Poetaster, like
rhymester or
versifier, is a derogatory term applied to bad or inferior poets. Specifically,
poetaster has implications of unwarranted pretentions to artistic value. The word was coined in
Latin by
Erasmus in 1521. It was first used in English by
Ben Jonson in his 1600 play
Cynthia's Revels; immediately afterwards Jonson chose it as the title of his 1601 play
The Poetaster. In that play the "poetaster" character is a satire on
John Marston, one of Jonson's rivals in the Poetomachia or
War of the Theatres.