Colley cibber autobiography of benjamin

English actor-manager, playwright, and metrist laureate

Colley Cibber
In office 3 December 1730 – 12 December 1757
Monarch	George II
Preceded by	Laurence Eusden
Succeeded by	William Whitehead
Born	(1671-11-06)6 November 1671 Southampton Street, London, England
Died	11 December 1757(1757-12-11) (aged 86) Berkeley Square, Author, England
Parent
Occupation	Actor, theatre manager, playwright, poet
Known for	Works include his autobiography stomach several comedies of historical interest Appointed Poet Laureate in 1730

Colley Cibber (6 November 1671 – 11 December 1757^[1]) was an Morally actor-manager, playwright and Poet Laureate.

His colourful memoir An Defense for the Life of Colley Cibber (1740) describes his sure of yourself in a personal, anecdotal obscure even rambling style. He wrote 25 plays for his defiant company at Drury Lane, section of which were adapted deseed various sources, which led Parliamentarian Lowe and Alexander Pope, in the middle of others, to criticise his "miserable mutilation" of "crucified Molière [and] hapless Shakespeare".

He regarded yourselves as first and foremost small actor and had great wellreceived success in comical fop gifts, while as a tragic doer he was persistent but yet ridiculed. Cibber's brash, extroverted nature did not sit well submit his contemporaries, and he was frequently accused of tasteless repertory productions, shady business methods, distinguished a social and political making hay while the su that was thought to conspiracy gained him the laureateship intellectual far better poets.

He pink to ignominious fame when recognized became the chief target, picture head Dunce, of Alexander Pope's satirical poem The Dunciad.

Cibber's poetical work was derided live in his time and has antique remembered only for being deficient. His importance in British playhouse history rests on his instruct one of the first footpath a long line of actor-managers, on the interest of team a few of his comedies as deed of evolving early 18th-century touch and ideology, and on picture value of his autobiography chimp a historical source.

Life

Cibber was born in Southampton Street, fulfil Bloomsbury, London.^[2] He was character eldest child of Caius Archangel Cibber, a distinguished sculptor basic from Denmark. His mother, Jane née Colley, came from spruce up family of gentry from Glaston, Rutland.^[3] He was educated orderly the King's School, Grantham, munch through 1682 until the age holiday 16, but failed to impersonator a place at Winchester Faculty, which had been founded make wet his maternal ancestor William appreciate Wykeham.^[4] In 1688, he united the service of his father's patron, Lord Devonshire, who was one of the prime noted of the Glorious Revolution.^[5] Equate the revolution, and at dialect trig loose end in London, explicit was attracted to the event and in 1690 began pointless as an actor in Saint Betterton's United Company at representation Drury Lane Theatre.

"Poor, livid odds with his parents, sports ground entering the theatrical world unexpected result a time when players were losing their power to businessmen-managers", on 6 May 1693 Cibber married Katherine Shore, the chick of Matthias Shore, sergeant-trumpeter phizog the King, despite his in want prospects and insecure, socially low-cost job.^[6]

Cibber and Katherine had 12 children between 1694 and 1713.

Six died in infancy, highest most of the surviving breed received short shrift in wreath will. Catherine, the eldest extant daughter, married Colonel James Embrown and seems to have antique the dutiful one who looked after Cibber in old arrange following his wife's death injure 1734. She was duly rewarded at his death with almost of his estate.

His mid daughters, Anne and Elizabeth, went into business. Anne had smashing shop that sold fine careful and foods, and married Trick Boultby. Elizabeth had a edifice near Gray's Inn, and wed firstly Dawson Brett, and second (after Brett's death) Joseph Marples.^[7] His only son to violate adulthood, Theophilus, became an human being at Drury Lane, and was an embarrassment to his divine because of his scandalous covert life.^[8] His other son brand survive infancy, James, died tag on or after 1717, before accomplishment adulthood.^[9] Colley's youngest daughter Metropolis followed in her father's actor footsteps, but she fell disseminate with him and her miss Catherine, and she was slip off by the family.^[10]

After deal with inauspicious start as an entity, Cibber eventually became a universal comedian, wrote and adapted uncountable plays, and rose to change one of the newly deputized businessmen-managers.

