Thomas d'Urfey: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description| |
{{Short description|English writer and playwright}} |
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{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2015}} |
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2015}} |
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{{Use British English|date=June 2015}} |
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[[File:Thomas-DUrfey.jpg|thumb|Thomas d'Urfey]] |
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==Life== |
==Life== |
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D'Urfey was born in Devonshire and began his professional life as a scrivener, but quickly turned to the theatre. In personality, he was considered so affable and amusing that he could make friends with nearly everyone, including such disparate characters as [[Charles II of England]] and his brother [[James II of England|James II]], and in all layers of society. |
D'Urfey was born in Devonshire and began his professional life as a [[scrivener]], but quickly turned to the theatre. In personality, he was considered so affable and amusing that he could make friends with nearly everyone, including such disparate characters as [[Charles II of England]] and his brother [[James II of England|James II]], and in all layers of society. |
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[[File:Durfey.jpg|thumb|left|Memorial to Durfey at [[St James's Church, Piccadilly]]]] |
[[File:Durfey.jpg|thumb|left|Memorial to Durfey at [[St James's Church, Piccadilly]]]] |
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D'Urfey lived in an age of self-conscious elitism and anti-egalitarianism, a reaction against the [[Levellers|" |
D'Urfey lived in an age of self-conscious elitism and anti-egalitarianism, a reaction against the [[Levellers|"levelling"]] tendencies of the previous [[Puritan]] reign during the [[English Interregnum|Interregnum]]. D'Urfey participated in the [[English Restoration|Restoration's]] dominant atmosphere of social climbing: he claimed to be of French [[Huguenot]] descent, though he might not have been; and he added an apostrophe to the plain English name Durfey when he was in his 30s. He wrote 500 songs, and 32 plays, starting with ''The Siege of Memphis, or the Ambitious Queen'' in 1676. This first play was a failure, but he responded in the following year (1677) with a comedy, ''[[Madam Fickle]]'', which proved more successful. |
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His plays include ''[[A Fond Husband]]'' (1676), ''[[The Virtuous Wife]]'' (1680), and ''[[Wonders in the Sun, or, The Kingdom of the Birds]]'' (1706). In 1698 he wrote ''The Campaigners'' as a reply and [[satire]] of [[Jeremy Collier]]'s [[anti-theatrical]] scourges. When it was performed [[Mary Lindsey]] took the part of the nurse although her major contribution was to sing a comedic ballad.<ref>{{Cite ODNB|title=Lindsey, Mary (fl. 1697–1713), singer|url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-70111;jsessionid=5C75E494E9A180D77B6D9BEBEAFB3E58|access-date=2020-11-13|year = 2004|language=en|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/70111}}</ref> His multi-volume ''[[Wit and Mirth, or Pills to Purge Melancholy]]'', written between 1698 and 1720, is a collection of songs and [[ballad]]s. d'Urfey's play ''The Injured Princess'' is an adaptation of [[Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Cymbeline]]''. Durfey wrote widely in a witty, satirical vein, usually from a courtly point of view, and his works are a compendium of comedic ideas with brisk, complicated plots carried out in lively dialogue.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=D'Urfey, Thomas|volume=8|pages=703–704}}</ref> |
His plays include ''[[A Fond Husband]]'' (1676), ''[[The Virtuous Wife]]'' (1680), and ''[[Wonders in the Sun, or, The Kingdom of the Birds]]'' (1706). In 1698 he wrote ''The Campaigners'' as a reply and [[satire]] of [[Jeremy Collier]]'s [[anti-theatrical]] scourges. When it was performed [[Mary Lindsey]] took the part of the nurse although her major contribution was to sing a comedic ballad.<ref>{{Cite ODNB|title=Lindsey, Mary (fl. 1697–1713), singer|url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-70111;jsessionid=5C75E494E9A180D77B6D9BEBEAFB3E58|access-date=2020-11-13|year = 2004|language=en|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/70111}}</ref> His multi-volume ''[[Wit and Mirth, or Pills to Purge Melancholy]]'', written between 1698 and 1720, is a collection of songs and [[ballad]]s. d'Urfey's play ''The Injured Princess'' is an adaptation of [[Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Cymbeline]]''. Durfey wrote widely in a witty, satirical vein, usually from a courtly point of view, and his works are a compendium of comedic ideas with brisk, complicated plots carried out in lively dialogue.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=D'Urfey, Thomas|volume=8|pages=703–704}}</ref> |
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His songs, which were often introduced into his plays,<ref name="EB1911"/> generally fell into three types: court songs, political songs (such as |
