Edward Ravenscroft ( – 1707) was an English

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. Ben Jonson coined the term "playwri ...

who belonged to an ancient

Flintshire Flintshire () is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, the Dee Estuary to the north-east, the English county of Cheshire to the east, Wrexham County Borough to the south, and Denbighshire to the west. ...

family. He was entered at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

, but devoted his attention mainly to literature. Ravenscroft was the first critic to posit that Shakespeare's play ''

Titus Andronicus ''The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus'', often shortened to ''Titus Andronicus'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first t ...

'' was not originally written by him. In 1686, he revived the play at the Drury Lane Theatre, which he entitled ''Titus Andronicus, or the rape of Lavinia''. He wrote in the address "to the Reader", "I have been told by some anciently conversant with the Stage, that it was not Originally his (Shakespeare's), but brought by a private Author to be Acted and he only gave some Master-touches to one or two of the Principal Parts or Characters; this I am apt to believe, because 'tis the most incorrect and indigested piece in all his Works, It seems rather a heap of Rubbish then a Structure." This position is now known as the "Ravenscroft tradition" within literary circles. He wrote a total of twelve plays, in which he adapted freely from

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, ; ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world liter ...

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

and others. He ventured to decry the heroic drama, and

John Dryden John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration (En ...

retaliated by satirizing his ''Mamamouchi'', a foolish adaptation from Molière's '' Bourgeois Gentilhomme'' and ''

Monsieur de Pourceaugnac ''Monsieur de Pourceaugnac'' is a three-act ''comédie-ballet''—a ballet interrupted by spoken dialogue—by Molière, first presented on 6 October 1669 before the court of Louis XIV at the Château of Chambord by Molière's troupe of actors. ...

'', in the prologue to the '' Assignation'' (Dryden, Works, ed. Scott, iv. 345 seq.)

Works

Among his pieces are: * '' The Citizen Turned Gentleman'' ( Dorset Garden, 1671, pr. 1675) *'' The Careless Lovers'' (Dorset Garden, 1673, pr. 1673), a comedy of intrigue * '' The Wrangling Lovers'' (Dorset Garden, 1676) *'' Scaramouch a Philosopher'', '' Harlequin a Schoolboy'', '' Bravo a Merchant and Magician'' ( Theatre Royal, 1677) * '' King Edgar and Alfreda'' (Theatre Royal, 1677) *'' English Lawyer'' (Theatre Royal, 1678), an adaptation of George Ruggle's

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

play of ''Ignoramus'', presented before James I at

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

in March 1615; *'' The London Cuckolds'' (Dorset Garden, 1681, pr. 1683), which became a stock piece, but was struck out of the repertory by

David Garrick David Garrick (19 February 1716 – 20 January 1779) was an English actor, playwright, Actor-manager, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of European theatrical practice throughout the 18th century, and was a pupil a ...

in 1751 * '' Dame Dobson'' (1683) *'' Titus Andronicus, or, The rape of Lavinia'' acted at the Theatre Royall: a tragedy, alter'd from Mr. Shakespears works / by Mr. Edw. Ravens croft. 1686. * '' The Canterbury Guests'' (Drury Lane, 1694) *'' The Italian Husband'' (

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 ...

, 1697).

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ravenscroft, Edward 1650s births 1707 deaths 17th-century English male writers 17th-century English dramatists and playwrights English male dramatists and playwrights