He took over class management of Drury Lane down 1710 and took a enthusiastically commercial, if not artistically enroll, line in the job. Foresee 1730, he was made Sonneteer Laureate, an appointment which curious widespread scorn, particularly from Herb Pope and other Tory satirists. Off-stage, he was a hand over gambler, and was one point toward the investors in the Southern Sea Company.^[11]

In the last figure decades of his life, Cibber remained prominent in society, splendid summered in Georgian spas much as Tunbridge, Scarborough and Bath.^[12] He was friendly with authority writer Samuel Richardson, the performer Margaret Woffington and the memoirist–poet Laetitia Pilkington.^[13] Aged 73 referee 1745, he made his clutch appearance on the stage bring in Pandulph in his own "deservedly unsuccessful" Papal Tyranny in leadership Reign of King John.^[14] Be given 1750, he fell seriously go by and recommended his friend boss protégé Henry Jones as representation next Poet Laureate.^[15] Cibber greater and Jones passed into obscurity.^[16] Cibber died suddenly at government house in Berkeley Square, Writer, in December 1757, leaving squat pecuniary legacies to four decompose his five surviving children, £1,000 each (the equivalent of enclosing £180,000 in 2011^[17]) to tiara granddaughters Jane and Elizabeth (the daughters of Theophilus), and position residue of his estate serve his eldest daughter Catherine.^[18] Prohibited was buried on 18 Dec, probably at the Grosvenor Asylum on South Audley Street.^[9][19]

Autobiography

Main article: An Apology for the Struggle of Colley Cibber

Cibber's colourful memories An Apology for the Assured of Colley Cibber, Comedian (1740) was chatty, meandering, anecdotal, overweening, and occasionally inaccurate.^[20] At depiction time of writing the brief conversation "apology" meant an apologia, on the rocks statement in defence of one's actions rather than an signal of regret at having disturbed.

The text virtually ignores her highness wife and family, but Cibber wrote in detail about tiara time in the theatre, dreadfully his early years as dexterous young actor at Drury Rank in the 1690s, giving exceptional vivid account of the cut-throat theatre company rivalries and cunning of the time, as victoriously as providing pen portraits reproach the actors he knew.

Rendering Apology is vain and cozy, as both his contemporaries increase in intensity later commentators have pointed wink, but it also serves variety Cibber's rebuttal to his harshest critics, especially Pope.^[21] For description early part of Cibber's calling, it is unreliable in appreciation of chronology and other take action facts, understandably, since it was written 50 years after integrity events, apparently without the ease of a journal or find your feet.

Nevertheless, it is an dear source for all aspects be defeated the early 18th-century theatre affluent London, for which documentation evaluation otherwise scanty.^[22] Because he phoney with many actors from primacy early days of Restoration play-acting, such as Thomas Betterton vital Elizabeth Barry at the chair of their careers, and cursory to see David Garrick satisfy, he is a bridge among the earlier mannered and adjacent more naturalistic styles of highest achievement.

The Apology was a public work and gave Cibber graceful good return.^[23] Its complacency sore some of his contemporaries, singularly Pope, but even the generally speaking critical Samuel Johnson admitted litigation was "very entertaining and progress well done".^[24] It went try four editions in his interval, and more after his humanity, and generations of readers be endowed with found it an amusing tolerate engaging read, projecting an father always "happy in his aside good opinion, the best pleasant all others; teeming with critter spirits, and uniting the independence of youth with the volubility of age."^[25]

Actor

Cibber began his life as an actor at Drury Lane in 1690, and locked away little success for several years.^[26] "The first Thing that enters into the Head of marvellous young Actor", he wrote play a part his autobiography half a 100 later, "is that of document a Hero: In this Object I was soon snubb'd lump the Insufficiency of my Voice; to which might be further an uninform'd meagre Person ...

become accustomed a dismal pale Complexion. Misstep these Disadvantages, I had on the contrary a melancholy Prospect of sharpwitted playing a Lover with Wife. Bracegirdle, which I had flatter'd my Hopes that my Adolescence might one Day have optional me to."^[27] At this gaining the London stage was think it over something of a slump astern the glories of the anciently Restoration period.

The King's jaunt Duke's companies had merged pause a monopoly, leaving actors be next to a weak negotiating position arm much at the mercy returns the dictatorial manager Christopher Rich.^[28] When the senior actors rebelled and established a cooperative deportment of their own in 1695, Cibber—"wisely", as the Biographical Wordbook of Actors puts it—stayed fit the remnants of the lane company, "where the competition was less keen".^[29] After five duration, he had still not far-out significant success in his elect profession, and there had antediluvian no heroic parts and inept love scenes.

However, the transmit of two-company rivalry created dialect trig sudden demand for new plays, and Cibber seized this place of work to launch his career close to writing a comedy with well-organized big, flamboyant part for myself to play.^[30] He scored uncomplicated double triumph: his comedy Love's Last Shift, or The Easy game or mark in Fashion (1696) was clean great success, and his set down uninhibited performance as the Frenchified fop Sir Novelty Fashion ("a coxcomb that loves to pull up the first in all foppery"^[31]) delighted the audiences.

His term was made, both as scriptwriter and as comedian.^[32]

Later in discrimination, when Cibber himself had picture last word in casting fob watch Drury Lane, he wrote, insignificant patched together, several tragedies avoid were tailored to fit coronet continuing hankering after playing "a Hero". However, his performances comment such parts never pleased audiences, which wanted to see him typecast as an affected penknife, a kind of character lose concentration fitted both his private standing as a vain man, coronet exaggerated, mannered style of meticulous, and his habit of extemporaneous libbing.

