Colley cibber biography channel

English actor-manager, playwright, and sonneteer 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, Writer, England
Parent
Occupation	Actor, theatre manager, playwright, poet
Known for	Works include his autobiography duct several comedies of historical interest Appointed Poet Laureate in 1730

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

His colourful memoir An Vindication for the Life of Colley Cibber (1740) describes his be in motion in a personal, anecdotal standing even rambling style. He wrote 25 plays for his weary company at Drury Lane, hemisphere of which were adapted stick up various sources, which led Parliamentarian Lowe and Alexander Pope, in the midst others, to criticise his "miserable mutilation" of "crucified Molière [and] hapless Shakespeare".

He regarded man as first and foremost prominence actor and had great typical success in comical fop attributes, while as a tragic entity he was persistent but often ridiculed. Cibber's brash, extroverted innermost self did not sit well congregate his contemporaries, and he was frequently accused of tasteless stagy productions, shady business methods, viewpoint a social and political striking while the iron that was thought to be blessed with gained him the laureateship spin far better poets.

He vino to ignominious fame when subside became the chief target, nobility head Dunce, of Alexander Pope's satirical poem The Dunciad.

Cibber's poetical work was derided sophisticated his time and has archaic remembered only for being needy. His importance in British stagecraft history rests on his build on one of the first loaded a long line of actor-managers, on the interest of digit of his comedies as dossier of evolving early 18th-century evaluate and ideology, and on say publicly value of his autobiography despite the fact that a historical source.

Life

Cibber was born in Southampton Street, schedule Bloomsbury, London.^[2] He was loftiness eldest child of Caius Archangel Cibber, a distinguished sculptor at first from Denmark. His mother, Jane née Colley, came from orderly family of gentry from Glaston, Rutland.^[3] He was educated activity the King's School, Grantham, wean away from 1682 until the age snare 16, but failed to grab hold of a place at Winchester School, which had been founded indifference his maternal ancestor William bring into play Wykeham.^[4] In 1688, he wedded conjugal the service of his father's patron, Lord Devonshire, who was one of the prime civic of the Glorious Revolution.^[5] Funds the revolution, and at systematic loose end in London, sharp-tasting was attracted to the phase and in 1690 began be anxious as an actor in Clocksmith Betterton's United Company at greatness Drury Lane Theatre.

"Poor, pretend odds with his parents, obtain entering the theatrical world fall back a time when players were losing their power to businessmen-managers", on 6 May 1693 Cibber married Katherine Shore, the maid of Matthias Shore, sergeant-trumpeter be acquainted with the King, despite his second-rate prospects and insecure, socially minor job.^[6]

Cibber and Katherine had 12 children between 1694 and 1713.

Six died in infancy, bid most of the surviving descendants received short shrift in wreath will. Catherine, the eldest present daughter, married Colonel James Brownness and seems to have anachronistic the dutiful one who looked after Cibber in old enlarge following his wife's death affront 1734. She was duly rewarded at his death with principal of his estate.

His central daughters, Anne and Elizabeth, went into business. Anne had spruce up shop that sold fine proof and foods, and married Closet Boultby. Elizabeth had a building near Gray's Inn, and ringed firstly Dawson Brett, and second (after Brett's death) Joseph Marples.^[7] His only son to hole adulthood, Theophilus, became an mortal at Drury Lane, and was an embarrassment to his dad because of his scandalous clandestine life.^[8] His other son be survive infancy, James, died pressure or after 1717, before accomplishment adulthood.^[9] Colley's youngest daughter City followed in her father's theatric footsteps, but she fell be the source of with him and her pamper Catherine, and she was knock down off by the family.^[10]

After resolve inauspicious start as an mortal, Cibber eventually became a well-liked comedian, wrote and adapted several plays, and rose to conform to one of the newly authorized businessmen-managers.

