![Thomas Middleton](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Thomas_Middleton.jpg)
Thomas Middleton (baptised 18 April 1580 – July 1627; also spelt ''Midleton'') was an English
Jacobean playwright and poet. He, with
John Fletcher and
Ben Jonson
Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...
, was among the most successful and prolific of playwrights at work in the
Jacobean period, and among the few to gain equal success in
comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
and
tragedy
Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...
. He was also a prolific writer of
masque
The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A masque ...
s and
pageants.
Life
Middleton was born in London and baptised on 18 April 1580. He was the son of a bricklayer, who had raised himself to the status of a gentleman and owned property adjoining the
Curtain Theatre in Shoreditch. Middleton was five when his father died and his mother's subsequent remarriage dissolved into a 15-year battle over the inheritance of Thomas and his younger sister – an experience that informed him about the legal system and may have incited his repeated satire against the legal profession.
Middleton attended
The Queen's College, Oxford
The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...
, matriculating in 1598, but he did not graduate. Before he left Oxford sometime in 1600 or 1601, he wrote and published three long poems in popular Elizabethan styles. None of them appears to have been especially successful, and one, his book of satires, ran foul of an
Anglican church
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
ban on verse satire and was burned. Nevertheless, his literary career was launched.
In the early 17th century, Middleton made a living writing topical pamphlets, including one – ''Penniless Parliament of Threadbare Poets'' – that was reprinted several times and became the subject of a parliamentary inquiry. At the same time, records in the diary of
Philip Henslowe show that Middleton was writing for the
Admiral's Men. Unlike Shakespeare, Middleton remained a free agent, able to write for whichever company hired him. His early dramatic career was marked by controversy. His friendship with
Thomas Dekker brought him into conflict with
Ben Jonson
Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...
and
George Chapman
George Chapman (Hitchin, Hertfordshire, – London, 12 May 1634) was an English dramatist, translator and poet. He was a classical scholar whose work shows the influence of Stoicism. Chapman has been speculated to be the Rival Poet of Shak ...
in the
War of the Theatres The War of the Theatres is the name commonly applied to a controversy from the later Elizabethan theatre; Thomas Dekker termed it the ''Poetomachia''.
Because of an actual ban on satire in prose and verse publications in 1599 (the Bishops' Ban of ...
. The grudge against Jonson continued as late as 1626, when Jonson's play ''The Staple of News'' indulges in a slur on Middleton's great success, ''A Game at Chess''. It has been argued that Middleton's ''Inner Temple Masque'' (1619) sneers at Jonson (then absent in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
) as a "silenced bricklayer".
In 1603, Middleton married. In the same year an outbreak of the
plague
Plague or The Plague may refer to:
Agriculture, fauna, and medicine
*Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis''
* An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural)
* A pandemic caused by such a disease
* A swarm of pe ...
forced the London theatres to close, while
James I James I may refer to:
People
*James I of Aragon (1208–1276)
*James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327)
*James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu
*James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347)
*James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
came to the English throne. These events marked the beginning of Middleton's greatest period as a playwright. Having passed the time during the plague composing prose pamphlets (including a continuation of
Thomas Nashe
Thomas Nashe (baptised November 1567 – c. 1601; also Nash) was an Elizabethan playwright, poet, satirist and a significant pamphleteer. He is known for his novel ''The Unfortunate Traveller'', his pamphlets including ''Pierce Penniless,'' ...
's ''
Pierce Penniless
''Pierce Penniless his Supplication to the Divell'' is a tall tale, or a prose satire, written by Thomas Nashe and published in London in 1592. It was among the most popular of the Elizabethan pamphlets. It was reprinted in 1593 and 1595,Harris ...
''), he returned to drama with great energy, producing almost a score of plays for several companies and in several genres, notably
city comedy
City comedy, also known as citizen comedy, is a genre of comedy in the English early modern theatre.
Definition
Emerging from Ben Jonson's late-Elizabethan comedies of humours (1598–1599), the conventions of city comedy developed rapidly in ...
and
revenge tragedy
Revenge tragedy (sometimes referred to as revenge drama, revenge play, or tragedy of blood) is a theoretical genre in which the principal theme is revenge and revenge's fatal consequences. Formally established by American educator Ashley H. Thor ...
