Who is the Guest in the poem, Inviting a Friend to Supper?

The guest in the poem is highly revered and respected by the speaker. The speaker humbles himself before the guest and suggests that without his presence at the dinner, the evening will be undignified and hold no esteem. Critics have long agreed that the addressee of the poem is William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, who was Jonson's long-time patron. Jonson uses the occasion of the poem to both flatter and praise Herbert at the same time he acknowledges the necessity of literary patronage for his own security.