Summarize Ben Jonson's poem, "On My First Son," in your own words.

Ben Jonson (a contemporary of William Shakespeare) writes
"On My First Son," speaking of the death of his seven year-old
son.

Farewell,
thou child of my right hand, and joy;
My sin was too much hope of thee, lov'd
boy.

The first two lines of
this twelve-line poem, express Jonson's farewell to the son he loved so much. The
reference to "my right hand" might be a Biblical allusion to Christ, God's beloved son
who sits on God's right-hand side. The boy was his father's "joy." Jonson admits that
his sin was to expect that the boy would have a long life
because:

Seven
years thou wert lent to me, and I thee pay.
Exacted by the fate, on the just
day.

...Jonson says he
believes that for seven years, the boy was his only on loan—we assume, from heaven—and
payment was taken in the form of the boy's life on the day he died (of the plague, while
Jonson was away).

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Oh, could I lose all father now! For
why
Will man lament the state he should
envy?

The first sentence in
the second quatrain (four-line stanza) could mean that Jonson no longer wants to feel
the pain of being a parent and losing a child,
or, wishes he could
be like a child to express his grief without reservations: freely
and "wildly" as a child would. The rest of this segment is the author's way of wondering
why he should be sad ("lament") the state his son is now in—in heaven, without
pain—which is something one should envy (as per the teachings of
Christianity).

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To have so soon 'scaped world's and flesh's
rage,
And, if no other misery, yet
age?

The second part of the
second quatrain explains that the boy has escaped the ravages of time: old age. And is
this not a blessing for the boy? The author is trying to now comfort himself in his
grief, while he may also be doubting his faith a little: he has been taught that this
rest—this peace—is to be sought after according to the Christian
faith.

Rest in soft peace, and asked, say here doth
lie
Ben Jonson his best piece of poetry;

In these
first two lines of the third quatrain, Jonson addresses his son, wishing him "soft
peace" as he rests; he also hopes that all who pass the grave can know that there lies
what is left of Jonson— his "best piece of poetry:" his
greatest work beyond all he has ever written or
done.

For
whose sake, henceforth, all his vows be such,
As what he loves may never like
too much.

In this last part
of the third quatrain, Jonson hopes that of all the promises he makes to himself, he
hopes he can fulfill the one that swears he will never again allow
himself to love another as much as he loved his son, so as to avoid feeling this kind of
pain again.