Jonson 1603 work may contain Shakespeare sonnet

[marc hanson]

i just saw this article, but haven't read it yet

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/mar/23/ben-jonson-play-from-1603-may-contain-lost-shakespeare-sonnet-say-experts


marc

[marc hanson]

Post by marc hanson
i just saw this article, but haven't read it yet
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/mar/23/ben-jonson-play-from-1603-may-contain-lost-shakespeare-sonnet-say-experts
marc

this is the sonnet,
that some experts believe may have been written by William Shakespeare [to Ben Jonson]

To the Deserving Author

When I respect thy argument, I see
An image of those times: but when I view
The wit, the workmanship, so rich, so true,
The times themselves do seem retrieved to me.
And as Sejanus, in thy tragedy,
Falleth from Caesar’s grace; even so the crew
Of common playwrights, whom opinion blew
Big with false greatness, are disgraced by thee.
Thus, in one Tragedy, thou makest twain:
And, since fair works of Justice fit the part
Of tragic writers, Muses do ordain
That all Tragedians, Masters of their Art,
Who shall hereafter follow on this tract,
In writing well, thy tragedy shall act.

CYGNUS

marc

[bookburn]

Post by marc hanson

Post by marc hanson
i just saw this article, but haven't read it yet
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/mar/23/ben-jonson-play-from-1603-may-contain-lost-shakespeare-sonnet-say-experts
marc

this is the sonnet,
that some experts believe may have been written by William Shakespeare [to Ben Jonson]
To the Deserving Author
When I respect thy argument, I see
An image of those times: but when I view
The wit, the workmanship, so rich, so true,
The times themselves do seem retrieved to me.
And as Sejanus, in thy tragedy,
Falleth from Caesar’s grace; even so the crew
Of common playwrights, whom opinion blew
Big with false greatness, are disgraced by thee.
And, since fair works of Justice fit the part
Of tragic writers, Muses do ordain
That all Tragedians, Masters of their Art,
Who shall hereafter follow on this tract,
In writing well, thy tragedy shall act.
CYGNUS
marc

I notice that l. iv, "The times themselves do seem retrieved to me," shows the "re-creation" motif, which Shakespeare displays abundantly in the sonnetts; although others do to, and it's probably a type of universal. Such symbols of the mirror in nature reveal a lot, it seems, about "an image of those times," and maybe the inner expression of the poet and his inspiration? Question is whether this is done unconsciously?

[Margaret]

Post by marc hanson

Post by marc hanson
i just saw this article, but haven't read it yet
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/mar/23/ben-jonson-play-from-1603-may-contain-lost-shakespeare-sonnet-say-experts
marc

this is the sonnet,
that some experts believe may have been written by William Shakespeare [to Ben Jonson]
To the Deserving Author
When I respect thy argument, I see
An image of those times: but when I view
The wit, the workmanship, so rich, so true,
The times themselves do seem retrieved to me.
And as Sejanus, in thy tragedy,
Falleth from Caesar’s grace; even so the crew
Of common playwrights, whom opinion blew
Big with false greatness, are disgraced by thee.
And, since fair works of Justice fit the part
Of tragic writers, Muses do ordain
That all Tragedians, Masters of their Art,
Who shall hereafter follow on this tract,
In writing well, thy tragedy shall act.
CYGNUS
marc

I notice that l. iv, "The times themselves do seem retrieved to me," shows the "re-creation" motif, which Shakespeare displays abundantly in the sonnetts; although others do to, and it's probably a type of universal. Such symbols of the mirror in nature reveal a lot, it seems, about "an image of those times," and maybe the inner expression of the poet and his inspiration? Question is whether this is done unconsciously?

Doesn't sound convincingly Shakespeare to me. Possibly someone taking a pop at Shakespeare: "common playwrights, whom opinion blew/Big with false greatness." Or Jonson himself maybe, left for posterity...