Ben Jonson (11 June 1572-6 August 1637) was an English playwright, poet, actor, and literary critic, whose artistry exerted a lasting impact upon English poetry and stage comedy. He is generally regarded as the second most important English dramatist, after William Shakespeare, during the region of James I. He popularized the comedy of humours. He is best known for the satirical plays Every Man in His Humour, Volpone, Epicoene, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, and for his lyric and epigrammatic poetry.