. He continued to collaborate with Dekker: the two produced ''The Roaring Girl'', a biography of the contemporary thief
Mary Frith
Mary Frith (c. 1584 – 26 July 1659), alias Moll (or Mal) Cutpurse, was an English notorious pickpocket and fence of the London underworld.
Meaning of nicknames
Moll, apart from being a nickname for Mary, was a common name in the 16t ...
.
In the 1610s, Middleton began a fruitful collaboration with the actor
William Rowley
William Rowley (c. 1585 – February 1626) was an English Jacobean dramatist, best known for works written in collaboration with more successful writers. His date of birth is estimated to have been c. 1585; he was buried on 11 February 1626 in ...
, producing ''
Wit at Several Weapons
''Wit at Several Weapons'' is a seventeenth-century comedy of uncertain date and authorship.
Authorship and Date
In its own century, the play appeared in print only in the two Beaumont and Fletcher folios of 1647 and 1679; yet modern scholarshi ...
'' and ''
A Fair Quarrel''. Working alone in 1613, Middleton produced a comic masterpiece: ''
A Chaste Maid in Cheapside''. He also became increasingly involved with civic pageants, and in 1620 became officially appointed as chronologist to the
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
, a post he held until his death in 1627, when it passed to Jonson.
Such official duties did not interrupt Middleton's dramatic writing; the 1620s saw the production of his and Rowley's tragedy ''
The Changeling'', and of several tragicomedies. In 1624, he reached a peak of notoriety when his dramatic
allegory
As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory th ...
''
A Game at Chess
''A Game at Chess'' is a comic satirical play by Thomas Middleton, first staged in August 1624 by the King's Men at the Globe Theatre. The play is notable for its political content, dramatizing a conflict between Spain and England.
The plot ...
'' was staged by the
King's Men. The play used the
conceit An extended metaphor, also known as a conceit or sustained metaphor, is the use of a single metaphor or analogy at length in a work of literature. It differs from a mere metaphor in its length, and in having more than one single point of contact bet ...
of a chess game to present and satirise the recent intrigues surrounding the
Spanish Match. Though Middleton's approach was strongly patriotic, the
Privy Council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
silenced the play after nine performances, having received a complaint from the Spanish Ambassador. Middleton faced an unknown, probably frightening degree of punishment. Since no play later than ''A Game at Chess'' is recorded, it has been suggested that the sentence included a ban on writing for the stage.
Death
Middleton died at his home at
Newington Butts
Newington Butts is a former hamlet, now an area of the London Borough of Southwark, that gives its name to a segment of the A3 road running south-west from the Elephant and Castle junction. The road continues as Kennington Park Road leading to ...
in
Southwark
Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...
in 1627, and was buried on 4 July in St Mary's churchyard. The old church of St Mary's was demolished in 1876 for road-widening. Its replacement elsewhere in Kennington Park Road was destroyed in the Second World War, but rebuilt in 1958. The old churchyard where Middleton was buried survives as a public park in
Elephant and Castle
The Elephant and Castle is an area around a major road junction in London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name also informally refers to much of Walworth and Newington, due to the proximity of the London Underground station ...
.
Reputation
Middleton's work has long been praised by literary critics, among them
Algernon Charles Swinburne
Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He wrote several novels and collections of poetry such as ''Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the famous Eleventh Edition ...
and
T. S. Eliot. The latter thought Middleton was second only to Shakespeare.
Middleton's plays were staged throughout the 20th century and into the 21st, each decade offering more productions than the last. Even some less familiar works of his have been staged: ''
A Fair Quarrel'' at the
National Theatre, and ''
The Old Law
''The Old Law, or A New Way to Please You'' is a seventeenth-century tragicomedy written by Thomas Middleton, William Rowley, and Philip Massinger. It was first published in 1656, but is generally thought to have been written about four decades e ...
'' by the
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...
. ''
The Changeling'' has been adapted for film several times. The tragedy ''
Women Beware Women
''Women Beware Women'' is a Jacobean tragedy written by Thomas Middleton, and first published in 1657.
Date
The date of authorship of the play is deeply uncertain. Scholars have estimated its origin anywhere from 1612 to 1627; 1623–24 has be ...
'' remains a stage favourite. ''The Revenger's Tragedy'' was adapted for
Alex Cox
Alexander B. H. Cox (born 15 December 1954) is an English film director, screenwriter, actor, non-fiction author and broadcaster. Cox experienced success early in his career with '' Repo Man'' and ''Sid and Nancy'', but since the release and co ...