His songs, which were often introduced into his plays,<ref name="EB1911"/> generally fell into three types: court songs, political songs (such as "[[Joy to Great Caesar]]"), and country songs—the latter tending to be more than a little bawdy. ("The Fart" was one of his hits; ''The Lusty Young Smith'' was another.) Over forty different composers set his lyrics to music, including [[Ed McCurdy]] and [[Henry Purcell]]. Purcell composed music for D'Urfey's play ''[[The Comical History of Don Quixote]]'' (1694), one of the first dramatisations of [[Miguel de Cervantes]]' celebrated novel. |
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D'Urfey wrote tunes himself as well, although |
D'Urfey wrote tunes himself as well, although he admitted that they were not very good. Many of the songs' lyrics in ''Wit and Mirth'' are preceded by their melodies written in musical notation. He was a friend of the great essayists [[Joseph Addison]] and [[Richard Steele]]; but, as was not atypical of the time, he also quarreled energetically with other poets and writers. He wrote parodies, and was parodied in return. He stuttered slightly—except, it was said, when he sang or swore. At one point in his career, a jealous rival would respond to D'Urfey's play ''[[Love for Money]]'' with a parody called ''Wit for Money, or, Poet Stutterer''. |
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D'Urfey's songs met with royal approval. Addison (in ''[[The Guardian (1713)|The Guardian]]'') related that he remembered seeing [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] leaning on Tom d'Urfey’s shoulder and humming a song with him. Even [[William III of England|William III]] liked to hear him sing his songs, and as a strong [[Tories (British political party)|Tory]] he was sure of the favour of [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Princess Anne]], who is said to have given Tom fifty [[Guinea (coin)|guineas]] for a song on the [[Sophia of Hanover|Electress Sophia]], then the next heir in succession to the crown.<ref name="EB1911"/> |
D'Urfey's songs met with royal approval. Addison (in ''[[The Guardian (1713)|The Guardian]]'') related that he remembered seeing [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] leaning on Tom d'Urfey’s shoulder and humming a song with him. Even [[William III of England|William III]] liked to hear him sing his songs, and as a strong [[Tories (British political party)|Tory]] he was sure of the favour of [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Princess Anne]], who is said to have given Tom fifty [[Guinea (coin)|guineas]] for a song on the [[Sophia of Hanover|Electress Sophia]], then the next heir in succession to the crown.<ref name="EB1911"/> |
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Although he was poor in his old age, his friends revived |
Although he was poor in his old age, his friends revived ''A Fond Husband'' in 1713, with a prologue written by [[Alexander Pope]], which seems to have eased his difficulties.<ref name="EB1911"/> |
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==Death== |
==Death== |
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He was buried on the day of his death at |
He was buried on the day of his death at [[St James's Church, Piccadilly|St James's, Piccadilly]], in London. His lasting achievement lay in his best songs: 10 of the 68 songs in ''[[The Beggar's Opera]]'' were by d'Urfey.{{citation needed|date=August 2017}} |
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==Selected plays== |
==Selected plays== |
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{{columns-list| |
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* ''[[Madam Fickle]]'' (1676) |
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* ''[[A Fond Husband]]'' (1677) |
* ''[[A Fond Husband]]'' (1677) |
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* ''[[Squire Oldsapp]]'' (1678) |
* ''[[Squire Oldsapp]]'' (1678) |
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* ''[[Trick for Trick (1678 play)|Trick for Trick]]'' (1678) |
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* ''[[The Virtuous Wife (play)|The Virtuous Wife]]'' (1679) |
* ''[[The Virtuous Wife (play)|The Virtuous Wife]]'' (1679) |
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* ''[[Sir Barnaby Whigg]]'' (1681) |
* ''[[Sir Barnaby Whigg]]'' (1681) |
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* ''[[A Commonwealth of Women]]'' (1685) |
* ''[[A Commonwealth of Women]]'' (1685) |
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* ''[[The Banditti (play)|The Banditti]]'' (1686) |
* ''[[The Banditti (play)|The Banditti]]'' (1686) |
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* ''[[A Fool's Preferment]]'' (1688) |
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* ''[[Love for Money]]'' (1691) |
* ''[[Love for Money]]'' (1691) |
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* ''[[Bussy D'Ambois (1691 play)|Bussy D'Ambois]]'' (1691) |
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* ''[[The Marriage-Hater Matched]]'' (1692) |
