Friday, February 6, 2015

What are the literary terms used in Ben Jonson's "On My First Son?"

The poem is one of Ben Jonson's Epigrams, which was a collection of poetry published around 1603.  It incorporates the use of metaphors, where a statement is applied to an object or action that isn't usually applicable -- consider the opening line, where Jonson alludes to himself through the Christian concept of "God the Father," with the "Son sitting at the right hand of the Father."  He immediately contrasts this image of "God the Father" in the next line, by admitting of the "sin" of loving his son too much -- creating a simile by comparing a human father's love for his son, as "God the Father" loved his son Jesus in Christian theology.  There are a few other examples of the use of metaphors and similes within the poem....

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