Popular Nonsense according to John Taylor and Ben Jonson

This article examines the nonsense writing of John Taylor the Water Poet, a laborer who became one of the most popular authors in Stuart England despite his limited learning and low social status. Taylor, this essay argues, uses nonsense to popularize literary discourse for a commercial public, thereby promoting a democratic model of poetics that prioritizes access over understanding. Putting his nonsensical popularizations in conversation with Ben Jonson’s poetic theory, the essay shows that Taylor contributes significantly to ongoing debates about sociopoetic value and illuminates the meaningful role nonsense played in the development of a discernibly popular culture in Renaissance England.