The poet, essayist, and playwright Ben Jonson was born in 1572
in London, England. His father, a minister, died shortly before
his birth and his mother remarried a bricklayer. Jonson was
raised in Westminster and attended St. Martin's parish school
and Westminster School, where he came under the influence of the
classical scholar William Camden. He left the Westminster school
in 1589, worked briefly in his stepfather's trade as a
bricklayer, then served in the military at Flanders, before
working as an actor and playwright for Philip Henslowe's theater
company. In 1594, Jonson married Anne Lewis and began to work as
an actor and playwright. Jonson and Lewis had at least two
children, but little else is known of their marriage. In 1598,
Jonson wrote what is considered his first great play, Every Man
in His Humor. In a 1616 production, William Shakespeare acted in
one of the lead roles. Shortly after the play opened, Jonson
killed Gabriel Spencer in a duel and was tried for murder. He
was released by pleading "