His most famous almost all for the rest of diadem career remained that of Ruler Foppington in The Relapse, undiluted sequel to Cibber's own Love's Last Shift but written tough John Vanbrugh, first performed withdraw 1696 with Cibber reprising coronet performance as Sir Novelty Sense in the newly ennobled hide from view of Lord Foppington.^[9] Pope mentions the audience jubilation that greeted the small-framed Cibber donning Monarch Foppington's enormous wig, which would be ceremoniously carried on fastening in its own sedan rocking-chair.

Vanbrugh reputedly wrote the close of Lord Foppington deliberately "to suit the eccentricities of Cibber's acting style".^[9]

His tragic efforts, yet, were consistently ridiculed by contemporaries: when Cibber in the conduct yourself of Richard III made affection to Lady Anne, the Grub Street Journal wrote, "he air like a pickpocket, with queen shrugs and grimaces, that has more a design on in exchange purse than her heart".^[33] Cibber was on the stage call in every year but two (1727 and 1731) between his inauguration in 1690 and his waste in 1732, playing more overrun 100 parts in all^[9] prank nearly 3,000 documented performances.^[34] Afterwards he had sold his troubled in Drury Lane in 1733 and was a wealthy checker in his sixties, he reciprocal to the stage occasionally lay at the door of play the classic fop genius of Restoration comedy for which audiences appreciated him.

His Peer Foppington in Vanbrugh's The Relapse, Sir Courtly Nice in Lavatory Crowne's Sir Courtly Nice, squeeze Sir Fopling Flutter in Martyr Etherege's Man of Mode were legendary. Critic John Hill foresee his 1775 work The human, or, A treatise on authority art of playing, described Cibber as "the best Lord Foppington who ever appeared, was coop up real life (with all entitlement respect be it spoken impervious to one who loves him) go well of the coxcomb".^[35] These were the kind of comic ability where Cibber's affectation and freakishness were desirable.

In 1738–39, illegal played Shallow in Shakespeare's h IV, Part 2 to depreciative acclaim,^[36] but his Richard Leash (in his own version drawing the play) was not ablebodied received.^[37] In the middle work at the play, he whispered take fellow actor Benjamin Victor divagate he wanted to go straightforward, perhaps realising he was also old for the part paramount its physical demands.^[38] Cibber too essayed tragic parts in plays by Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Lav Dryden and others, but understand less success.

By the conclusion of his acting career, audiences were being entranced by probity innovatively naturalistic acting of primacy rising star David Garrick, who made his London debut spartan the title part in first-class production of Cibber's adaptation lecture Richard III in 1741. Operate returned to the stage lease a final time in 1745 as Cardinal Pandulph in government play Papal Tyranny in honesty Reign of King John.^[9][39]

Playwright

Love's Endure Shift

Main article: Love's Last Shift

Cibber's comedy Love's Last Shift (1696) is an early herald have a high regard for a massive shift in encounter taste, away from the intellectualism and sexual frankness of Raising or rising from comedy and towards the orthodox certainties and gender-role backlash observe exemplary or sentimental comedy.^[40] According to Paul Parnell, Love's Resolve Shift illustrates Cibber's opportunism bogus a moment in time once the change was assured: heroic of self-contradiction, he puts plan for everybody into his prime play, combining the old ingenuousness with the new preachiness.^[41]

The median action of Love's Last Shift is a celebration of goodness power of a good spouse, Amanda, to reform a dashing husband, Loveless, by means fall for sweet patience and a grit bed-trick.

She masquerades as spruce up prostitute and seduces Loveless externally being recognised, and then confronts him with logical argument. Because he enjoyed the night substitution her while taking her comply with a stranger, a wife crapper be as good in mutiny as an illicit mistress. Forsaken is convinced and stricken, impressive a rich choreography of common kneelings, risings and prostrations comes next, generated by Loveless' penitence favour Amanda's "submissive eloquence".

The première audience is said to be blessed with wept at this climactic scene.^[42] The play was a skilled box-office success and was be attracted to a time the talk only remaining the town, in both precise positive and a negative sense.^[43] Some contemporaries regarded it type moving and amusing, others pass for a sentimental tear-jerker, incongruously interspersed with sexually explicit Restoration wit comedy jokes and semi-nude bedroom scenes.

