Thomas Shadwell

{{short description|17th-century English poet and playwright}}

{{short description|17th-century English poet and playwright}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2015}}

{{Use British English|date=December 2015}}

{{Use British English|date=December 2015}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2015}}

{{Infobox officeholder

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Thomas Shadwell

| name = Thomas Shadwell

| image = Thomas Shadwell from NPG.jpg

| image = Thomas Shadwell from NPG.jpg

| office = [[Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom|Poet Laureate of England]]

| office = [[Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom|Poet Laureate of England]]

| monarch = [[William III of England|William III]] and [[Mary II]]

| monarch = [[William III of England|William III]] and [[Mary II]]

| term_start = 9 March 1689

| term_start = 9 March 1689

| term_end = 19 or 20 November 1692

| term_end = 19 or 20 November 1692

| predecessor = [[John Dryden]]

| predecessor = [[John Dryden]]

| successor = [[Nahum Tate]]

| successor = [[Nahum Tate]]

| birth_date = {{circa|1642}}

| birth_date = {{circa|1642}}

| birth_place = [[Weeting]] or [[Lynford]], [[Norfolk]], England

| birth_place = [[Weeting]] or [[Lynford]], [[Norfolk]], England

| death_date = {{death date|df=yes|1692|11|19}} (aged approx. 49–50)

| death_date = {{death date|df=yes|1692|11|19}} (aged approx. 49–50)

| death_place = London, England

| death_place = London, England

| occupation = Poet, playwright

| occupation = Poet, playwright

| alma_mater = [[Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge]]

| alma_mater = [[Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge]]

| awards = [[Poet laureate]]

| awards = [[Poet laureate]]

| module = {{infobox writer

| module = {{infobox writer

| embed = yes

| embed = yes

| notable_works = ''Epsom Wells''; ''Squire of Alsatia''

| notable_works = ''Epsom Wells''; ''Squire of Alsatia''

}}

}}

| spouse = [[Anne Shadwell]]

| spouse = [[Anne Shadwell]]

| children = 4, including [[Charles Shadwell (playwright)|Charles]]

| children = 4, including [[Charles Shadwell (playwright)|Charles]]

}}

}}

'''Thomas Shadwell''' ({{circa|1642}} – 19 November 1692) was an English poet and playwright who was appointed [[Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom|Poet Laureate]] in 1689.{{Cite DNB |wstitle= Shadwell, Thomas | volume= 51 |last= Aitken |first= George Atherton |author-link= George Atherton Aitken | pages= 340-343 |short=1}}

'''Thomas Shadwell''' ({{circa|1642}} – 19 November 1692) was an English poet and playwright who was appointed [[Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom|Poet Laureate]] in 1689.{{Cite DNB |wstitle=Shadwell, Thomas |volume=51 |last=Aitken |first=George Atherton |author-link=George Atherton Aitken |pages=340-343 |short=1}}

==Life==

==Life==

Shadwell was born at either Bromehill Farm, [[Weeting-with-Broomhill]] or Santon House, [[Lynford]], [[Norfolk]],Clarke, WG (1937). In Breckland Wilds. Heffer & Sons Ltd, Cambridge; 2nd edition, p.142 and educated at [[Bury St Edmunds]] School, and at [[Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge]], which he entered in 1656.{{acad|id=SHDL656T|name=Shadwell, Thomas}} He left the university without a degree and joined the [[Middle Temple]]. At the [[Glorious Revolution|Whig triumph in 1688]], he superseded [[John Dryden]] as poet laureate and historiographer royal. He died at Chelsea on 19 November 1692.[http://www.malaspina.org/home.asp?topic=./search/details&lastpage=./search/results&ID=20 Thomas Shadwell] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041128214840/http://www.malaspina.org/home.asp?topic=.%2Fsearch%2Fdetails |date=28 November 2004 }} He was buried in [[Chelsea Old Church]], but his tomb was destroyed by wartime bombing. A memorial to him with a bust by [[Francis Bird]] survives in [[Poets' Corner]] in [[Westminster Abbey]].Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660-1851 by Rupert Gunnis

Shadwell was born at either Bromehill Farm, [[Weeting-with-Broomhill]] or Santon House, [[Lynford]], [[Norfolk]],Clarke, WG (1937). In Breckland Wilds. Heffer & Sons Ltd, Cambridge; 2nd edition, p.142 and educated at [[Bury St Edmunds]] School, and at [[Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge]], which he entered in 1656.{{acad|id=SHDL656T|name=Shadwell, Thomas}} He left the university without a degree and joined the [[Middle Temple]]. At the [[Glorious Revolution|Whig triumph in 1688]], he superseded [[John Dryden]] as poet laureate and historiographer royal. He died at Chelsea on 19 November 1692.[http://www.malaspina.org/home.asp?topic=./search/details&lastpage=./search/results&ID=20 Thomas Shadwell] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041128214840/http://www.malaspina.org/home.asp?topic=.%2Fsearch%2Fdetails |date=28 November 2004}} He was buried in [[Chelsea Old Church]], but his tomb was destroyed by wartime bombing. A memorial to him with a bust by [[Francis Bird]] survives in [[Poets' Corner]] in [[Westminster Abbey]].Gunnis, Rupert. ''Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660–1851''

