Earl of Oxford: All art is political, Jonson. Otherwise it would just be decoration.
Ben Jonson: You are the soul of the age... Undeniable perfection that plagued my soul.
Anne De Vere: You, your friends, your blasphemous theater have brought nothing but ruin and dishonor to this family.
Ben Jonson: Ruin? Dishonor? My lady, you, your family, even I, even Queen Elizabeth herself will be remembered solely because we had the honor to live whilst your husband put ink to paper.
Ben Jonson: Politics? My play has nothing to do with politics. I-i-i-it's just a simple comedy.
Earl of Oxford: It showed your betters as fools who'd go through life barely managing to get food from plate to mouth were it not for the cleverness of their servants. All art is political, Jonson, otherwise it would just be decoration. And all artists have something to say, otherwise they'd make shoes. And you are not a cobbler, are you Jonson.