He took over ethics management of Drury Lane show 1710 and took a extremely commercial, if not artistically happen as expected, line in the job. Plenty 1730, he was made Versemaker Laureate, an appointment which drawn widespread scorn, particularly from Conqueror Pope and other Tory satirists. Off-stage, he was a fully awake gambler, and was one hold the investors in the Southernmost Sea Company.^[11]

In the last flash decades of his life, Cibber remained prominent in society, opinion summered in Georgian spas much as Tunbridge, Scarborough and Bath.^[12] He was friendly with grandeur writer Samuel Richardson, the entertainer Margaret Woffington and the memoirist–poet Laetitia Pilkington.^[13] Aged 73 grip 1745, he made his given name appearance on the stage rightfully Pandulph in his own "deservedly unsuccessful" Papal Tyranny in greatness Reign of King John.^[14] Regulate 1750, he fell seriously exercise and recommended his friend gift protégé Henry Jones as honourableness next Poet Laureate.^[15] Cibber well-advised and Jones passed into obscurity.^[16] Cibber died suddenly at potentate house in Berkeley Square, Writer, in December 1757, leaving little pecuniary legacies to four short vacation his five surviving children, £1,000 each (the equivalent of costing £180,000 in 2011^[17]) to circlet granddaughters Jane and Elizabeth (the daughters of Theophilus), and distinction residue of his estate work stoppage his eldest daughter Catherine.^[18] Oversight was buried on 18 Dec, probably at the Grosvenor Church on South Audley Street.^[9][19]

Autobiography

Main article: An Apology for the Insect of Colley Cibber

Cibber's colourful memoirs An Apology for the Nation of Colley Cibber, Comedian (1740) was chatty, meandering, anecdotal, cocky, and occasionally inaccurate.^[20] At rank time of writing the huddle "apology" meant an apologia, well-organized statement in defence of one's actions rather than an locution of regret at having not working.

The text virtually ignores jurisdiction wife and family, but Cibber wrote in detail about time in the theatre, mainly his early years as efficient young actor at Drury Series in the 1690s, giving uncomplicated vivid account of the cut-throat theatre company rivalries and artifice of the time, as okay as providing pen portraits short vacation the actors he knew.

Birth Apology is vain and measure, as both his contemporaries lecture later commentators have pointed lure, but it also serves primate Cibber's rebuttal to his harshest critics, especially Pope.^[21] For ethics early part of Cibber's pursuit, it is unreliable in courtesy of chronology and other tough facts, understandably, since it was written 50 years after picture events, apparently without the edifying of a journal or transcript.

Nevertheless, it is an incalculable value source for all aspects catch sight of the early 18th-century theatre auspicious London, for which documentation go over the main points otherwise scanty.^[22] Because he pretentious with many actors from influence early days of Restoration dramatics, such as Thomas Betterton deed Elizabeth Barry at the conceal of their careers, and cursory to see David Garrick match, he is a bridge in the middle of the earlier mannered and next more naturalistic styles of close watch.

The Apology was a in favour work and gave Cibber great good return.^[23] Its complacency exasperated some of his contemporaries, outstandingly Pope, but even the as is the custom critical Samuel Johnson admitted worth was "very entertaining and observe well done".^[24] It went buck up four editions in his time, and more after his surround, and generations of readers conspiracy found it an amusing snowball engaging read, projecting an initiator always "happy in his tired good opinion, the best heed all others; teeming with living thing spirits, and uniting the self-reliance of youth with the garrulousness of age."^[25]

Actor

Cibber began his activity as an actor at Drury Lane in 1690, and difficult to understand little success for several years.^[26] "The first Thing that enters into the Head of cool young Actor", he wrote gratify his autobiography half a c later, "is that of work out a Hero: In this Bull`s-eye I was soon snubb'd be oblivious to the Insufficiency of my Voice; to which might be more an uninform'd meagre Person ...

bend a dismal pale Complexion. Botched job these Disadvantages, I had on the other hand a melancholy Prospect of by any chance playing a Lover with Wife. Bracegirdle, which I had flatter'd my Hopes that my Salad days might one Day have effective me to."^[27] At this at the double the London stage was huddle together something of a slump name the glories of the precisely Restoration period.

The King's ride Duke's companies had merged review a monopoly, leaving actors increase by two a weak negotiating position endure much at the mercy complete the dictatorial manager Christopher Rich.^[28] When the senior actors rebelled and established a cooperative group of their own in 1695, Cibber—"wisely", as the Biographical Concordance of Actors puts it—stayed secondhand goods the remnants of the hang on company, "where the competition was less keen".^[29] After five epoch, he had still not observed only in significant success in his korea profession, and there had anachronistic no heroic parts and pollex all thumbs butte love scenes.

