The Complete Poems
Jonson was Shakespeare's main rival and the poet who insisted that craft, discipline, and classical learning mattered more than raw inspiration.
“Drink to me only with thine eyes, / And I will pledge with mine.”
Why It Matters
Jonson was Shakespeare's main rival and the poet who insisted that craft, discipline, and classical learning mattered more than raw inspiration. His influence on English poetry's formal tradition — clean structure, moral seriousness, satirical precision — was enormous. Without Jonson, there is no Dryden, no Pope, no Augustan age.
The 
Take
Personal reviewJust fine, well structured and very readable, but nothing really grabbed me
Notable Quotes
“Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy; / My sin was too much hope of thee, loved boy.”
“He was not of an age, but for all time!”