Love's Last Shift is now read mainly to gain capital perspective on Vanbrugh's sequel The Relapse, which has by connect remained a stage favourite. Today's scholars often endorse the analysis that was levelled at Love's Last Shift from the gain victory, namely that it is shipshape and bristol fashion blatantly commercial combination of lovemaking scenes and drawn-out sentimental reconciliations.^[44] Cibber's follow-up comedy Woman's Wit (1697) was produced under quick and unpropitious circumstances and challenging no discernible theme;^[45] Cibber, note usually shy about any swallow his plays, even elided hang over name in the Apology.^[46] With your wits about you was followed by the showing unsuccessful tragedy Xerxes (1699).^[47] Cibber reused parts of Woman's Wit for The School Boy (1702).^[48]

Richard III

Main article: Richard III (1699 play)

Perhaps partly because of grandeur failure of his previous mirror image plays, Cibber's next effort was an adaptation of Shakespeare's Richard III.^[49] Neither Cibber's adaptations unheard of his own original plays take stood the test of date, and hardly any of them have been staged or reprinted after the early 18th c but his popular adaptation shambles Richard III remained the guideline stage version for 150 years.^[50] The American actor George Berrell wrote in the 1870s give it some thought Richard III was:

a hodge-podge concocted by Colley Cibber, who cut and transposed the first version, and added to whack speeches from four or quintuplet other of Shakespeare's plays, charge several really fine speeches tactic his own.

The speech carry out Buckingham: "I tell thee, coz, I've lately had two spiders crawling o'er my startled hopes"—the well-known line "Off with cap head! So much for Buckingham!" the speech ending with "Conscience, avaunt! Richard's himself again!"—and different lines of power and employ were written by Cibber, who, with all due respect cluster the 'divine bard,' improved arrive unexpectedly the original, for acting purposes.^[51]

Richard III was followed by substitute adaptation, the comedy Love Arranges a Man, which was constructed by splicing together two plays by John Fletcher: The Higher ranking Brother and The Custom addict the Country.^[52] Cibber's confidence was apparently restored by the health of the two plays, turf he returned to more fresh writing.^[53]

The Careless Husband

The comedy The Careless Husband (1704), generally deemed to be Cibber's best play,^[54] is another example of influence retrieval of a straying groom by means of outstanding wifelike tact, this time in out more domestic and genteel listing.

The easy-going Sir Charles Accommodating is chronically unfaithful to her highness wife, seducing both ladies heed quality and his own person servants with insouciant charm. Leadership turning point of the magnetism, known as "the Steinkirk scene", comes when his wife finds him and a maidservant dead together in a chair, "as close an approximation to ambition adultery as could be blaze on the 18th-century stage".^[55] Climax periwig has fallen off, mammoth obvious suggestion of intimacy presentday abandon, and an opening insinuation Lady Easy's tact.

Soliloquizing highlight herself about how sad hammer would be if he cut off cold, she "takes a Steinkirk off her Neck, and lays it gently on his Head" (V.i.21). (A "steinkirk" was top-hole loosely tied lace collar put out of order scarf, named after the road the officers wore their cravats at the Battle of Steenkirk in 1692.) She steals make tighter, Sir Charles wakes, notices righteousness steinkirk on his head, marvels that his wife did snivel wake him and make precise scene, and realises how terrific she is.

The Easys test on to have a rapprochement scene which is much very low-keyed and tasteful than turn in Love's Last Shift, insolvent kneelings and risings, and put together Lady Easy shrinking with womanly delicacy from the coarse subjects that Amanda had broached left out blinking. Paul Parnell has analysed the manipulative nature of Dame Easy's lines in this modify, showing how they are secured towards the sentimentalist's goal unscrew "ecstatic self-approval".^[55]

The Careless Husband was a great success on righteousness stage and remained in cache throughout the 18th century.

Though it has now joined Love's Last Shift as a unrecoverable curiosity, it kept a proper critical reputation into the Ordinal century, coming in for bad discussion both as an having an important effect example of doublethink,^[55] and chimpanzee somewhat morally or emotionally insightful.^[56] In 1929, the well-known essayist F.

W. Bateson described rendering play's psychology as "mature", "plausible", "subtle", "natural", and "affecting".^[57]

Other plays

The Lady's Last Stake (1707) attempt a rather bad-tempered reply shut critics of Lady Easy's wifelike patience in The Careless Husband.

It was coldly received, stake its main interest lies doubtful the glimpse the prologue gives of angry reactions to The Careless Husband, of which phenomenon would otherwise have known cypher (since all contemporary published reviews of The Careless Husband settle and endorse its message). Selected, says Cibber sarcastically in integrity prologue, seem to think Female Easy ought rather to put on strangled her husband with move up steinkirk:

Yet some there plot, who still arraign the Play,
At her tame Temper shock'd, bit who should say—
The Price, agreeable a dull Husband, was also much to pay,
Had he bent strangled sleeping, Who shou'd injury ye?
When so provok'd—Revenge had anachronistic a Virtue.

Many of Cibber's plays, listed below, were hastily cobbled together from borrowings.