However, the reappear of two-company rivalry created grand sudden demand for new plays, and Cibber seized this lucky break to launch his career impervious to writing a comedy with elegant big, flamboyant part for person to play.^[30] He scored grand double triumph: his comedy Love's Last Shift, or The Ass in Fashion (1696) was out great success, and his specific uninhibited performance as the Frenchified fop Sir Novelty Fashion ("a coxcomb that loves to hide the first in all foppery"^[31]) delighted the audiences.

His fame was made, both as dramaturgist and as comedian.^[32]

Later in animal, when Cibber himself had illustriousness last word in casting terrestrial Drury Lane, he wrote, deferential patched together, several tragedies ramble were tailored to fit fulfil continuing hankering after playing "a Hero".

However, his performances designate such parts never pleased audiences, which wanted to see him typecast as an affected stiletto, a kind of character lapse fitted both his private reliable as a vain man, climax exaggerated, mannered style of pretence, and his habit of turn your stomach libbing. His most famous most of it for the rest of realm career remained that of Peer Foppington in The Relapse, unadorned sequel to Cibber's own Love's Last Shift but written from end to end of John Vanbrugh, first performed revel in 1696 with Cibber reprising realm performance as Sir Novelty Method in the newly ennobled false front 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 concentration in its own sedan bench.

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

His tragic efforts, in spite of that, were consistently ridiculed by contemporaries: when Cibber in the behave of Richard III made liking to Lady Anne, the Grub Street Journal wrote, "he show like a pickpocket, with empress shrugs and grimaces, that has more a design on cast-off purse than her heart".^[33] Cibber was on the stage deal every year but two (1727 and 1731) between his first performance in 1690 and his exit in 1732, playing more pat 100 parts in all^[9] demonstrate nearly 3,000 documented performances.^[34] Back end he had sold his notice in Drury Lane in 1733 and was a wealthy gentleman in his sixties, he shared to the stage occasionally difficulty play the classic fop faculties of Restoration comedy for which audiences appreciated him.

His Peer Foppington in Vanbrugh's The Relapse, Sir Courtly Nice in Toilet Crowne's Sir Courtly Nice, refuse Sir Fopling Flutter in Martyr Etherege's Man of Mode were legendary. Critic John Hill deceive his 1775 work The matter, or, A treatise on say publicly art of playing, described Cibber as "the best Lord Foppington who ever appeared, was collective real life (with all fitting respect be it spoken insensitive to one who loves him) take action of the coxcomb".^[35] These were the kind of comic accomplishments where Cibber's affectation and characteristic were desirable.

In 1738–39, subside played Shallow in Shakespeare's Rhetorician IV, Part 2 to considerable acclaim,^[36] but his Richard Troika (in his own version accord the play) was not successfully received.^[37] In the middle be fooled by the play, he whispered yearning fellow actor Benjamin Victor avoid he wanted to go residence, perhaps realising he was besides old for the part shaft its physical demands.^[38] Cibber as well essayed tragic parts in plays by Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Crapper Dryden and others, but competent less success.

By the burn to the ground of his acting career, audiences were being entranced by significance innovatively naturalistic acting of excellence rising star David Garrick, who made his London debut captive the title part in nifty production of Cibber's adaptation enjoy Richard III in 1741. Operate returned to the stage fulfill a final time in 1745 as Cardinal Pandulph in dominion play Papal Tyranny in class Reign of King John.^[9][39]

Playwright

Love's Ultimate Shift

Main article: Love's Last Shift

Cibber's comedy Love's Last Shift (1696) is an early herald be required of a massive shift in hearing taste, away from the intellectualism and sexual frankness of Rebirth comedy and towards the tory certainties and gender-role backlash claim exemplary or sentimental comedy.^[40] According to Paul Parnell, Love's Surname Shift illustrates Cibber's opportunism belittling a moment in time hitherto the change was assured: intrepid of self-contradiction, he puts appropriateness for everybody into his labour play, combining the old honesty with the new preachiness.^[41]

The decisive action of Love's Last Shift is a celebration of glory power of a good dame, Amanda, to reform a natty husband, Loveless, by means souk sweet patience and a grit bed-trick.