's film ''
Revengers Tragedy
''Revengers Tragedy'' is a 2002 film adaptation of the 1606 play ''The Revenger's Tragedy'' (attributed to Thomas Middleton in the credits, following the scholarly consensus). It was directed by Alex Cox and adapted for the screen by Cox's fello ...
'', the opening credits of which attribute the play's authorship to Middleton.
Works
Middleton wrote in many genres, including
tragedy
Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...
,
history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
and
city comedy
City comedy, also known as citizen comedy, is a genre of comedy in the English early modern theatre.
Definition
Emerging from Ben Jonson's late-Elizabethan comedies of humours (1598–1599), the conventions of city comedy developed rapidly in ...
. His best-known plays are the tragedies ''
The Changeling'' (with
William Rowley
William Rowley (c. 1585 – February 1626) was an English Jacobean dramatist, best known for works written in collaboration with more successful writers. His date of birth is estimated to have been c. 1585; he was buried on 11 February 1626 in ...
) and ''
Women Beware Women
''Women Beware Women'' is a Jacobean tragedy written by Thomas Middleton, and first published in 1657.
Date
The date of authorship of the play is deeply uncertain. Scholars have estimated its origin anywhere from 1612 to 1627; 1623–24 has be ...
'', and the cynically satirical city comedy ''
A Chaste Maid in Cheapside''. Earlier editions of ''
The Revenger's Tragedy
''The Revenger's Tragedy'' is an English-language Jacobean revenge tragedy which was performed in 1606, and published in 1607 by George Eld. It was long attributed to Cyril Tourneur, but "The consensus candidate for authorship of ''The Reven ...
'' attributed the play to
Cyril Tourneur
Cyril Tourneur (; died 28 February 1626) was an English soldier, diplomat and dramatist who wrote ''The Atheist's Tragedy'' (published 1611); another (and better-known) play, ''The Revenger's Tragedy'' (1607), formerly ascribed to him, is now more ...
, or refused to arbitrate between Middleton and Tourneur. However, since the statistical studies by David Lake and MacDonald P. Jackson, Middleton's authorship has not been seriously contested, and no further scholar has defended the Tourneur attribution. The Oxford Middleton and its companion piece, ''Thomas Middleton and Early Modern Textual Culture'', offer extensive evidence both for Middleton's authorship of ''
The Revenger's Tragedy
''The Revenger's Tragedy'' is an English-language Jacobean revenge tragedy which was performed in 1606, and published in 1607 by George Eld. It was long attributed to Cyril Tourneur, but "The consensus candidate for authorship of ''The Reven ...
'', for his collaboration with Shakespeare on ''
Timon of Athens
''Timon of Athens'' (''The Life of Tymon of Athens'') is a play written by William Shakespeare and probably also Thomas Middleton in about 1606. It was published in the '' First Folio'' in 1623. Timon lavishes his wealth on parasitic companio ...
'', and for his adaptation and revision of Shakespeare's ''
Macbeth
''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...
'' and ''
Measure for Measure
''Measure for Measure'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604 and first performed in 1604, according to available records. It was published in the ''First Folio'' of 1623.
The play's plot features its ...
''. It has also been argued that Middleton collaborated with Shakespeare on ''
All's Well That Ends Well''. However, these latter collaborative attributions are not universally accepted by scholars.
Middleton's work is diverse even by the standards of his age. He did not have the kind of official relationship with a particular company that Shakespeare or Fletcher had. Instead he appears to have written on a
freelance
''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...
basis for any number of companies. His output ranges from the "snarling" satire of ''Michaelmas Term'' (performed by the
Children of Paul's
The Children of Paul's was the name of a troupe of boy actors in Elizabethan and Jacobean London. Along with the Children of the Chapel, they were an important component of the companies of boy players that constituted a distinctive feature of E ...
) to the bleak intrigues of ''The Revenger's Tragedy'' (performed by the
King's Men). His early work was informed by the flourishing of satire in the late Elizabethan period, while his maturity was influenced by the ascendancy of Fletcherian
tragicomedy
Tragicomedy is a literary genre that blends aspects of both tragedy, tragic and comedy, comic forms. Most often seen in drama, dramatic literature, the term can describe either a tragic play which contains enough comic elements to lighten the ov ...
