Poetaster
Ben Jonson wrote “Poetaster,” a late Elizabethan satire play that was originally presented in 1601. The play is a part of the literary competition between Jonson and his competitors. John Marston and Thomas Dekker are known as the Poetomachia or War of the Theatres. The story which takes place at the court of Emperor Augustus, centers on the poetaster Crispinus and his buddy Demetrius.
Who stands in for Marston and Dekker as well as a swaggering commander named Pantilius Tucca. He plans to discredit Horace, who stands in for Jonson. The play conveys Jonson’s opinions on the moral obligations of poets in society in addition to being a personal tirade against competitors.
About the Author
Jonson was a bricklayer’s stepson who soldiered in the Low Countries, killed a fellow actor in a duel in 1598, and escaped hanging only by pleading benefit of clergy, which left him branded on the thumb. Volpone, The Alchemist and Bartholomew Fair are the comedies…
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