Page 32 - 100 Best Loved Poems - Teaching Unit

“On My First Son”
by Ben Jonson, page 12

Vocabulary
exacted – demanded
lament – grieve for

Note to the teacher: As an introduction, students should be made aware that Benjamin (Ben for
short) means “child of my right hand” in Hebrew, and that poetry, or poiesis in Greek, means
creation. Both translations are necessary for proper understanding of the poem.

1. To whom is the speaker addressing his remarks?

The speaker, Ben Jonson, is addressing his son Benjamin who died when on his seventh
birthday.

2. What does Jonson say is enviable about his son’s death?

In line seven, the speaker says he envies that his son escaped the “rage” and “misery”
people must experience while living on Earth.

3. Explain in your own words what Jonson means in the last two lines of this lyric:
“…henceforth, all his vows be such,/As what he loves may never like too much.”

Answers may vary. Example: Jonson seems to be making a vow to himself that in the future
he will still love, but not come to like what he loves too much. This is to spare him the pain
of loss he feels now with the passing of his son.

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