* ''[[The Marriage-Hater Matched]]'' (1692) |
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* ''[[The Richmond Heiress]]'' (1693) |
* ''[[The Richmond Heiress]]'' (1693) |
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* ''[[The Campaigners]]'' (1698) |
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* ''[[The Bath (play)|The Bath]]'' (1701) |
* ''[[The Bath (play)|The Bath]]'' (1701) |
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* ''[[The Old Mode and the New]]'' (1703) |
* ''[[The Old Mode and the New]]'' (1703) |
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}} |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
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{{More footnotes|date=December 2020}} |
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{{reflist}} |
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==Further reading== |
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*Cyrus Lawrence Day, ''The Songs of Thomas D'Urfey'', Volume IX, Harvard Studies in English, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1933. |
*Cyrus Lawrence Day, ''The Songs of Thomas D'Urfey'', Volume IX, Harvard Studies in English, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1933. |
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*Thomas D'Urfey, ''Lewd Songs and Low Ballads of the Eighteenth Century: Bawdy Songs From Thomas D'urfey's Pills to Purge Melancholy (1719),'' Boulder, Colorado, Bartholomew Press, 1991. |
*Thomas D'Urfey, ''Lewd Songs and Low Ballads of the Eighteenth Century: Bawdy Songs From Thomas D'urfey's Pills to Purge Melancholy (1719),'' Boulder, Colorado, Bartholomew Press, 1991. |
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* |
*Thomas D'Urfey, The Comical History of Don Quixote, Part I, with Introduction, Critical Edition and Notes by Luca Baratta, Spanish Translation by Aaron M. Kahn and Vicente Chacón Carmona, Presentation by Rafael Portillo García, Research Coordinator Agapita Jurado Santos, Firenze, Società Editrice Fiorentina, 2019 {{ISBN|978-88-6032-530-3}}. |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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{{wikisource-author}} |
{{wikisource-author}} |
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* {{Gutenberg author |id= |
* {{Gutenberg author |id=6632}} |
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* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Thomas d'Urfey |sopt=tx}} |
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Thomas d'Urfey |sopt=tx}} |
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* {{Librivox author|id=17059}} |
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* Digitised copy of [http://digital.nls.uk/91519824 Wit and mirth, or, Pills to purge melancholy] in six volumes from [[National Library of Scotland]]. |
* Digitised copy of [http://digital.nls.uk/91519824 Wit and mirth, or, Pills to purge melancholy] in six volumes from [[National Library of Scotland]]. |
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* {{IMSLP|id=D'Urfey, Thomas}} |
* {{IMSLP|id=D'Urfey, Thomas}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Durfey, Thomas}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Durfey, Thomas}} |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:1650s births]] |
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[[Category:1723 deaths]] |
[[Category:1723 deaths]] |
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[[Category:English dramatists and playwrights]] |
[[Category:English dramatists and playwrights]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Writers from Devon]] |
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[[Category:English male dramatists and playwrights]] |
[[Category:English male dramatists and playwrights]] |
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[[Category:English male poets]] |
[[Category:English male poets]] |
Latest revision as of 15:47, 4 December 2024
Thomas d'Urfey (c. 1653 – 26 February 1723) was an English writer and playwright. He wrote plays, songs, jokes, and poems. He was an important innovator and contributor in the evolution of the ballad opera.
Life
[edit]D'Urfey was born in Devonshire and began his professional life as a scrivener, but quickly turned to the theatre. In personality, he was considered so affable and amusing that he could make friends with nearly everyone, including such disparate characters as Charles II of England and his brother James II, and in all layers of society.
D'Urfey lived in an age of self-conscious elitism and anti-egalitarianism, a reaction against the "levelling" tendencies of the previous Puritan reign during the Interregnum. D'Urfey participated in the Restoration's dominant atmosphere of social climbing: he claimed to be of French Huguenot descent, though he might not have been; and he added an apostrophe to the plain English name Durfey when he was in his 30s. He wrote 500 songs, and 32 plays, starting with The Siege of Memphis, or the Ambitious Queen in 1676. This first play was a failure, but he responded in the following year (1677) with a comedy, Madam Fickle, which proved more successful.
