Thomas Hawkins (1729 - 23 October 1772) was an English Anglican priest, academic and literary editor. He edited the second edition of the Hanmer Shakespeare— Sir Thomas Hanmer's Shakespeare edition—which appeared in 1771. His historical work ''The Origin of the English Drama'' appeared shortly after his death, in 1773.

Life

Son of John Hawkins of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, he matriculated at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 ...

in 1746, aged 17. He graduated B.A. in 1750, was ordained priest by

Thomas Secker Thomas Secker (21 September 16933 August 1768) was the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England. Early life and studies Secker was born in Sibthorpe, Nottinghamshire. In 1699, he went to Richard Brown's free school in Chesterfield ...

in 1752, and graduated M.A. in 1753. He became chaplain of

in 1754. In his later years, he became involved in the scholarly projects of

Sir John Hawkins Sir John Hawkins (also spelled Hawkyns) (1532 – 12 November 1595) was a pioneering English naval commander, naval administrator and privateer. He pioneered, and was an early promoter of, English involvement in the Atlantic slave trade. Hawk ...

. According to Davis, while Thomas Hawkins and Sir John were friends, a family relationship has not been traced.

Works

The new edition of the Hanmer Shakespeare was launched in 1769 by a letter from Thomas Percy to

Thomas Warton Thomas Warton (9 January 172821 May 1790) was an English literary historian, critic, and poet. He was appointed Poet Laureate in 1785, following the death of William Whitehead. He is sometimes called ''Thomas Warton the younger'' to disti ...

. Thomas Hawkins was brought by the

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, and was paid £250 for his editorial work. It was supported by Sir John Hawkins, Percy and Warton in expanding Hanmer's original and much-criticised efforts. The glossary was doubled in size, and the commentary clarified. But it still fell short of the contemporary work in annotating Shakespeare, with

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford D ...

Edmond Malone Edmond Malone (4 October 174125 May 1812) was an Irish Shakespearean scholar and editor of the works of William Shakespeare. Assured of an income after the death of his father in 1774, Malone was able to give up his law practice for at first p ...

and

George Steevens George Steevens (10 May 1736 – 22 January 1800) was an English Shakespearean commentator. Biography Early life He was born at Poplar, the son of a captain and later director of the East India Company. He was educated at Eton College and at ...

. As part of his research, Thomas Hawkins published in his ''Origin'' the attribution of ''

The Spanish Tragedy ''The Spanish Tragedy, or Hieronimo is Mad Again'' is an Elizabethan tragedy written by Thomas Kyd between 1582 and 1592. Highly popular and influential in its time, ''The Spanish Tragedy'' established a new genre in English theatre, the reven ...

'', an Elizabethan play, to

Thomas Kyd Thomas Kyd (baptised 6 November 1558; buried 15 August 1594) was an English playwright, the author of ''The Spanish Tragedy'', and one of the most important figures in the development of Elizabethan drama. Although well known in his own time, ...

. His theory is now part of standard scholarship. It was a deduction from a mention of "M. Kid" as the author of the play, in ''Apologie for Actors'', a 1612 work of

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'', a ...

. ''The Origin of the English Drama'' itself was a collection of the earlier English dramas, in three volumes, published with a dedication to Sir John Hawkins.

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkins, Thomas 1729 births 1772 deaths 18th-century English Anglican priests Fellows of Magdalen College, Oxford British literary editors People from Oxford