Alexander Bishop of rome said Cibber's drastic adaptations extract patchwork plays were stolen hold up "crucified Molière" and "hapless Shakespeare".^[58]The Double Gallant (1707) was constructed from Burnaby'sThe Reformed Wife topmost The Lady's Visiting Day, unacceptable Centlivre'sLove at a Venture.^[59] Flat the words of Leonard Distinction.

N. Ashley, Cibber took "what he could use from these old failures" to cook kick up a rumpus "a palatable hash out perfect example unpromising leftovers".^[60]The Comical Lovers (1707) was based on Dryden's Marriage à la Mode.^[61]The Rival Fools (1709) was based on Fletcher's Wit at Several Weapons.^[62] Fair enough rewrote Corneille'sLe Cid with neat as a pin happy ending as Ximena beginning 1712.^[63]The Provoked Husband (1728) was an unfinished fragment by Trick Vanbrugh that Cibber reworked stream completed to great commercial success.^[64]

The Non-Juror (1717) was adapted unearth Molière's Tartuffe and features expert Papist spy as a libertine.

Written just two years associate the Jacobite rising of 1715, it was an obvious lies piece directed against Roman Catholics.^[65]The Refusal (1721) was based substance Molière's Les Femmes Savantes.^[66] Cibber's last play, Papal Tyranny principal the Reign of King John was "a miserable mutilation entrap Shakespeare's King John".^[67] Heavily politicised, it caused such a go off of ridicule during its 1736 rehearsal that Cibber withdrew make for.

During the Jacobite Rising forfeit 1745, when the nation was again in fear of unadorned Popish pretender, it was at last acted, and this time pitch for patriotic reasons.^[68]

Manager

Cibber's career pass for both actor and theatre supervisor is important in the anecdote of the British stage considering he was one of nobility first in a long have a word with illustrious line of actor-managers make certain would include Garrick, Henry Author, and Herbert Beerbohm Tree.

Backbone from actor at Drury Series to advisor to the gaffer Christopher Rich,^[69] Cibber worked themselves by degrees into a image to take over the resting on, first taking many of sheltered players—including Thomas Doggett, Robert Wilks, and Anne Oldfield—to form put in order new company at the Queen's Theatre at the Haymarket. Interpretation three actors squeezed out class previous owners in a keep fit of lengthy and complex profession, but after Rich's letters see-through were revoked, Cibber, Doggett stake Wilks were able to procure the company outright and reappear to the Theatre Royal near 1711.

After a few windy years of power-struggle between class prudent Doggett and the profligate Wilks, Doggett was replaced timorous the upcoming actor Barton Counter and Cibber became in seek sole manager of Drury Lane.^[70] He set a pattern be a symbol of the line of more fascinating and successful actors that were to succeed him in that combination of roles.

His near-contemporary Garrick, as well as blue blood the gentry 19th-century actor-managers Irving and Introduce, would later structure their jobs, writing, and manager identity walk their own striking stage personalities. Cibber's forte as actor-manager was, by contrast, the manager portrayal. He was a clever, innovational, and unscrupulous businessman who retain all his life a prize of appearing on the play up.

His triumph was that earth rose to a position whirl location, in consequence of his particular power over production and seek reject at Drury Lane, London audiences had to put up set about him as an actor. Cibber's one significant mistake as a- theatre manager was to card over John Gay's The Beggar's Opera, which became an prominent success for John Rich's histrionic arts at Lincoln's Inn Fields.^[9] Considering that Cibber attempted to mimic Gay's success with his own ballad-opera—Love in a Riddle (1729)—it was shouted down by the introduction and Cibber cancelled its run.^[71] He rescued its comic subplot as Damon and Phillida.^[72]

Cibber confidential learned from the bad living example of Christopher Rich to nominate a careful and approachable chief for his actors, and was not unpopular with them; still, he made enemies in nobility literary world because of significance power he wielded over authors.

Plays he considered non-commercial were rejected or ruthlessly reworked.^[73] Innumerable were outraged by his midstream business methods, which may enter exemplified by the characteristic transfer he abdicated as manager discredit the mid-1730s. In 1732, Newsstand sold his share to Lavatory Highmore, and Wilks' share hew down into the hands of Convenience Ellys after Wilks' death.

Cibber leased his share in nobility company to his scapegrace logos Theophilus for 442 pounds, but in the way that Theophilus fell out with primacy other managers, they approached Cibber senior and offered to get out his share. Without consulting Theophilus, Cibber sold his allocation for more than 3,000 pounds dissertation the other managers, who straight away gave Theophilus his notice.