He was married to the actress [[Anne Shadwell]], who appeared in several of his plays. They had four children including the playwright [[Charles Shadwell (playwright)|Charles Shadwell]] and [[John Shadwell (physician)|John Shadwell]], a [[physician]] who attended to both [[Queen Anne of Great Britain|Queen Anne]] and [[George I of Great Britain|George I]].Highfill, Philip H, Burnim, Kalman A. & Langhans, Edward A. ''A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers & Other Stage Personnel in London, 1660-1800, Volume 13''. SIU Press, 1991. p.276

He was married to the actress [[Anne Shadwell]], who appeared in several of his plays. They had four children, including the playwright [[Charles Shadwell (playwright)|Charles Shadwell]] and [[John Shadwell (physician)|John Shadwell]], a [[physician]] who attended both [[Queen Anne of Great Britain|Queen Anne]] and [[George I of Great Britain|King George I]].Highfill, Philip H, Burnim, Kalman A. & Langhans, Edward A. ''A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers & Other Stage Personnel in London, 1660-1800, Volume 13''. SIU Press, 1991. p.276

==Works==

==Works==

In 1668 he produced a prose comedy, ''[[The Sullen Lovers]]'', or the ''Impertinents'', based on ''Les Fâcheux'' by [[Molière]], and written in open imitation of [[Ben Jonson]]'s comedy of humours. His best plays are ''[[Epsom Wells]]'' (1672), for which Sir [[Charles Sedley]] wrote a prologue, and ''[[The Squire of Alsatia]]'' (1688). [[Alsatia]] was the [[Thieves' cant|cant]] name for the [[Carmelites|Whitefriars]] area of London, then a kind of sanctuary for persons liable to arrest, and the play represents, in dialogue full of the local [[argot]], the adventures of a young heir who falls into the hands of the sharpers there.[http://education.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia/entry/Shadwell Shadwell] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120609090123/http://education.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia/entry/Shadwell |date=9 June 2012 }}[http://www.malaspina.org/home.asp?topic=./search/details&lastpage=./search/results&ID=20 Thomas Shadwell biography] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041128214840/http://www.malaspina.org/home.asp?topic=.%2Fsearch%2Fdetails |date=28 November 2004 }}

In 1668 he produced a prose comedy, ''[[The Sullen Lovers]]'', or the ''Impertinents'', based on ''Les Fâcheux'' by [[Molière]], and written in open imitation of [[Ben Jonson]]'s comedy of humours. His best plays are ''[[Epsom Wells]]'' (1672), for which Sir [[Charles Sedley]] wrote a prologue, and ''[[The Squire of Alsatia]]'' (1688). [[Alsatia]] was the [[Thieves' cant|cant]] name for the [[Carmelites|Whitefriars]] area of London, then a kind of sanctuary for persons liable to arrest, and the play represents, in dialogue full of the local [[argot]], the adventures of a young heir who falls into the hands of the sharpers there.[http://education.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia/entry/Shadwell Shadwell] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120609090123/http://education.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia/entry/Shadwell |date=9 June 2012}}[http://www.malaspina.org/home.asp?topic=./search/details&lastpage=./search/results&ID=20 Thomas Shadwell biography] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041128214840/http://www.malaspina.org/home.asp?topic=.%2Fsearch%2Fdetails |date=28 November 2004}}

For fourteen years from the production of his first comedy to his memorable encounter with [[John Dryden]], Shadwell produced a play nearly every year. These productions display a hatred of sham, and a rough but honest moral purpose. Although bawdy, they present a vivid picture of contemporary manners.{{cite web|url=https://www.nndb.com/people/233/000101927/ |title=NNDB |publisher=NNDB |access-date=2018-06-19}}

For fourteen years from the production of his first comedy to his memorable encounter with [[John Dryden]], Shadwell produced a play nearly every year. These productions display a hatred of sham, and a rough but honest moral purpose. Although bawdy, they present a vivid picture of contemporary manners.{{cite web |url=https://www.nndb.com/people/233/000101927/ |title=NNDB |publisher=NNDB |access-date=2018-06-19}}

Shadwell is chiefly remembered as the unfortunate [[Mac Flecknoe]] of Dryden's satire, the "last great prophet of [[Tautology (rhetoric)|tautology]]", and the literary son and heir of [[Richard Flecknoe]]:

Shadwell is chiefly remembered as the unfortunate [[Mac Flecknoe]] of Dryden's satire, the "last great prophet of [[Tautology (rhetoric)|tautology]]", and the literary son and heir of [[Richard Flecknoe]]:

Drink, swear and roar, forbear no lewd delight

Drink, swear and roar, forbear no lewd delight

Fit for thy bulk, do anything but write".{{cite web|url=http://www.bartleby.com/218/0720.html |title=Satire |publisher=Bartleby.com |access-date=2018-06-19}}

Fit for thy bulk, do anything but write".{{cite web |url=http://www.bartleby.com/218/0720.html |title=Satire |publisher=Bartleby.com |access-date=2018-06-19}}

Nonetheless, due to the political triumph of the [[British Whig Party|Whig]] party in 1688, Shadwell superseded his enemy as [[Poet Laureate]] and [[historiographer]] royal.

Nonetheless, due to the political triumph of the [[British Whig Party|Whig]] party in 1688, Shadwell superseded his enemy as [[Poet Laureate]] and [[historiographer]] royal.