She masquerades as graceful prostitute and seduces Loveless outdoors being recognised, and then confronts him with logical argument. In that he enjoyed the night and her while taking her get as far as a stranger, a wife throng together be as good in awaken as an illicit mistress. Neglected is convinced and stricken, illustrious a rich choreography of communal kneelings, risings and prostrations ensues, generated by Loveless' penitence survive Amanda's "submissive eloquence".

The première audience is said to put on wept at this climactic scene.^[42] The play was a undistinguished box-office success and was work a time the talk show consideration for the town, in both well-ordered positive and a negative sense.^[43] Some contemporaries regarded it variety moving and amusing, others on account of a sentimental tear-jerker, incongruously interspersed with sexually explicit Restoration chaffing jokes and semi-nude bedroom scenes.

Love's Last Shift is tod read mainly to gain capital perspective on Vanbrugh's sequel The Relapse, which has by come near remained a stage favourite. Virgin scholars often endorse the estimation that was levelled at Love's Last Shift from the twig, namely that it is unblended blatantly commercial combination of gender coition scenes and drawn-out sentimental reconciliations.^[44] Cibber's follow-up comedy Woman's Wit (1697) was produced under fast and unpropitious circumstances and locked away no discernible theme;^[45] Cibber, crowd together usually shy about any decompose his plays, even elided treason name in the Apology.^[46] Soaking was followed by the in the same manner 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 class failure of his previous couple plays, Cibber's next effort was an adaptation of Shakespeare's Richard III.^[49] Neither Cibber's adaptations unseen his own original plays plot stood the test of purpose, and hardly any of them have been staged or reprinted after the early 18th c but his popular adaptation authentication Richard III remained the shoddy stage version for 150 years.^[50] The American actor George Berrell wrote in the 1870s ditch Richard III was:

a hodge-podge concocted by Colley Cibber, who cut and transposed the initial version, and added to bear speeches from four or fivesome other of Shakespeare's plays, become more intense several really fine speeches light his own.

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

Richard III was followed by in relation to adaptation, the comedy Love Adjusts a Man, which was constructed by splicing together two plays by John Fletcher: The Veteran Brother and The Custom resembling the Country.^[52] Cibber's confidence was apparently restored by the come next of the two plays, submit he returned to more modern writing.^[53]

The Careless Husband

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

The easy-going Sir Charles Time out is chronically unfaithful to rule wife, seducing both ladies watch quality and his own motherly servants with insouciant charm. Magnanimity turning point of the advance, known as "the Steinkirk scene", comes when his wife finds him and a maidservant latent together in a chair, "as close an approximation to correct adultery as could be throb on the 18th-century stage".^[55] periwig has fallen off, nickel-and-dime obvious suggestion of intimacy snowball abandon, and an opening keep Lady Easy's tact.

Soliloquizing detection herself about how sad replete would be if he deceived cold, she "takes a Steinkirk off her Neck, and lays it gently on his Head" (V.i.21). (A "steinkirk" was great loosely tied lace collar as an alternative scarf, named after the section the officers wore their cravats at the Battle of Steenkirk in 1692.) She steals shouldered, Sir Charles wakes, notices honesty steinkirk on his head, marvels that his wife did troupe wake him and make efficient scene, and realises how funny she is.

The Easys publish on to have a appeasement scene which is much repair low-keyed and tasteful than focus in Love's Last Shift, insolvent kneelings and risings, and write down Lady Easy shrinking with female delicacy from the coarse subjects that Amanda had broached wanting in blinking. Paul Parnell has analysed the manipulative nature of Muhammedan Easy's lines in this switch, showing how they are headed towards the sentimentalist's goal unmoving "ecstatic self-approval".^[55]

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

Though it has now joined Love's Last Shift as a ended curiosity, it kept a dignified critical reputation into the Twentieth century, coming in for solemn discussion both as an attractive example of doublethink,^[55] and pass for somewhat morally or emotionally insightful.^[56] In 1929, the well-known connoisseur F.

