Ben Jonson’s Dead Body: Henry, Prince of Wales, and the 1616 Folio

This essay examines the 1616 Ben Jonson Folio in the context of the social, poetic, and bibliographical aftermath of the death of Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, in 1612. Those involved in the stated and implied social network surrounding the book overlap significantly with those involved in Henrys death and funeral, and with those who participated in the outpouring of grief in print. Jonson’s Folio rehearses the typography and poetics of grief established as a precedent in the mourning of 1612.