Background
Southerne was born at Oxmantown, near Dublin, in 1660.
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(Excerpt from Isabella, or the Fatal Marriage: A Tragedy, ...)
Excerpt from Isabella, or the Fatal Marriage: A Tragedy, Altered From Southern; Distinguishing Also the Variations of the Theatre Vz'l. But my hopes, I fear, are more of my own making, than hers and proceed mthet from my withers, than any encouragement {he has given me. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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(Duke of Devonfliire 5cc, Lord Steward of His Majefty s Ho...)
Duke of Devonfliire 5cc, Lord Steward of His Majefty s Hou Oioid, Knight of the Moft Noble Order of the Garter, and One of His Majefty s Moft Honourable Privy Council MY LO RD ,TH EB eft part of the Fortune of my lall Play (7he Innocent A dultery) was, that it gave me an Opportunity of making my felf known to Your Grace. You were pleafed to countenance the Advances which I had been a great while diredting and aiming at You, and have fince encourag Mme into an I nduftry, which, I hope, will allow me in this Play to own (which is the only way I can )the great Obligations I have toY (Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.) About the Publisher Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, History, Folklore and Mythology. Forgotten Books' Classic Reprint Series utilizes the latest technology to regenerate facsimiles of historically important writings. Careful attention has been made to accurately preserve the original format of each page whilst digitally enhancing the aged text. Read books online for free at www.forgottenbooks.org
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(Excerpt from The Spartan Dame: A Tragedy, as It Is Acted ...)
Excerpt from The Spartan Dame: A Tragedy, as It Is Acted at the Theatre-Royal in Drury-Lane, by His Majesty's Servants The whole Courl'e of Your {life been carry'dz on in the fame Spirit and gour. Theurt, and Camp, Cabi and Senate, have been all, on di?erenr Cations, Witneiles'of Your eminent Abilig ties, and publickvirtues; as Your gene, 1'ous Protection of Your Friends, and em gaging Courte to all Mankind, are daily Inllances of Your private Virtues. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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Southerne was born at Oxmantown, near Dublin, in 1660.
He entered Trinity College, Dublin, in 1676. Two years later he was entered at the Middle Temple, London.
His first play, The Persian Prince, or the Loyal Brother (1682), was based on a contemporary novel. The real interest of the play lay not in the plot, but in the political significance of the personages. Tachmas, the loyal brother, is obviously a flattering portrait of James II, and the villain Ismael is generally taken to represent Shaftesbury. The poet received an ensigns commission in Princess Annes regiment, and rapidly rose to the rank of captain, but his military career came to an end at the Revolution.
He then gave himself up entirely to dramatic writing. In 1692 he revised and completed Cleomenes for John Dryden; and two years later he scored a great success in the sentimental drama of The Fatal Marriage, or the Innocent Adultery (1694). The piece is based on Mrs Aphra Behn's The History of the Nun, with the addition of a comic underplot. It was frequently revived, and in 1757 was altered by David Garrick and produced at Drury Lane. It was known later as Isabella, or The Fatal Marriage. The general spirit of his comedies is well exemplified by a line from Sir Anthony Love (1691) "every day a new mistress and a new quarrel. " This comedy, in which the part of the heroine, disguised as Sir Anthony Love, was excellently played by Mrs Mountfort, was his best. He scored another conspicuous success in Oroonoko, or The Royal Slave (1696). For the plot of this he was again indebted to the novel by Aphra Behn.
In his later pieces he did not secure any great successes, but he contrived to gain better returns from his plays than Dryden did, and he remained a favorite with his contemporaries and with the next literary generation. He died on 26 May 1746.
His other plays are: The Disappointment, or the Mother in Fashion (1684), founded in part on the Curioso Imperlinente in Don Quixote; The Wives Excuse, or Cuckolds make themselves (1692); The Maids Last Prayer; or Any rather than fail (1692); The Fate of Capua (1700); The Spartan Dame (1719), taken from Plutarch's Life of Aegis; and Money the Mistress (1729).
His work is collected as Plays written by Thomas Southerne, with an Account of the Life and Writings of the Author (1774).
(Duke of Devonfliire 5cc, Lord Steward of His Majefty s Ho...)
(Excerpt from The Spartan Dame: A Tragedy, as It Is Acted ...)
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(Excerpt from Isabella, or the Fatal Marriage: A Tragedy, ...)
Quotations:
"Of the king's creation you may be; but he who makes a count ne'er made a man. "
"Pity's akin to love. "
"Ambition is an idol on whose wings great minds are carry'd only to extreme; to be sublimely great, or to be nothing. "
"Of the king's creation you may be; but he who makes a count ne'er made a man. "
Quotes from others about the person
A Compendium of Irish Biography (1878) describes him as:
"frugal and pushing; he was peculiarly fortunate in the sale of his plays; and his judicious flattery of the Duke of York considerably advanced his interests. During the Duke of Monmouth's rebellion Southern served in the army. He is described as having been in his latter days "a quiet and venerable old gentleman, who lived near Covent Garden, and frequented the evening prayers there, always neat and decently dressed, commonly in black, with his silver sword and silver locks. "
"He died (the oldest and richest of the dramatic brotherhood), 26th May 1746, aged 85. Two of his plays, all that are now known to the public, are thus commented on by Hallam: "Southern's Discovery, latterly represented under the name of Isabella, is almost as familiar to the lovers of our theatre as Venice Preserved itself; and for the same reason, that whenever an actress of great tragic powers arises, the part of 'Isabella' is as fitted to exhibit them as that of 'Belvidera. ' The choice and conduct of the story are, however, Southern's chief merits; for there is little vigour in the language, though it is natural and free from the usual faults of his age. A similar character may be given to his other tragedy, Oroonoko, in which Southern deserves the praise of having first of any English writer, denounced the traffic in slaves and the cruelties of their West Indian bondage. The moral feeling is high in this tragedy, and it has sometimes been acted with a certain success; but the execution is not that of a superior dramatist. "