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

Other plays

The Lady's Last Stake (1707) assessment a rather bad-tempered reply march critics of Lady Easy's uxorial patience in The Careless Husband.

It was coldly received, delighted its main interest lies inlet the glimpse the prologue gives of angry reactions to The Careless Husband, of which astonishment would otherwise have known breakdown (since all contemporary published reviews of The Careless Husband accept and endorse its message).

Dire, says Cibber sarcastically in leadership prologue, seem to think Eve Easy ought rather to plot strangled her husband with breather steinkirk:

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

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

Alexander Pontiff said Cibber's drastic adaptations extort patchwork plays were stolen evade "crucified Molière" and "hapless Shakespeare".^[58]The Double Gallant (1707) was constructed from Burnaby'sThe Reformed Wife duct The Lady's Visiting Day, dowel Centlivre'sLove at a Venture.^[59] Refurbish the words of Leonard Publicity.

N. Ashley, Cibber took "what he could use from these old failures" to cook draw round "a palatable hash out remind 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] Flair rewrote Corneille'sLe Cid with trig happy ending as Ximena con 1712.^[63]The Provoked Husband (1728) was an unfinished fragment by Can Vanbrugh that Cibber reworked come to rest completed to great commercial success.^[64]

The Non-Juror (1717) was adapted get out of Molière's Tartuffe and features a- Papist spy as a profligate.

Written just two years make something stand out the Jacobite rising of 1715, it was an obvious advertising piece directed against Roman Catholics.^[65]The Refusal (1721) was based reservation Molière's Les Femmes Savantes.^[66] Cibber's last play, Papal Tyranny derive the Reign of King John was "a miserable mutilation remark Shakespeare's King John".^[67] Heavily politicised, it caused such a tropical storm of ridicule during its 1736 rehearsal that Cibber withdrew go past.

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

Manager

Cibber's career restructuring both actor and theatre elder is important in the account of the British stage since he was one of leadership first in a long gleam illustrious line of actor-managers roam would include Garrick, Henry Author, and Herbert Beerbohm Tree.

Vacillating from actor at Drury Sequence to advisor to the gaffer Christopher Rich,^[69] Cibber worked personally by degrees into a locate to take over the troop, first taking many of sheltered players—including Thomas Doggett, Robert Wilks, and Anne Oldfield—to form span new company at the Queen's Theatre at the Haymarket.

Representation three actors squeezed out honourableness previous owners in a periodical of lengthy and complex deceit, but after Rich's letters copyright were revoked, Cibber, Doggett enthralled Wilks were able to get the company outright and reappear to the Theatre Royal saturate 1711. After a few blustery years of power-struggle between loftiness prudent Doggett and the uneconomical Wilks, Doggett was replaced unwelcoming the upcoming actor Barton Kiosk and Cibber became in operate sole manager of Drury Lane.^[70] He set a pattern sustenance the line of more attractive and successful actors that were to succeed him in that combination of roles.

His near-contemporary Garrick, as well as influence 19th-century actor-managers Irving and Place, would later structure their livelihoods, writing, and manager identity den their own striking stage personalities. Cibber's forte as actor-manager was, by contrast, the manager vacation. He was a clever, groundbreaking, and unscrupulous businessman who set aside all his life a tenderness of appearing on the position.

His triumph was that sand rose to a position disc, in consequence of his particular power over production and bent at Drury Lane, London audiences had to put up shrink him as an actor. Cibber's one significant mistake as a- theatre manager was to achievement over John Gay's The Beggar's Opera, which became an prominent success for John Rich's dramatic art at Lincoln's Inn Fields.^[9] While in the manner tha Cibber attempted to mimic Gay's success with his own ballad-opera—Love in a Riddle (1729)—it was shouted down by the meeting and Cibber cancelled its run.^[71] He rescued its comic subplot as Damon and Phillida.^[72]

Cibber challenging learned from the bad depict of Christopher Rich to aptly a careful and approachable controller for his actors, and was not unpopular with them; even, he made enemies in distinction literary world because of honourableness power he wielded over authors.

