1. My first Sonne By Faiza, Sonya, Olivia and Ieva

2. Attitudes and Ideas The poem is about Ben Johnson. The poet wrote this poem at the time of the plague in 1616. The poem was meant for the poet’s son Benjamin who was seven years of age. Benjamin caught the plague. Ben Jonson’s wife informed Ben whilst he was in London about his son’s death. In the poem Ben says goodbye to his son in this moving poem. This is shown in the quote “Farwell”.

3. Relationships The main Speaker in this poem is Ben Jonson. He bases his poem on his son’s death. Jonson loved his eldest son very much. This is exposed in the quote “thou child of my right hand”. This shows the poet’s close relationship with his son. Another bond in the poem is the relationship between the poet and God. I know this as it says; “My sinne was too much hope of thee” This shows Jonson’s relationship with God and how he thinks that God is punishing him for loving his son too much. The quote “lov’d boy” shows Jonson’s love for his son.

4. Language The type of language that Ben uses is archaic (old fashioned). This helps us understand the time that the poem was written. “Rest in soft peace, and, ask’d, say here doth lye Ben. Jonson his best piece of poetrie.” Jonson uses a metaphor describing his son as the “best” piece of poetry. You can express feelings through poetry so this helps you understand how the poet felt at the time. In addition a father can ‘write’ his child by teaching him – so his son is like a beautiful poem to him.

5. How Else Does The Language Help You Understand the Poem? It is shows you how he felt towards God after taking away his son. “My sinne was too much hope for thee” This shows how Jonson thought that God was punishing him for loving his son more than he loved God. This could also be an image of borrowing and eventually paying it back a debt. He had his son for “seven yeeres” but then had to repay the loan.

6. Alternative interpretation In the poem “On my first Sonne” the word “best” (lines 9-10) shows how his son was his “best piece of poetry”. This shows he was important to him, like his writing. It could also show that he feels his son is like a poem as they are works of art. This could show his love for the boy.

7. Compare with… The poem “On my first Sonne” is compared to “My last Duchess”, because they are both based on death, loneliness, hatred and relationships. The example of death is “Looking as she were alive” from Browning’s poem and “Farewell, thou child of my right hand” from Jonson’s poem.

8. Compare with other… In the “On my first Sonne” is compared to “Education for leisure” they are both based on the theme death as in Duffy’s poem the narrator sets out with a knife to kill and in Jonson’s poem his son has died.

9. Poem successful because… It showed how the poet felt whilst writing about his son. He also gave his viewpoint towards God and how he felt towards him for taking away his son.

10. Credits… Class notes and Pure Individual intelligence By Faiza, Sonya, Olivia and Ieva