. His later work, in which his satirical fury is tempered and broadened, includes three of his acknowledged masterpieces. ''A Chaste Maid in Cheapside'', produced by the
Lady Elizabeth's Men
The Lady Elizabeth's Men, or Princess Elizabeth's Men, was a company of actors in Jacobean London, formed under the patronage of King James I's daughter Princess Elizabeth. From 1618 on, the company was called The Queen of Bohemia's Men, afte ...
, skilfully combines London life with an expansive view of the power of love to effect reconciliation. ''The Changeling'', a late tragedy, returns Middleton to an Italianate setting like that of ''The Revenger's Tragedy'', except that here the central characters are more fully drawn and more compelling as individuals. Similar development can be seen in ''Women Beware Women''.
[Farr, pp. 72–97.]
Middleton's plays are marked by often amusingly presented
cynicism
Cynic or Cynicism may refer to:
Modes of thought
* Cynicism (philosophy), a school of ancient Greek philosophy
* Cynicism (contemporary), modern use of the word for distrust of others' motives
Books
* ''The Cynic'', James Gordon Stuart Grant 1 ...
about the human race. True heroes are a rarity: almost every character is selfish, greedy and self-absorbed. ''A Chaste Maid in Cheapside'' offers a panoramic view of a London populated entirely by sinners, in which no social rank goes unsatirised. In the tragedies ''Women Beware Women'' and ''The Revenger's Tragedy'', amoral Italian courtiers endlessly plot against each other, resulting in a climactic bloodbath. When Middleton does portray good people, the characters have small roles and are shown as flawless.
Due to a theological pamphlet attributed to him, Middleton is thought by some to have been a strong believer in
Calvinism
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...
.
List of works
Plays
*''
The Phoenix'' (1603–1604)
*''
The Honest Whore, Part 1
''The Honest Whore'' is an early Jacobean city comedy, written in two parts; ''Part 1'' is a collaboration between Thomas Dekker and Thomas Middleton, while ''Part 2'' is the work of Dekker alone. The plays were acted by the Admiral's Men.
...
'', a city comedy (1604), co-written with
Thomas Dekker
*''
Michaelmas Term
Michaelmas term is the first academic term of the academic year in a number of English-speaking universities and schools in the northern hemisphere, especially in the United Kingdom. Michaelmas term derives its name from the Feast of St Micha ...
'', a city comedy, (1604)
*''
A Trick to Catch the Old One'', a city comedy (1605)
*''
A Mad World, My Masters
''A Mad World, My Masters'' is a Jacobean stage play written by Thomas Middleton, a comedy first performed around 1605 and first published in 1608. The title had been used by a pamphleteer, Nicholas Breton, in 1603, and was later the origin for ...
'', a city comedy (1605)
*''
A Yorkshire Tragedy
''A Yorkshire Tragedy'' is an early Jacobean era stage play, a domestic tragedy printed in 1608. The play was originally assigned to William Shakespeare, though the modern critical consensus rejects this attribution, favouring Thomas Middleto ...
'', a one-act tragedy (1605); attributed to Shakespeare on its title page, but stylistic analysis favours Middleton.
*''
The Puritan
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' (1606)
*''
Your Five Gallants
''Your Five Gallants'' is a Jacobean comedy by Thomas Middleton. It falls into the subgenre of city comedy. Allusions in the play point to a date of authorship of 1607.
The play was entered into the Stationers' Register on 22 March 1608. The ...
'', a city comedy (1607)
*''
The Bloody Banquet'' (1608–1609); co-written with Dekker
*''
The Roaring Girl'', a city comedy depicting the exploits of
Mary Frith
Mary Frith (c. 1584 – 26 July 1659), alias Moll (or Mal) Cutpurse, was an English notorious pickpocket and fence of the London underworld.
Meaning of nicknames
Moll, apart from being a nickname for Mary, was a common name in the 16t ...
(1611); co-written with Dekker
*''
No Wit, No Help Like a Woman's
''No Wit, No Help Like a Woman's'' is a Jacobean tragicomic play by Thomas Middleton.
Title
On the title page of the first published edition (1653), the play's title is rendered as follows:
No \begin
Wit \\
Help
\end Like~a~Woman's
This ...
'', a tragicomedy (1611)
*''
The Second Maiden's Tragedy
''The Second Maiden's Tragedy'' is a Jacobean play that survives only in manuscript. It was written in 1611, and performed in the same year by the King's Men. The manuscript was acquired, but never printed, by the publisher Humphrey Moseley af ...