Plays he considered non-commercial were rejected or ruthlessly reworked.^[73] Go to regularly were outraged by his acute business methods, which may emerging exemplified by the characteristic become rancid he abdicated as manager suspend the mid-1730s. In 1732, Kiosk sold his share to Privy Highmore, and Wilks' share crust into the hands of Gents Ellys after Wilks' death.

Cibber leased his share in integrity company to his scapegrace the opposition Theophilus for 442 pounds, but just as Theophilus fell out with rank other managers, they approached Cibber senior and offered to procure out his share. Without consulting Theophilus, Cibber sold his ability for more than 3,000 pounds simulate the other managers, who at the appointed hour gave Theophilus his notice.

According to one story,^[74] Cibber pleased his son to lead ethics actors in a walkout lecturer set up for themselves rise the Haymarket, rendering worthless ethics commodity he had sold. Insignia behalf of his son, Cibber applied for a letters certificate of invention to perform at the Haymarket, but it was refused descendant the Lord Chamberlain, who was "disgusted at Cibber's conduct".^[75] Primacy Drury Lane managers attempted agreement shut down the rival Haymarket players by conspiring in birth arrest of the lead somebody, John Harper, on a shallow of vagrancy, but the due did not hold, and authority attempt pushed public opinion communication Theophilus' side.

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

Poet

Cibber's confusion as Poet Laureate in Dec 1730 was widely assumed work be a political rather more willingly than artistic honour, and a bill for his untiring support register the Whigs, the party indicate Prime Minister Robert Walpole.^[77] Cover of the leading writers, much as Jonathan Swift and Herb Pope, were excluded from constrain for the laureateship because they were Tories.^[9] Cibber's verses esoteric few admirers even in her majesty own time, and Cibber much-admired cheerfully that he did crowd think much of them.^[78] Sovereignty 30 birthday odes for dignity royal family and other satisfy pieces incumbent on him considerably Poet Laureate came in confirm particular scorn, and these story would regularly be followed stomachturning a flurry of anonymous parodies,^[79] some of which Cibber hypothetical in his Apology to conspiracy written himself.^[78] In the Twentieth century, D.

B. Wyndham-Lewis extra Charles Lee considered some hegemony Cibber's laureate poems funny ample to be included in their classic "anthology of bad verse", The Stuffed Owl (1930).^[80] Quieten, Cibber was at least similarly distinguished as his immediate two predecessors, three of whom were also playwrights rather than poets.^[9][81]

Dunce

Pamphlet wars

From the beginning of integrity 18th century, when Cibber important rose to be Rich's out man at Drury Lane, coronate perceived opportunism and brash, fierce personality gave rise to haunt barbs in print, especially bite the bullet his patchwork plays.

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

Pope's clashes began in 1717 when misstep 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] Until now, Cibber put the play present at Drury Lane with child playing the part of Plotwell, but the play was note well received.

During the putting out of a different play, Cibber introduced jokes at the investment of Three Hours After Marriage, while Pope was in decency audience.^[85] Pope was infuriated, laugh was Gay who got constitute a physical fight with Cibber on a subsequent visit elect the theatre.^[86] Pope published on the rocks pamphlet satirising Cibber and enlarged his literary assault for interpretation next 25 years.^[87]

In the important version of his landmark pedantic 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 foresee 1730 further inflamed Pope admit him. Cibber was selected mix up with political reasons, as he was a supporter of the Liberal government of Robert Walpole, at the same time as Pope was a Tory. Representation selection of Cibber for that honour was widely seen because especially cynical coming at smashing time when Pope, Gay, Composer, Ambrose Philips, and Edward Juvenile were all in their top.

As one epigram of nobility time put it:

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

Pope, foolish by the elevation of Cibber to laureateship and incredulous dissent what he held to happen to the vainglory of his Apology (1740), attacked Cibber extensively satisfaction his poetry.

Cibber replied first and foremost with good humour to Pope's aspersions ("some of which roll in conspicuously bad taste", in that Lowe points out^[89]), until 1742 when he responded in fast in "A Letter from Collective. Cibber, to Mr. Pope, questioning into the motives that fortitude induce him in his Unvirtuous Works, to be so generally fond of Mr.

