On Giles and Joan
Who
says
that
Giles
and
Joan
at
discord
be?
Th'
observing
neighbors
no
such
mood
can
see.
Indeed,
poor
Giles
repents
he
married
ever,
But
that
his
Joan
doth
too.
And
Giles
would
never
By
his
free
will
be
in
Joan's
company;
No
more
would
Joan
he
should.
Giles
riseth
early,
And
having
got
him
out
of
doors
is
glad;
The
like
is
Joan.
But
turning
home
is
sad,
And
so
is
Joan.
Ofttimes,
when
Giles
doth
find
Harsh
sights
at
home,
Giles
wisheth
he
were
blind:
All
this
doth
Joan.
Or
that
his
long-yearned
life
Were
quite
outspun.
The
like
wish
hath
his
wife.
The
children
that
he
keeps
Giles
swear
are
none
Of
his
begetting;
and
so
swears
his
Joan.
In
all
affections
she
concurreth
still.
If
now,
with
man
and
wife,
to
will
and
nill
The
self-same
things
a
note
of
concord
be,
I
know
no
couple
better
can
agree.
Ben Jonson
Ben Jonson (born June 11?, 1572, London, England—died August 6, 1637, London) English Stuart dramatist, lyric poet, and literary critic. He is generally regarded as the second most important English dramatist, after William Shakespeare, during the reign of James I. Among his major plays are the comedies Every Man in His Humour (1598), Volpone (1605), Epicoene; or, The Silent Woman (1609), The Alchemist (1610), and Bartholomew Fair (1614). Ben Jonson died in Westminster on August 8, 1637. A tremendous crowd of mourners attended his burial at Westminster Abbey. He is regarded as one of the major dramatists and poets of the seventeenth century.