'', a tragedy (1611); an anonymous manuscript; stylistic analysis indicates Middleton's authorship (though one scholar,
Charles Hamilton, has attributed it to Shakespeare. See ''
The History of Cardenio
''The History of Cardenio'', often referred to as simply ''Cardenio'', is a lost play, known to have been performed by the King's Men, a London theatre company, in 1613. The play is attributed to William Shakespeare and John Fletcher in a Stat ...
'' for details).
*''
A Chaste Maid in Cheapside'', a city comedy (1613)
*''
Wit at Several Weapons
''Wit at Several Weapons'' is a seventeenth-century comedy of uncertain date and authorship.
Authorship and Date
In its own century, the play appeared in print only in the two Beaumont and Fletcher folios of 1647 and 1679; yet modern scholarshi ...
'', a city comedy (1613); printed as part of the
Beaumont
Beaumont may refer to:
Places Canada
* Beaumont, Alberta
* Beaumont, Quebec
England
* Beaumont, Cumbria
* Beaumont, Essex
** Beaumont Cut, a canal closed in the 1930s
* Beaumont Street, Oxford
France (communes)
* Beaumont, Ardèche
* ...
and
Fletcher
Fletcher may refer to:
People
* Fletcher (occupation), a person who fletches arrows, the origin of the surname
* Fletcher (singer) (born 1994), American actress and singer-songwriter
* Fletcher (surname)
* Fletcher (given name)
Places
United ...
Folio, but stylistic analysis indicates comprehensive revision by Middleton and
William Rowley
William Rowley (c. 1585 – February 1626) was an English Jacobean dramatist, best known for works written in collaboration with more successful writers. His date of birth is estimated to have been c. 1585; he was buried on 11 February 1626 in ...
.
*''
More Dissemblers Besides Women
''More Dissemblers Besides Women'' is a Jacobean stage play, a tragicomedy written by Thomas Middleton, and first published in 1657.
The play's date of authorship is uncertain, though it is usually dated c. 1615. It is thought to have been acte ...
'', a tragicomedy (1614)
*''
The Widow'' (1615–16)
*''
The Witch
A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft.
Witch, WITCH, or variations thereof may also refer to:
Animals
* Witch (lefteye flounder) (''Arnoglossus scapha''), a Pacific flatfish
* Witch (righteye flounder) (''Glyptocephalus cynoglossus''), a Euro ...
'', a tragicomedy (1616)
*''
A Fair Quarrel'', a tragicomedy (1616). Co-written with Rowley
*''
The Old Law
''The Old Law, or A New Way to Please You'' is a seventeenth-century tragicomedy written by Thomas Middleton, William Rowley, and Philip Massinger. It was first published in 1656, but is generally thought to have been written about four decades e ...
'', a tragicomedy (1618–19). Co-written with Rowley and perhaps a third collaborator, who may have been
Philip Massinger
Philip Massinger (1583 – 17 March 1640) was an English dramatist. His finely plotted plays, including '' A New Way to Pay Old Debts'', ''The City Madam'', and ''The Roman Actor'', are noted for their satire and realism, and their polit ...
or
Thomas Heywood
Thomas Heywood (early 1570s – 16 August 1641) was an English playwright, actor, and author. His main contributions were to late Elizabethan and early Jacobean theatre. He is best known for his masterpiece '' A Woman Killed with Kindness'', ...
.
*''
Hengist, King of Kent, or The Mayor of Quinborough
''Hengist, King of Kent, or The Mayor of Quinborough'' is a Jacobean stage play by Thomas Middleton of the 1610s, but first published in 1661. It is his only overtly historical play. It was read by Pepys.
Dating
The date of authorship of the ...
'', a tragedy (1620)
*''
Women Beware Women
''Women Beware Women'' is a Jacobean tragedy written by Thomas Middleton, and first published in 1657.
Date
The date of authorship of the play is deeply uncertain. Scholars have estimated its origin anywhere from 1612 to 1627; 1623–24 has be ...
'', a tragedy (1621)
*''
Measure for Measure
''Measure for Measure'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604 and first performed in 1604, according to available records. It was published in the ''First Folio'' of 1623.
The play's plot features its ...
'' (1603–4); some scholars argue that the
First Folio
''Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies'' is a collection of plays by William Shakespeare, commonly referred to by modern scholars as the First Folio, published in 1623, about seven years after Shakespeare's death. It is cons ...
text was partly revised by Middleton in 1621.
