Did you know Thomas Middleton
Find out more about Thomas Middleton. 17th Century poet from Southwark.
Arts and culture
- 29 Nov 2019
Thomas Middleton was a renowned 17th century poet and playwright, who lived in Newington, Southwark.
Thomas Middleton was a renowned 17th century poet and playwright, who lived in Newington, Southwark.
The industrious – and sometimes controversial – writer was one of the few dramatists of his time to achieve equal success in both comedy and tragedy.
Born in 1580, he gained a reputation for describing people as he saw them, with comic gusto or searching irony. By the turn of the 17th century, Middleton had spent two years at Oxford and had published three books of verse.
His comedies were said to have “exposed bourgeois vice in contemporary London in a satiric tone”.
And his highly acclaimed tragicomedy, ‘The Changeling’, which he wrote in the mid-17th century with William Rowley, continues to be performed to this day.
Middleton also served as Chronologer of the City of London from 1620 until his death in 1627, and wrote many pageants for the Lord Mayor. He is buried in St Mary’s Churchyard.
The industrious – and sometimes controversial – writer was one of the few dramatists of his time to achieve equal success in both comedy and tragedy.
Born in 1580, he gained a reputation for describing people as he saw them, with comic gusto or searching irony. By the turn of the 17th century, Middleton had spent two years at Oxford and had published three books of verse.
His comedies were said to have “exposed bourgeois vice in contemporary London in a satiric tone”.
And his highly acclaimed tragicomedy, ‘The Changeling’, which he wrote in the mid-17th century with William Rowley, continues to be performed to this day.
Middleton also served as Chronologer of the City of London from 1620 until his death in 1627, and wrote many pageants for the Lord Mayor. He is buried in St Mary’s Churchyard.