Shakespeare eclipsed all the playwrights of the Elizabethan era. This fate fell on Ben Johnson, the greatest contemporary of Shakespeare. Johnson's work could constitute an era in the history of English literature, but it could not compete with the brilliant creations of Shakespeare. Ben Johnson acted as the creator of everyday comedy - a comedy of morals, theoretically substantiating the need for reflection in the dramaturgy of modern life. He opposed the "high comedy" and bloody drama, the enemy of the heroic folk theater, the greatest representative of which was Shakespeare.
