Ben Jonson: Playwright and England’s First Poet Laureate
Sun: Gemini
Ascendant: Taurus
Moon: Scorpio

In the creative fields, there is always the contrast between art and artisan; between the natural genius and the skilled craftsman; between Tupac and Puff Daddy. This was the same differentiation in the 1600’s between Shakespeare and Ben Jonson, the two leading playwrights of their time (and perhaps of all time in the English language).

While unschooled Shakespeare soared to creative heights unbridled, Jonson was the conscious craftsman putting out highly erudite pieces targeted to his audience. Shakespeare’s work remains eternal and ageless, yet Jonson’s work, for all its brilliance, is very much a product of its era.

You can see this in the position of Jupiter and Saturn in their charts. Both Jonson and Shakespeare have expansive Jupiter in the first house. Shakespeare has Saturn conjunct Jupiter, showing his ability to focus his natural gifts, while Jonson has Saturn opposing his ascendant and house of identity. For Jonson, he has a tendency to show off his erudition, or wear it is as a way of validating himself and those aspects of himself he is unsure of (he also has Neptune in the second house, see yesterday’s Judy Garland post). With Saturn opposing Jupiter in his identity sector, it is as if the structure of his scholarliness is in constant conflict with his own natural ability.

Other June 10 Birthday Twins:

John Constable, Painter: 1776
Richard Strauss, Composer: 1864
Bartolomeo Vanzetti, Anarchist: 1888
Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Oceanic Explorer: 1910
Vince Lombardi, Football Coach: 1913
William Styron, Author: 1925
Gene Wilder, Actor: 1933
Chad Everett, Actor: 1936
Jackie Stewart, Scottish F1 Driver: 1939
Christina Crawford, Daughter of Mommie Dearest: 1939
Adrienne Barbeau, Actress: 1945
Graham Russell, .5 of Air Supply: 1950
Hugh Laurie, Comedian: 1959
Jean Alesi, F1 Driver: 1964
Manuel Uribe, One of the world’s heaviest people (560 kg / 1232 lb): 1965
Joshua Jackson, Actor: 1978
Shia LaBeouf, Actor: 1986

This entry was posted by astrology detective on Wednesday, June 11th, 2008 at 3:39 am and is filed under art and literature, birthday twins . You can trackback from your own site.