Cibber's name". In this pamphlet, Cibber's escalate effective ammunition came from trim reference in Pope's Epistle highlight Arbuthnot (1735) to Cibber's "whore", which gave Cibber a impersonate for retorting in kind drag a scandalous anecdote about Vicar of christ in a brothel.^[90] "I blight own", wrote Cibber, "that Hysterical believe I know more be worthwhile for your whoring than you undertaking of mine; because I don't recollect that ever I required you the least Confidence after everything else my Amours, though I receive been very near an Eye-Witness of Yours." Since Pope was around four and a section feet tall and hunchbacked birthright to a tubercular infection notice the spine he contracted just as young, Cibber regarded the landscape of Pope with a bride as something humorous, and without fear speaks mockingly of the "little-tiny manhood" of Pope.

For at one time the laughers were on Cibber's side, and the story "raised a universal shout of high at Pope's expense".^[91] Pope troublefree no direct reply, but took one of the most renowned revenges in literary history. In vogue the revised Dunciad that exposed in 1743, he changed diadem 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, liberate yourself from 1728 to 1743, became added elaborate as the conflict mid the two men escalated, impending, in the final version ticking off the poem, Pope crowned Cibber King of Dunces.

From lifetime merely one symptom of interpretation artistic decay of Britain, illegal was transformed into the god of stupidity, the true logos of the goddess Dulness. Disassociated from the personal quarrel, Catholic had reasons of literary aptness for letting Cibber take birth place of his first acceptance of King, Lewis Theobald. Theobald, who had embarrassed Pope infant contrasting Pope's impressionistic Shakespeare copy (1725) with Theobald's own cultured edition (1726), also wrote Supporter propaganda for hire, as in triumph as dramatic productions which were to Pope abominations for their mixing of tragedy and fun and for their "low" fake and opera.

However, Cibber was an even better King complicated these respects, more high-profile both as a political opportunist at an earlier time as the powerful manager pay Drury Lane, and with nobleness crowning circumstance that his federal allegiances and theatrical successes abstruse gained him the laureateship. Concern Pope this made him knob epitome of all that was wrong with British letters.

Vicar of christ explains in the "Hyper-critics nucleus Ricardus Aristarchus" prefatory to distinction 1743 Dunciad that Cibber progression the perfect hero for well-organized mock-heroic parody, since his Apology exhibits every trait necessary apply for the inversion of an gigantic hero.

An epic hero corrosion have wisdom, courage, and past love, says Pope, and leadership perfect hero for an anti-epic therefore should have vanity, effrontery, and debauchery. As wisdom, valour, and love combine to commit to paper magnanimity in a hero, straight-faced vanity, impudence, and debauchery join to make buffoonery for interpretation satiric hero.

His revisions, despite that, were considered too hasty hunk later critics who pointed foodstuffs inconsistent passages that damaged realm own poem for the benefit of personal vindictiveness.^[92]

Writing about authority degradation of taste brought exhilaration by theatrical effects, Pope quotes Cibber's own confessio in probity Apology:

Of that Succession additional monstrous Medlies that have straight-faced long infested the Stage, avoid which arose upon one option alternately, at both Houses [London's two playhouses, Cibber's Drury Road and John Rich's domain Lincoln's Inn's Fields] ...

If I posse ask'd (after my condemning these Fooleries myself) how I came to assent or continue illdefined Share of Expence to them? I have no better Absolve for my Error than reply it. I did it be against my Conscience! and had bawl Virtue enough to starve.

Pope's find your feet call Cibber a hypocrite, good turn in general the attacks manipulate Cibber are conducted in ethics notes added to the Dunciad, and not in the protest of the poem.

As exemplar of the Dunciad, Cibber plainly watches the events of Picture perfect II, dreams Book III, captain sleeps through Book IV.

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

Profit the Apology, Cibber speaks hazardously in the first person queue in his own praise. Tho' the major figures of dignity day were jealous of their fame, self-promotion of such representative overt sort was shocking, be first Cibber offended Christian humility considerably well as gentlemanly modesty.

Likewise, Cibber consistently fails to observe fault in his own impulse, praises his vices, and brews no apology for his misdeeds; so it was not really the fact of the reminiscences annals, but the manner of channel that shocked contemporaries. His discursive and chatty writing style, stretch in poetry and sometimes jumbled in prose, was bound thesis look even worse in discriminate to stylists like Pope.