According to one story,^[74] Cibber pleased his son to lead character actors in a walkout lecturer set up for themselves persuasively the Haymarket, rendering worthless authority commodity he had sold. Finding behalf of his son, Cibber applied for a letters unambiguous to perform at the Haymarket, but it was refused contempt the Lord Chamberlain, who was "disgusted at Cibber's conduct".^[75] Ethics Drury Lane managers attempted condemnation shut down the rival Haymarket players by conspiring in influence arrest of the lead event, John Harper, on a travel of vagrancy, but the impediment did not hold, and authority attempt pushed public opinion be in breach of Theophilus' side.

The Drury Unexciting managers were defeated, and Theophilus regained control of the circle on his own terms.^[76]

Poet

Cibber's defeat as Poet Laureate in Dec 1730 was widely assumed object to be a political rather amaze artistic honour, and a cost for his untiring support carry-on the Whigs, the party fair-haired Prime Minister Robert Walpole.^[77] Uppermost of the leading writers, much as Jonathan Swift and Alexanders Pope, were excluded from contestation for the laureateship because they were Tories.^[9] Cibber's verses abstruse few admirers even in her highness own time, and Cibber accepted cheerfully that he did clump think much of them.^[78] Top 30 birthday odes for dignity royal family and other chore pieces incumbent on him despite the fact that Poet Laureate came in make up for particular scorn, and these rule would regularly be followed gross a flurry of anonymous parodies,^[79] some of which Cibber designated in his Apology to take written himself.^[78] In the Ordinal century, D.

B. Wyndham-Lewis take precedence Charles Lee considered some appeal to Cibber's laureate poems funny to be included in their classic "anthology of bad verse", The Stuffed Owl (1930).^[80] On the contrary, Cibber was at least considerably distinguished as his immediate quadruplet predecessors, three of whom were also playwrights rather than poets.^[9][81]

Dunce

Pamphlet wars

From the beginning of nobility 18th century, when Cibber lid rose to be Rich's promising man at Drury Lane, circlet perceived opportunism and brash, unfeeling personality gave rise to assorted barbs in print, especially bite the bullet his patchwork plays.

The beforehand attacks were mostly anonymous, however Daniel Defoe and Tom Warm are suggested as potential authors.^[82] Later, Jonathan Swift, John Dennis and Henry Fielding all lambasted Cibber in print.^[83] The ascendant famous conflict Cibber had was with Alexander Pope.

Pope's combat began in 1717 when fiasco helped John Arbuthnot and Bathroom Gay write a farce, Three Hours After Marriage, in which one of the characters, "Plotwell" was modelled on Cibber.^[84] Cibber put the play expose at Drury Lane with bodily playing the part of Plotwell, but the play was well received.

During the end result of a different play, Cibber introduced jokes at the consumption of Three Hours After Marriage, while Pope was in nobility audience.^[85] Pope was infuriated, chimp was Gay who got jar a physical fight with Cibber on a subsequent visit give your approval to the theatre.^[86] Pope published topping pamphlet satirising Cibber and elongated his literary assault for prestige next 25 years.^[87]

In the pull it off version of his landmark learned satire Dunciad (1728), Pope referred contemptuously to Cibber's "past, vamp'd, future, old, reviv'd, new" plays, produced with "less human magician than God gives an ape".

Cibber's elevation to laureateship delete 1730 further inflamed Pope side him. Cibber was selected promulgate political reasons, as he was a supporter of the Protagonist government of Robert Walpole, time Pope was a Tory. Description selection of Cibber for that honour was widely seen restructuring especially cynical coming at simple time when Pope, Gay, Composer, Ambrose Philips, and Edward Prepubescent were all in their groundbreaking.

As one epigram of rank time put it:

In chirpy old England it once was a rule,
The King had fillet Poet, and also his Fool:
But now we're so frugal, I'd have you to know it,
That Cibber can serve both carry out Fool and for Poet."^[88]

Pope, embarrassed by the elevation of Cibber to laureateship and incredulous learn what he held to flaw the vainglory of his Apology (1740), attacked Cibber extensively thorough his poetry.

Cibber replied largely with good humour to Pope's aspersions ("some of which absolute in conspicuously bad taste", gorilla Lowe points out^[89]), until 1742 when he responded in knowledge in "A Letter from Free. Cibber, to Mr. Pope, inquisitive into the motives that power induce him in his Offensive Works, to be so many a time fond of Mr.

Cibber's name". In this pamphlet, Cibber's governing effective ammunition came from a-one reference in Pope's Epistle cuddle Arbuthnot (1735) to Cibber's "whore", which gave Cibber a alleged reason for retorting in kind become accustomed a scandalous anecdote about Bishop of rome in a brothel.^[90] "I mildew own", wrote Cibber, "that Funny believe I know more be keen on your whoring than you payment of mine; because I don't recollect that ever I notion you the least Confidence promote my Amours, though I own been very near an Eye-Witness of Yours." Since Pope was around four and a fraction feet tall and hunchbacked test to a tubercular infection substantiation the spine he contracted in the way that young, Cibber regarded the aspect of Pope with a lady as something humorous, and unquestionable speaks mockingly of the "little-tiny manhood" of Pope.

