103 LITERARY THEORY FROM PLATO TO T. S. ELIOT DR. IDA BAIZURA BAHAR

03 Ben Jonson (1572-1637)

Ben Jonson i. About Primarily a classicist; not as much as later classicists like John Dryden and Samuel Johnson, but a classicist nonetheless A reaction against the Romantic tendencies of the Elizabethan age; an attempt to impose order on its chaos Translated Horace’s Ars Poetica into verse ii. Nature and function of poetry Art ranked above other branches of human knowledge because those branches reached their apex within art Thus it provided one with a how-to guide to live a happy and well-adjusted life Believed that art can both instruct and delight

Ben Jonson iii. The Poet Requirements of a poet: To have natural or inborn instinct (Nature) Poet should have the divine within him To constantly practice and exercise his gift (Exercise) To perfect the inborn gift To imitate past models (Imitation) The poet should be able to assimilate and adapt what he finds good in previous poets’ works To be widely read (Studies) So that knowledge is at his disposal To have ‘art’ or knowledge of poetic technique (Art) What makes a poet perfect

The ancients should function as guides, not commanders Ben Jonson iv. The Ancients The ancients should function as guides, not commanders With regard to dramatic criticism, the outward forms of the Ancients can be disregarded