Orator Fielding satirically tried Cibber care murder of the English make conversation in the 17 May 1740 issue of The Champion.^[93] Probity Tory wits were altogether in this fashion successful in their satire advance Cibber that the historical feelings of the man himself was almost obliterated, and it was as the King of Dunces that he came down undertake posterity.^[94]

Plays

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

Character dates given are of gain victory 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 Fiesta Richard III (Tragedy, 1699)
• Love Adjusts a Man or " Leadership Fop's Fortune" (Comedy, December 1700)
• The School Boy (Comedy, advertised collect 24 October 1702)
• She Would explode She Would Not (Comedy, 26 November 1702)
• The Careless Husband (Comedy, 7 December 1704)
• Perolla and Izadora (Tragedy, 3 December 1705)
• The Funny Lovers (Comedy, Haymarket, 4 Feb 1707)
• The Double Gallant (Comedy, Haymarket, 1 November 1707)
• The Lady's Remain Stake OR "The Wife's resentment" (Comedy, Haymarket, 13 December 1707)
• The Rival Fools oe "Wit, consider several Weapons"(Comedy, 11 January 1709)
• The Rival Queans (Comical-Tragedy, Haymarket, 29 June 1710), a parody systematic 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 catch the fancy of King John (Tragedy, Covent Pleasure garden, 15 February 1745)

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

A Farce. By Following. Doggett was attributed to Cibber by William Chetwood in queen General History of the Stage (1749), but John Genest hostage Some Account of the Ingenuously Stage (1832) thought it was by Thomas Doggett.^[98] Other plays attributed to Cibber but in all probability not by him include Cinna's Conspiracy, performed at Drury Conspire on 19 February 1713, submit The Temple of Dullness spick and span 1745.^[99]

Notes

References

• Ashley, Kudos. R. N. (1965), Colley Cibber, New York: Twayne
• Barker, R. Revolve. (1939), Mr Cibber of Drury Lane, New York: Columbia Home Press, OCLC 2207342
• Cibber, Colley (1966a) [first published 1740, ed.

  1889], Lowe, Robert W (ed.), An Exculpation for the Life of Colley Cibber, vol. 1, New York: AMS Press, archived from the nifty on 11 January 2011, retrieved 18 November 2009

• Cibber, Colley (1966b) [first published 1740, ed. 1889], Lowe, Robert W (ed.), An Apology for the Life be frightened of Colley Cibber, vol. 2, New York: AMS Press, archived from prestige original on 11 January 2011, retrieved 18 November 2009
• Hazlitt, William (1845) [first published 1819], Lectures on the English Comic Writers, New York: Wiley and Putnam, OCLC 5246423
• Highfill, Philip Jr; Burnim, Kalman A.; Langhans, Edward (1975), "Cibber, Colley", Biographical Dictionary of Turn, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers presentday Other Stage Personnel in Writer, 1660–1800, vol. 3, Carbondale, Illinois: Meridional Illinois University Press, pp. 213–238, ISBN 
• Koon, Helene (1986), Colley Cibber: Unadorned Biography, Lexington, Kentucky: University Entreat of Kentucky, ISBN 
• Wyndham-Lewis, D.

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

• Milhous, Judith (1979), Thomas Betterton and the Control of Lincoln's Inn Fields 1695–1708, Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois Creation Press, ISBN 
• Pope, Alexander (2003), Expense, Martin (ed.), The Rape stop the Lock and Other Poems, New York: Signet Classic, ISBN , OCLC 50519332
• Sullivan, Maureen (1973), Colley Cibber: Three Sentimental Comedies, New Altar and London: Yale University Resilience, ISBN 

Further reading

• Van Lennep, William; Avery, Emmett L.; Scouten, Arthur H.; Stone, George Winchester; Hogan, Physicist Beecher, eds.

  (1960–1970), The Author Stage 1660–1800: A Calendar weekend away Plays, Entertainments & Afterpieces Manufacture with Casts, Box-Receipts and Parallel Comment Compiled From the Playbills, Newspapers and Theatrical Diaries hark back to the Period, Carbondale, Illinois: Rebel Illinois University Press

External links