*''
Anything for a Quiet Life'', a city comedy (1621). Co-written with
John Webster
John Webster (c. 1580 – c. 1632) was an English Jacobean dramatist best known for his tragedies '' The White Devil'' and '' The Duchess of Malfi'', which are often seen as masterpieces of the early 17th-century English stage. His life and c ...
*''
The Changeling'', a tragedy (1622). Co-written with Rowley
*''
The Nice Valour
''The Nice Valour, or The Passionate Madman'' is a Jacobean stage play of problematic date and authorship. Based on its inclusion in the two Beaumont and Fletcher folios of 1647 and 1679 and two citations in 17th-century sources, the play has ...
'' (1622). Printed as part of the Beaumont and Fletcher folio, but stylistic analysis indicates comprehensive revision by Middleton.
*''
The Spanish Gypsy
''The Spanish Gypsy'' is an English Jacobean tragicomedy, dating from around 1623. The play was likely a collaboration between several dramatists, including Thomas Middleton, William Rowley, Thomas Dekker, and John Ford. Like Shakespeare's los ...
'', a tragicomedy (1623). Believed to be a play by Middleton and Rowley, revised by
Thomas Dekker and
John Ford
John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...
.
*''
A Game at Chess
''A Game at Chess'' is a comic satirical play by Thomas Middleton, first staged in August 1624 by the King's Men at the Globe Theatre. The play is notable for its political content, dramatizing a conflict between Spain and England.
The plot ...
'', a political satire (1624). Satirized the negotiations over the proposed marriage of
Prince Charles, son of
James I of England
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland as James I from the Union of the Crowns, union of the Scottish and Eng ...
, with the Spanish princess. Closed after nine performances.
Attributed to Middleton, authorship disputed, possible co-authorship
*''
Timon of Athens
''Timon of Athens'' (''The Life of Tymon of Athens'') is a play written by William Shakespeare and probably also Thomas Middleton in about 1606. It was published in the '' First Folio'' in 1623. Timon lavishes his wealth on parasitic companio ...
'' a tragedy (?); Stylistic analysis suggests that Middleton and Shakespeare may have written this play in collaboration.
*''
The Revenger's Tragedy
''The Revenger's Tragedy'' is an English-language Jacobean revenge tragedy which was performed in 1606, and published in 1607 by George Eld. It was long attributed to Cyril Tourneur, but "The consensus candidate for authorship of ''The Reven ...
'' (1606). This work was formerly attributed to
Cyril Tourneur
Cyril Tourneur (; died 28 February 1626) was an English soldier, diplomat and dramatist who wrote ''The Atheist's Tragedy'' (published 1611); another (and better-known) play, ''The Revenger's Tragedy'' (1607), formerly ascribed to him, is now more ...
. Some scholars now claim authorship for Middleton.
*''
All's Well That Ends Well'' (?); This is believed by some scholars to be co-written by Shakespeare and Middleton, based on stylometric analysis
Other stage works
*''The Whole Royal and Magnificent Entertainment Given to King James Through the City of London'' (1603–4). Co-written with Dekker , Stephen Harrison and Ben Jonson
*''The Manner of his Lordship's Entertainment''
*''Civitas Amor''
*''
The Triumphs of Truth
''The Triumphs of Truth'' was a medieval pageant to honor a British Lord mayor and written circa 1613 by English Renaissance playwright Thomas Middleton. The pageant was credited with first creating the term white people to refer to Europeans.
...
'' (1613)
*''The Triumphs of Honour and Industry'' (1617)
*''The Masque of Heroes, or, The Inner Temple Masque'' (1619)
*''The Triumphs of Love and Antiquity'' (1619)
*''
The World Tossed at Tennis
''The World Tossed at Tennis'' is a Literature in English#Jacobean literature, Jacobean era masque composed by Thomas Middleton and William Rowley, first published in 1620. It was likely acted on 4 March 1620 (Old Style and New Style dates, new ...
'' (1620). Co-written with
William Rowley
William Rowley (c. 1585 – February 1626) was an English Jacobean dramatist, best known for works written in collaboration with more successful writers. His date of birth is estimated to have been c. 1585; he was buried on 11 February 1626 in ...
.
