On My First Son

Ben Jonson is not the emotional, sensitive kind of guy you would expect to write such a poignant elegy. For a large part of his life he was a brute, a thug and an alcoholic. At one stage he even murdered a fellow actor, although he escaped being hung by claiming to have links to the catholic church, a powerful ally at the time [however, his father was a protestant clergyman and, evidently, not catholic, therefore he obviously had no valid links].
But, I do agree that this poem is particularly touching, and one of the things that makes it so poignant, and which most people fail to recognize, is the fact that he, a brute, wrote such an exquisite and somber piece of poetry and used such heartfelt lines such as 'rest in soft peace'. This is one of the most touching and provocative lines in his poem, and clearly reflects the great love and respect he held for his first son and namesake, Ben Jonson.
The poem has deep religious themes running throughout it, Jonson was a committed catholic at the time of writing (1603), but had only been so for five years, and 7 years after writing the poem Jonson renounced Catholicism. In this sense the religious aspect in the poem is very important to consider, as Jonson was clearly confused about his religion. Considering this, his line ‘O, could I lose all father, now’ is a particularly important one as it indicates he may lose faith in god as a result of his child’s death, it is almost like a threat to god.
The metaphor, which seems to run throughout the poem, is that his son was only lent to him; ‘seven yeeres tho’wert lent to me, and I the pay…’ This line specifically expresses his views that god is somewhat of a bank, and that people are only loaned their loved ones for a certain period of time.

i just read this poem in literature klass...n i ust say that its a deep one and pone can really not get it all in at the first reading. esp if u're doing it in the last klasses as i was
neways goin on the deeper aalysis of the poem its written with an elegis tuch to it..an iambic pentamime to commamarade the death of his eldest son 'ben jonson'
the first word of the poen "farewell" itself has the deep monotonous subjecty veiled which will develop through out the rest of the poem. the poet not only explored his own feeling on the loss of his son who was his "right hand bot and joy" which shows the worth and closeness and affection the poet had fer his son but also explores the poet's on meditations. the reader must here keep in view the poet's christian faith and the religious bend of mind that he had. the poet develops and comes to the conclusion through the poem that this life is temporary "lent" to humanz, whose real place is in the heens, with god. he further asks why we feel grief over a persons death when in reality the position of the dead person who is now acc. to mr, jonson in a better place away ffrom the hardships and miseries of the world, the biggest misery of which is age itself. instead his position is now envious for he has transferred into a much better and happier place thn this world.
in the next few lines the poet refers to himself: here one must not take the literal meaning of a poet as a writer but the hidden meaning as a creator. thus his son was his first and best creation.
the poet resolves not to feel too drawn to a thing he loves so that its parting becomes impossible or heavily grief and sorrow ladden.