Summary

Jonson begins by hoping that he is good enough to write in honor of Shakespeare. It would be impossible, he contends, to offer "too much" praise to his work (4). He assures the reader that he is not writing simply out of affection, nor to insult Shakespeare by giving him praise from such an unworthy source as himself. He states that Shakespeare's superiority is such that he is above "the need" for better praise (16).

He praises Shakespeare as the greatest writer of "the age" (17). He compares him positively to English writers like Chaucer, Spenser, Beaumont, Lyly, Kid, and Marlowe, and states that Shakespeare will live forever "while thy book doth live" (23). He then compares Shakespeare to the great dramatists of the classical era, and celebrates Shakespeare's international reputation.

He writes that the muses recognize Shakespeare's superiority to other writers, but contends it is not just...