*''Honourable Entertainments'' (1620–1)
*''An Invention'' (1622)
*''
The Sun in Aries'' (1621)
*''The Triumphs of Honour and Virtue'' (1622)
*''The Triumphs of Integrity with The Triumphs of the Golden Fleece'' (1623)
*''The Triumphs of Health and Prosperity'' (1626)
Poetry
*''The Wisdom of Solomon Paraphrased'' (1597)
*''
Microcynicon: Six Snarling Satires'' (1599)
*''The Ghost of Lucrece'' (1600)
*''
Burbage'' epitaph (1619)
*Bolles epitaph (1621)
*''St James (poem), St James'' (1623)
*''
Duchess of Malfi
''The Duchess of Malfi'' (originally published as ''The Tragedy of the Dutchesse of Malfy'') is a Jacobean revenge tragedy written by English dramatist John Webster in 1612–1613. It was first performed privately at the Blackfriars Theatre, ...
'' (Commendatory verses to John Webster's play) (1623)
*''To the King'' (1624)
Prose
*''The Penniless Parliament of Threadbare Poets'' (1601)
*''News from Gravesend'', co-written with Dekker (1603)
*''The Nightingale and the Ant'' (1604), also published as ''Father Hubbard's Tales''
*''The Meeting of Gallants at an Ordinary'' (1604), co-written with Dekker
*''Plato's Cap Cast at the Year 1604'' (1604)
*''The Black Book, Middleton, The Black Book'' (1604)
*''Sir Robert Sherley his Entertainment in Cracovia'' (1609) (translation).
*''The Two Gates of Salvation'' (1609), or ''The Marriage of the Old and New Testament''
*''The Owl's Almanac'' (1618)
*''The Peacemaker (Middleton), The Peacemaker'' (1618)
Notes
References
*Anthony Covatta, "Thomas Middleton's City Comedies." Lewisburg: Bucknell Univ. Press, 1973
*Barbara Jo Baines, ''The Lust Motif in the Plays of Thomas Middleton''. Salzburg, 1973
*
*J. R. Mulryne, ''Thomas Middleton''
*Pier Paolo Frassinelli, "Realism, Desire, and Reification: Thomas Middleton's A Chaste Maid in Cheapside." ''Early Modern Literary Studies'' 8 (2003)
*Kenneth Friedenreich, ed., ''"Accompaninge the players": Essays Celebrating Thomas Middleton, 1580–1980''
*Margot Heinemann. ''Puritanism and Theatre: Thomas Middleton and Opposition Drama Under the Early Stuarts''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980
*Herbert Jack Heller. ''Penitent Brothellers: Grace, Sexuality, and Genre in Thomas Middleton's City Comedies''. Cranbury, NJ: Associated University Press, 2000
*Ben Jonson. ''The Staple of News''. London, 1692
Holloway e-text*Bryan Loughrey and Neil Taylor. "Introduction." In Thomas Middleton, ''Five Plays''. Bryan Loughrey and Neil Taylor, eds. Penguin, 1988
*Jane Milling and Peter Thomson, eds. ''The Cambridge History of British Theatre''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004
*Mary Beth Rose. ''The Expense of Spirit: Love and Sexuality in English Renaissance Drama''. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1988
*
*
Algernon Charles Swinburne
Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He wrote several novels and collections of poetry such as ''Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the famous Eleventh Edition ...
. ''The Age of Shakespeare''. New York: Harpers, 1908
Gutenberg e-text*Ceri Sullivan, 'Thomas Middleton's View of Public Utility', ''Review of English Studies'' 58 (2007), pp. 160–74
*Ceri Sullivan, ''The Rhetoric of Credit. Merchants in Early Modern Writing'' (Madison/London: Associated University Press, 2002
*Gary Taylor. "Thomas Middleton." ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004
*
Stanley Wells. ''Select Bibliographical Guides: English Drama, Excluding Shakespeare''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1975
*''The Cambridge History of English and American Literature in 18 Volumes (1907–21)''. Volume VI. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1907–1921
Bartleby e-textThe Oxford Middleton Project*Bilingual editions (English/French) of two Middleton plays by Antoine Ertl
(A Game at Chess)(The Old Law)
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Middleton, Thomas
1580 births
1627 deaths
People educated at Christ's Hospital
English Renaissance dramatists
Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford
People from the City of London
17th-century English dramatists and playwrights
17th-century English male writers
English male dramatists and playwrights
English male poets