Matthew Concanen (1701 – 22 January 1749) was a writer, poet and lawyer born in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Life

Concanen studied

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...

but travelled to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

as a young man, and began writing political pamphlets in support of the

Whig government In British politics, a Whig government may refer to the following British governments administered by the Whigs: * Whig Junto, a name given to a group of leading Whigs who were seen to direct the management of the Whig Party ** First Whig Junto, t ...

. He also wrote for newspapers including the '' London Journal'' and ''The Speculatist''. He published a volume of poems, some of which were original works and some translations. He wrote a dramatic comedy, ''

Wexford Wells ''Wexford Wells'' is a 1720 comedy play by the Irish writer Matthew Concanen.Greene & Clark p.94-95 It was performed at the Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. ...

'', staged at Dublin's

Smock Alley Theatre Since the 17th century, there have been numerous theatres in Dublin with the name Smock Alley. The current Smock Alley Theatre () is a 21st-century theatre in Dublin, converted from a 19th-century church building, incorporating structural mat ...

. A collection of his essays from ''The Speculatist'' was published in 1732. His skills attracted the attention of the Whig statesman

Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne and 1st Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne, (21 July 169317 November 1768) was a British Whig statesman who served as the 4th and 6th Prime Minister of Great Britain, his official life extende ...

. In June 1732 the

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, t ...

appointed him

attorney-general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispan ...

.James Sambrook, 'Concanen, Matthew (1701–1749)',

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004 He held the post for over sixteen years. While in

, he married the daughter of a local planter. After his tenure in Jamaica was completed, he sailed back to London, intending to retire to Ireland, but died of a

fever Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a temperature above the normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature set point. There is not a single agreed-upon upper limit for normal temperature with sources using val ...

in London shortly after his return. He criticized

Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...

and was rewarded with a passage in Pope's ''

Dunciad ''The Dunciad'' is a landmark, mock-heroic, narrative poem by Alexander Pope published in three different versions at different times from 1728 to 1743. The poem celebrates a goddess Dulness and the progress of her chosen agents as they bring ...

'' ridiculing him as "A cold, long-winded native of the deep" (Dunciad, ii. 299–304). There is also well-known letter about him written by

William Warburton William Warburton (24 December 16987 June 1779) was an English writer, literary critic and churchman, Bishop of Gloucester from 1759 until his death. He edited editions of the works of his friend Alexander Pope, and of William Shakespeare. Li ...

, who comments on how Concanen helped him.

Writings

In 1731 Concanen, Edward Roome, & Sir William Yonge produced ''The Jovial Crew'', an opera, adapted from

Richard Brome Richard Brome ; (c. 1590? – 24 September 1652) was an English dramatist of the Caroline era. Life Virtually nothing is known about Brome's private life. Repeated allusions in contemporary works, like Ben Jonson's '' Bartholomew Fair'', ind ...

's '' A Jovial Crew''. His publications included *''

'' (1719) *Meliora's Tears for Thyrsis (1720) *A Match at Football (1720) *Poems on Several Occasions (1722) *Miscellaneous Poems (1724) *Miscellaneous Poems and Translations (1726) *A Supplement to the Profound (1728) *The Speculatist (1730) *A Miscellany on Taste (1732) *Review of the Excise Scheme (1733). He was co-author of ''The history and antiquities of the parish of St. Saviour's, Southwark''.

''An Essay Against Too Much Reading''

The 1728 humorous anonymous pamphlet, ''An Essay Against Too Much Reading'', has been attributed to Concanen, though it has also been identified (probably wrongly) as the work of a certain "Captain Goulding" (Thomas Goulding) of Bath. It included the first, though none too serious, direct statements of doubt about Shakespeare's authorship.Reginald Charles Churchill, ''Shakespeare and His Betters: A History and a Criticism of the Attempts which Have Been Made to Prove that Shakespeare's Works Were Written by Others''; Indiana University Press, 1959 The author proposed "a short account of Mr Shakespeare's proceeding, and that I had from one of his intimate acquaintance..."

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 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 natio ...

is described as merely a collaborator who "in all probability cou'd not write English." With regard the Bard's grasp of history, the ''Essay'' related that Shakespeare "not being a scholar" employed a "chuckle-pated historian" who gave him a set of notes to save the trouble of research.Ivor John Carnegie Brown; ''William Shakespeare''; Morgan-Grampian Books Ltd., 1968 The historian also corrected his grammar.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Concanen, Matthew English dramatists and playwrights Shakespeare authorship question 1701 births 1749 deaths English male dramatists and playwrights English male poets Attorneys General of the Colony of Jamaica