Am I thus ample to thy book and fame
-- Speaker (Line 2)

Importance: This is a standard beginning for a poem of praise, particularly an elegy. Jonson questions his own fitness for the task of praising Shakespeare's writing. Positioning himself as the inferior writer, he goes on to argue that it is insufficient, perhaps even offensive, for him to place himself in the position of praising such a superior artist. This claim is notable in the light of the lively rivalry Shakespeare and Jonson had in life.

These are, as some infamous bawd or whore / should praise a matron; what could hurt her more?
-- Speaker (Lines 13-14)

Importance: In these lines, Jonson lays out a rather lewd analogy. He writes that his own praise of Shakespeare is the equivalent of a sexually promiscuous woman praising a virtuous mother, thus shaming her by the comparison. This introduces some humor into the otherwise serious subject, and certainly both Jonson and...