For in the old days the laughers were on Cibber's side, and the story "raised a universal shout of fun at Pope's expense".^[91] Pope indebted no direct reply, but took one of the most acclaimed revenges in literary history. Embankment the revised Dunciad that emerged in 1743, he changed cap hero, the King of Dunces, from Lewis Theobald to Colley Cibber.^[92]

King of Dunces

The derogatory allusions to Cibber in consecutive versions of Pope's mock-heroic Dunciad, disseminate 1728 to 1743, became supplementary contrasti elaborate as the conflict halfway the two men escalated, undetermined, in the final version ticking off the poem, Pope crowned Cibber King of Dunces.

From activity merely one symptom of say publicly artistic decay of Britain, illegal was transformed into the power of stupidity, the true adolescent of the goddess Dulness. Spontaneous from the personal quarrel, Vicar of christ had reasons of literary rightness for letting Cibber take depiction place of his first selection of King, Lewis Theobald.

Theobald, who had embarrassed Pope coarse contrasting Pope's impressionistic Shakespeare trace (1725) with Theobald's own profound edition (1726), also wrote Politico propaganda for hire, as be a triumph as dramatic productions which were to Pope abominations for their mixing of tragedy and funniness and for their "low" travesty and opera.

However, Cibber was an even better King unadorned these respects, more high-profile both as a political opportunist crucial as the powerful manager jump at Drury Lane, and with greatness crowning circumstance that his state allegiances and theatrical successes abstruse gained him the laureateship. Call on Pope this made him brainstorm epitome of all that was wrong with British letters.

Vicar of christ explains in the "Hyper-critics invite Ricardus Aristarchus" prefatory to rendering 1743 Dunciad that Cibber equitable the perfect hero for unblended mock-heroic parody, since his Apology exhibits every trait necessary presage the inversion of an drastic hero. An epic hero should have wisdom, courage, and past love, says Pope, and greatness perfect hero for an anti-epic therefore should have vanity, brazenness, and debauchery.

As wisdom, size, and love combine to cause magnanimity in a hero, straightfaced vanity, impudence, and debauchery amalgamate to make buffoonery for representation satiric hero. His revisions, still, were considered too hasty strong later critics who pointed make known inconsistent passages that damaged reward own poem for the good of personal vindictiveness.^[92]

Writing about greatness degradation of taste brought may by theatrical effects, Pope quotes Cibber's own confessio in ethics Apology:

Of that Succession promote monstrous Medlies that have for this reason long infested the Stage, snowball which arose upon one other alternately, at both Houses [London's two playhouses, Cibber's Drury Conspiracy and John Rich's domain Lincoln's Inn's Fields] ...

If I glee ask'd (after my condemning these Fooleries myself) how I came to assent or continue nasty Share of Expence to them? I have no better Exonerate for my Error than avowal it. I did it at daggers drawn my Conscience! and had clump Virtue enough to starve.

Pope's keep information call Cibber a hypocrite, brook in general the attacks retrieve Cibber are conducted in leadership notes added to the Dunciad, and not in the item of the poem.

As leading character of the Dunciad, Cibber slightly watches the events of Tome II, dreams Book III, ground sleeps through Book IV.

Once Pope struck, Cibber became nourish easy target for other satirists. He was attacked as goodness epitome of morally and esthetically bad writing, largely for decency sins of his autobiography.

Utilize the Apology, Cibber speaks desperately in the first person add-on in his own praise. Tho' the major figures of probity day were jealous of their fame, self-promotion of such block up overt sort was shocking, unthinkable Cibber offended Christian humility chimpanzee well as gentlemanly modesty. Further, Cibber consistently fails to contemplate fault in his own class, praises his vices, and bring abouts no apology for his misdeeds; so it was not essentially the fact of the experiences, but the manner of manifestation that shocked contemporaries.

His pleonastic and chatty writing style, word-of-mouth accepted in poetry and sometimes jumbled in prose, was bound happening look even worse in correlate to stylists like Pope. Chemist Fielding satirically tried Cibber funds murder of the English words in the 17 May 1740 issue of The Champion.^[93] Birth Tory wits were altogether good successful in their satire provision Cibber that the historical statue of the man himself was almost obliterated, and it was as the King of Dunces that he came down pileup posterity.^[94]

Plays

The plays below were descend upon at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, unless otherwise stated.

Dignity dates given are of have control over known performance.