His plays include A Fond Husband (1676), The Virtuous Wife (1680), and Wonders in the Sun, or, The Kingdom of the Birds (1706). In 1698 he wrote The Campaigners as a reply and satire of Jeremy Collier's anti-theatrical scourges. When it was performed Mary Lindsey took the part of the nurse although her major contribution was to sing a comedic ballad.[1] His multi-volume Wit and Mirth, or Pills to Purge Melancholy, written between 1698 and 1720, is a collection of songs and ballads. d'Urfey's play The Injured Princess is an adaptation of Shakespeare's Cymbeline. Durfey wrote widely in a witty, satirical vein, usually from a courtly point of view, and his works are a compendium of comedic ideas with brisk, complicated plots carried out in lively dialogue.[2]
His songs, which were often introduced into his plays,[2] generally fell into three types: court songs, political songs (such as "Joy to Great Caesar"), and country songs—the latter tending to be more than a little bawdy. ("The Fart" was one of his hits; The Lusty Young Smith was another.) Over forty different composers set his lyrics to music, including Ed McCurdy and Henry Purcell. Purcell composed music for D'Urfey's play The Comical History of Don Quixote (1694), one of the first dramatisations of Miguel de Cervantes' celebrated novel.
D'Urfey wrote tunes himself as well, although he admitted that they were not very good. Many of the songs' lyrics in Wit and Mirth are preceded by their melodies written in musical notation. He was a friend of the great essayists Joseph Addison and Richard Steele; but, as was not atypical of the time, he also quarreled energetically with other poets and writers. He wrote parodies, and was parodied in return. He stuttered slightly—except, it was said, when he sang or swore. At one point in his career, a jealous rival would respond to D'Urfey's play Love for Money with a parody called Wit for Money, or, Poet Stutterer.
D'Urfey's songs met with royal approval. Addison (in The Guardian) related that he remembered seeing Charles II leaning on Tom d'Urfey’s shoulder and humming a song with him. Even William III liked to hear him sing his songs, and as a strong Tory he was sure of the favour of Princess Anne, who is said to have given Tom fifty guineas for a song on the Electress Sophia, then the next heir in succession to the crown.[2]
Although he was poor in his old age, his friends revived A Fond Husband in 1713, with a prologue written by Alexander Pope, which seems to have eased his difficulties.[2]
Death
[edit]He was buried on the day of his death at St James's, Piccadilly, in London. His lasting achievement lay in his best songs: 10 of the 68 songs in The Beggar's Opera were by d'Urfey.[citation needed]
Selected plays
[edit]- Madam Fickle (1676)
- A Fond Husband (1677)
- Squire Oldsapp (1678)
- Trick for Trick (1678)
- The Virtuous Wife (1679)
- Sir Barnaby Whigg (1681)
- The Royalist (1682)
- A Commonwealth of Women (1685)
- The Banditti (1686)
- A Fool's Preferment (1688)
- Love for Money (1691)
- Bussy D'Ambois (1691)
- The Marriage-Hater Matched (1692)
- The Richmond Heiress (1693)
- The Campaigners (1698)
- The Bath (1701)
- The Old Mode and the New (1703)
References
[edit]- ^ "Lindsey, Mary (fl. 1697–1713), singer". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/70111. Retrieved 13 November 2020. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ a b c d public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "D'Urfey, Thomas". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 703–704. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
Further reading
[edit]- Cyrus Lawrence Day, The Songs of Thomas D'Urfey, Volume IX, Harvard Studies in English, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1933.
- Thomas D'Urfey, Lewd Songs and Low Ballads of the Eighteenth Century: Bawdy Songs From Thomas D'urfey's Pills to Purge Melancholy (1719), Boulder, Colorado, Bartholomew Press, 1991.
- Thomas D'Urfey, The Comical History of Don Quixote, Part I, with Introduction, Critical Edition and Notes by Luca Baratta, Spanish Translation by Aaron M. Kahn and Vicente Chacón Carmona, Presentation by Rafael Portillo García, Research Coordinator Agapita Jurado Santos, Firenze, Società Editrice Fiorentina, 2019 ISBN 978-88-6032-530-3.
External links
[edit]- Works by Thomas d'Urfey at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about Thomas d'Urfey at the Internet Archive
- Works by Thomas d'Urfey at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
- Digitised copy of Wit and mirth, or, Pills to purge melancholy in six volumes from National Library of Scotland.
- Free scores by Thomas d'Urfey at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)