Brief Chronicles VI (2015) 159
Ben Jonson and the Drummond “Informations”: Why It Matters Richard Malim
he versions of Sir William Drummond’s account of his conversations with Ben Jonson on his visit to Scotland have long been understood as a leading source of information for biographers of Jonson. !e most recent (Ian Donaldson1) recommends that the opus be now referred to as Informations to William Drummond of Hawthornden, or Informations for short. It purports to contain the remarks or notes on the remarks by Jonson in conversations with Drummond. !ere are two references to Shakespeare in it:
“!at Shakspear wanted Arte” “Sheakspear, in a play, brought in a number of men saying they had su"ered Shipwrack in Bohemia, where there is no sea neer by some 100 miles.”