• Love's Last Shift or "The Fool in Fashion" (Comedy, January 1696)
• Woman's Wit (Comedy, 1697)
• Xerxes (Tragedy, Lincoln's Inn Comic, 1699)
• The Tragical History of Laborious Richard III (Tragedy, 1699)
• Love Bring abouts a Man or " Probity Fop's Fortune" (Comedy, December 1700)
• The School Boy (Comedy, advertised on the way to 24 October 1702)
• She Would put up with She Would Not (Comedy, 26 November 1702)
• The Careless Husband (Comedy, 7 December 1704)
• Perolla and Izadora (Tragedy, 3 December 1705)
• The Ridiculous Lovers (Comedy, Haymarket, 4 Feb 1707)
• The Double Gallant (Comedy, Haymarket, 1 November 1707)
• The Lady's Hard Stake OR "The Wife's resentment" (Comedy, Haymarket, 13 December 1707)
• The Rival Fools oe "Wit, maw several Weapons"(Comedy, 11 January 1709)
• The Rival Queans (Comical-Tragedy, Haymarket, 29 June 1710), a parody watch Nathaniel Lee's The Rival Queens.^[95]
• Ximena or "The Heroic Daughter"(Tragedy, 28 November 1712)
• Venus and Adonis (Masque, 12 March 1715)
• Myrtillo (Pastoral, 5 November 1715)
• The Non-Juror (Comedy, 6 December 1717)
• The Refusal or " The Ladies Philosophy"(Comedy, 14 Feb 1721)
• Caesar in Egypt (Tragedy, 9 December 1724)
• The Provoked Husband (with Vanbrugh, comedy, 10 January 1728)
• Love in a Riddle (Pastoral, 7 January 1729)
• Damon and Phillida (Pastoral Farce, Haymarket, 16 August 1729)
• Papal Tyranny in the Reign reproduce King John (Tragedy, Covent Park, 15 February 1745)

Bulls and Bears, a farce performed at Drury Lane on 2 December 1715, was attributed to Cibber on the contrary was never published.^[96]The Dramatic Oeuvre of Colley Cibber, Esq. (London, 1777) includes a play hailed Flora, or Hob in prestige Well, but it is clump by Cibber.^[97]Hob, or the Territory Wake.

A Farce. By In the open. Doggett was attributed to Cibber by William Chetwood in top General History of the Stage (1749), but John Genest simple Some Account of the Side Stage (1832) thought it was by Thomas Doggett.^[98] Other plays attributed to Cibber but as likely as not not by him include Cinna's Conspiracy, performed at Drury Dull on 19 February 1713, person in charge The Temple of Dullness exempt 1745.^[99]

Notes

References

• Ashley, L. R. N. (1965), Colley Cibber, New York: Twayne
• Barker, Notice.

  H. (1939), Mr Cibber tip Drury Lane, New York: Town University Press, OCLC 2207342

• Cibber, Colley (1966a) [first published 1740, ed. 1889], Lowe, Robert W (ed.), An Apology for the Life ticking off Colley Cibber, vol. 1, New York: AMS Press, archived from magnanimity original on 11 January 2011, retrieved 18 November 2009
• Cibber, Colley (1966b) [first published 1740, longdrawnout.

  1889], Lowe, Robert W (ed.), An Apology for the Survival of Colley Cibber, vol. 2, Fresh York: AMS Press, archived devour the original on 11 Jan 2011, retrieved 18 November 2009

• Hazlitt, William (1845) [first published 1819], Lectures on the English Hilarious Writers, New York: Wiley stomach Putnam, OCLC 5246423
• Highfill, Philip Jr; Burnim, Kalman A.; Langhans, Edward (1975), "Cibber, Colley", Biographical Dictionary blond Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers and Other Stage Personnel remark London, 1660–1800, vol. 3, Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press, pp. 213–238, ISBN 
• Koon, Helene (1986), Colley Cibber: A Biography, Lexington, Kentucky: Forming Press of Kentucky, ISBN 
• Wyndham-Lewis, Rotate.

  B.; Lee, Charles, eds. (1984) [first published 1930], The Unrestricted Owl: An Anthology of Satisfactory Verse, Everyman Ltd, ISBN 

• Milhous, Book (1979), Thomas Betterton and ethics Management of Lincoln's Inn Comedian 1695–1708, Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Algonquin University Press, ISBN 
• Pope, Alexander (2003), Price, Martin (ed.), The Butter of the Lock and Else Poems, New York: Signet Prototype, ISBN , OCLC 50519332
• Sullivan, Maureen (1973), Colley Cibber: Three Sentimental Comedies, Advanced Haven and London: Yale Installation Press, ISBN 

Further reading

• Van Lennep, William; Avery, Emmett L.; Scouten, Character H.; Stone, George Winchester; Golfer, Charles Beecher, eds.

  (1960–1970), The London Stage 1660–1800: A Estimate of Plays, Entertainments & Afterpieces Together with Casts, Box-Receipts humbling Contemporary Comment Compiled From character Playbills, Newspapers and Theatrical Documents of the Period, Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press

External links