Charles Beckingham (25 July 1699 – 19 February 1730/1731) was an English poet and dramatist.

Life

Beckingham was born, according to the register of Merchant Taylors' School, on 25 July 1699 (Robinson's ''Register'', ii. 32). His father was a linen draper in

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a street in Central London, England. It runs west to east from Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar at the boundary of the City of London, Cities of London and City of Westminster, Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the Lo ...

. Beckingham was educated at Merchant Taylors' School under Dr. Smith, and is said to have displayed "great proficiency in his studies", and given "the strongest testimonials of extraordinary abilities". On 18 February 1718 ''

Scipio Africanus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (, , ; 236/235–) was a Roman general and statesman who was one of the main architects of Rome's victory against Ancient Carthage, Carthage in the Second Punic War. Often regarded as one of the greatest milit ...

'', a historical tragedy in the regulation five acts, was produced at the theatre in

Lincoln's Inn Fields Lincoln's Inn Fields is located in Holborn and is the List of city squares by size, largest public square in London. It was laid out in the 1630s under the initiative of the speculative builder and contractor William Newton, "the first in a ...

. This was followed at the same house on 7 November of the next year by a second work of a similar description, entitled ''

Henry IV of France Henry IV (; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (''le Bon Roi Henri'') or Henry the Great (''Henri le Grand''), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 16 ...

''. The youth of the author, and the presence of a large number of his fellow-students who had been permitted to visit the theatre, gave some éclat to the production of the earlier work. A chief subject of praise in contemporary writers is the manner in which the so-called unities are observed by its author. The plot is founded on a story told by Livy and other classical writers concerning the restoration of a beautiful captive by

to her betrothed, the Spanish prince Allucius. A considerable portion of the play consists of tedious love scenes, which are necessarily fictitious, and the hero was played by James Quin. ''Scipio Africanus'' was acted four times in all, two performances being, it is stated, for the author's benefit. It was printed in duodecimo in 1718. In 1728, Beckingham's poem "Sarah the Quaker to Lothario" was published. It is about a perjured lover confronting the man who left her when they are both in the afterlife. ''Henry IV of France'' deals with the jealousy of the

Prince of Condé A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The f ...

of his wife, who is in love with the king, and ends with the murder of

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

by Ravaillac at the instigation of the

papal nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is a ...

and the priests. This play was also given four times, Quin appearing as Henry IV. It was printed in octavo in 1820. In addition to these dramas Beckingham wrote a poem on the death of Rowe, the dramatist; a second entitled ''Christ's Sufferings, translated from the Latin of Rapin'', and dedicated to the

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...

; and other minor poems. He died 19 February 1730-31.Jacob's Poetical RegisterBaker, Reed, and Jones's Biographia DramaticaGenest's Account of the English Stage.

References

DNB references

These references are found in the DNB article referred to above.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beckingham, Charles 1699 births 1731 deaths 18th-century English dramatists and playwrights English male dramatists and playwrights English male poets 18th-century English poets