A Sonnet, to the Noble Lady, the Lady Mary Wroth
I
that
have
been
a
lover,
and
could
show
it,
Though
not
in
these,
in
rhymes
not
wholly
dumb,
Since
I
exscribe
your
sonnets,
am
become
A
better
lover,
and
much
better
poet.
Nor
is
my
Muse,
or
I
ashamed
to
owe
it
To
those
true
numerous
graces;
whereof
some
But
charm
the
senses,
others
overcome
Both
brains
and
hearts;
and
mine
now
best
do
know
it:
For
in
your
verse
all
Cupid's
armory,
His
flames,
his
shafts,
his
quiver,
and
his
bow,
His
very
eyes
are
yours
to
overthrow.
But
then
his
mother's
sweets
you
so
apply,
Her
joys,
her
smiles,
her
loves,
as
readers
take
For
Venus'
ceston,
every
line
you
make.
Ben Jonson
Ben Jonson (born June 11?, 1572, London, England—died August 6, 1637, London) English Stuart dramatist, lyric poet, and literary critic. He is generally regarded as the second most important English dramatist, after William Shakespeare, during the reign of James I. Among his major plays are the comedies Every Man in His Humour (1598), Volpone (1605), Epicoene; or, The Silent Woman (1609), The Alchemist (1610), and Bartholomew Fair (1614). Ben Jonson died in Westminster on August 8, 1637. A tremendous crowd of mourners attended his burial at Westminster Abbey. He is regarded as one of the major dramatists and poets of the seventeenth century.