Jonson’s “On My First Daughter” p. 640 is a verbalized mourning. The poem engages me in it because of its delivered sadness. It is not however a cry of inconsolable grief as it offers the reader a plea of comfort and belief that the baby girl is in Heaven. I find this poem very soothing (even with the pain engraved in it) because it provides me with comfort that not only the baby has gone to Heaven but that others (including myself) don’t have death as the final destination.
I hope others find the same feeling of comfort and need for God when they read this poem and that is why I decided to share it as one of the blogs.
After some research, I found an interesting piece of information. It seems that Ben Jonson was a rather crude, raucous and rough character. These personality traits or behavior (however you want to label it as) is not evidenced in the poem however. Instead, Jonson’s “On My First Daughter” utilizes a speaker, which I would venture to say is a biographical voice, that is compassionate, God abiding, and gentle. Just a contradiction to ponder about.
The following website has more information about Jonson’s life: http://kamus3.homestead.com/jonson.html
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