He was not of an age but for all time.

Ben Jonson wrote this line in his elegiac tribute to William Shakespeare, composed for the prefatory matter of the 1623 First Folio (Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies). In the poem—often referred to by its opening, “To the Memory of My Beloved, The Author Mr. William Shakespeare”—Jonson praises Shakespeare’s genius while also positioning him against both contemporary rivals and the authority of classical authors. The phrase “not of an age, but for all time” asserts that Shakespeare’s work transcends the fashions and limits of the Elizabethan/Jacobean stage and deserves enduring, universal esteem.

Jonson’s claim is a compact statement of literary immortality. By denying that Shakespeare belongs merely to “an age,” he rejects the idea that Shakespeare’s plays are only products of a particular historical moment or theatrical scene. Instead, “for all time” elevates Shakespeare to a timeless standard: his insight into character, language, and human motives remains intelligible and compelling across generations. The line also functions rhetorically as canon-making. Printed in the First Folio, it helps authorize Shakespeare as a writer whose stature rivals (and even surpasses) that of the classical tradition, encouraging readers to treat the plays as lasting literature rather than ephemeral performance.

He was not of an age, but for all time!

1) “He was not of an age, but for all time!”
2) “He was not of an age but for all time.”
3) “He was not of an age, but for all time.”