Point of View

The poem is written from the first-person point of view of the speaker, Ben Jonson. He writes directly to his son who died the same year the poem was written. Jonson departs from the traditional, public elegy usually written in the third person by writing from an intimate and private perspective. The poem represents Jonson's own grieving process and reads as a prayer or meditation that he uses to cope with the loss of his son.

Language and Meaning

The language of "On My First Son" is generally accessible, with few instances of elevated vocabulary or convoluted syntax. This accessibility is reflective both of Jonson's career in general—he was known for his representation of the working-class masses on stage—and of the poem's sincerity as a lament. While the poem still contains elements of poetic craft, its general simplicity underscores the speaker's honest, unfiltered...