BEN JONSON was born at Westminster, England, about 1573. He
was the friend of Shakespeare and a famous dramatist in his day, but
his plays no longer hold the stage. His best play is "Every Man in
his Humour." His songs and short poems are beautiful. He died in
1637. His tomb in Westminster Abbey is inscribed "O Rare Ben Jonson!"

GEORGE HERBERT was born in Montgomery Castle, Wales, April 3,
1593. He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge. Later he
studied for the ministry and was appointed vicar of Bremerton. His
"Sacred Poems" are noted for their purity and beauty of sentiment.
He died in 1633.

JOHN MILTON was born in London, December 9, 1608. He was
educated at Christ's College, Cambridge. Later he spent a year in
travel, meeting the great Galileo while in Italy. He was an ardent
advocate of freedom, and under the Protectorate he was the secretary
of the Protector, Oliver Cromwell. When only forty-six, he became
totally blind, yet his greatest work was done after this misfortune
overtook him. As a poet he stands second only to Shakespeare. His
early poems, "Comus," "L'Allegro," "Il Penseroso," and "Lycidas,"
are very beautiful, and his "Paradise Lost" is the finest epic poem
in the English language. He died in 1674.

THE MINOR POETS of the age of Milton were Edmund Waller,
Robert Herrick, George Wither, Sir John Suckling, and Sir Richard
Lovelace.

JOHN DRYDEN was born August 9, 1631. He was educated at
Trinity College, Cambridge. His poem in honor of the restoration