Thomas d'Urfey
Encyclopedia
Thomas D'Urfey (1653 – 26 February 1723) was an English
writer and wit. He composed plays, songs, and poetry, in addition to writing jokes. He was an important innovator and contributor in the evolution of the Ballad opera
.
D'Urfey was born in Devonshire and began his professional life as a scrivener, but quickly turned to the theatre. In personality, he was considered so affable and amusing that he could make friends with nearly everyone, including such disparate characters as Charles II of England
and his brother James II
, and in all layers of society.
D'Urfey lived in an age of self-conscious elitism and anti-egalitarianism, a reaction against the "leveling"
tendencies of the previous Puritan
reign during the Interregnum
. D'Urfey participated in the Restoration's
dominant atmosphere of social climbing: he claimed to be of French Huguenot
descent, though he might not have been; and he added an apostrophe to the plain English name Durfey when he was in his 30s.
He wrote 500 songs, and 32 plays, starting with The Siege of Memphis in 1676. His first play was a failure, but he responded in the following year (1677) with a comedy, Madame Fickle, which proved more successful.
His plays include The Fond Husband (1676), The Virtuous Wife (1680), and Wonders in the Sun, or, The Kingdom of the Birds (1706). In 1698 he wrote The Campaigners as a reply and satire
of Jeremy Collier
's anti-theatrical scourges. His multi-volume Wit and Mirth, or Pills to Purge Melancholy
, written between 1698 and 1720, is a collection of songs and ballad
s. His play The Injured Princess is an adaptation of Shakespeare's Cymbeline
. Durfey wrote widely in a witty, satirical vein, usually from a courtly point of view, and his works are a compendium of comedic ideas.
His songs generally fell into three types: court songs, political songs, and country songs—the latter tending to be more than a little bawdy. (The Fart was one of his hits; The Lusty Young Smith was another.) Over forty different composers set his lyrics to music, including Henry Purcell
. Purcell composed music for D'Urfey's play The Comical History of Don Quixote
(1694), one of the first stage dramatizations of Cervantes
's celebrated novel.
D'Urfey wrote tunes himself as well, though even he admitted that they were not very good. Many of the songs lyrics in Wit and Mirth are preceded by their melodies written in musical notation.
D'Urfey was a friend of the great essayists Joseph Addison
and Richard Steele
; but, as was not atypical of the time, he also quarreled energetically with other poets and writers. He wrote parodies, and was parodied in return. He stuttered slightly—except, it was said, when he sang or swore. At one point in his career, a jealous rival would respond to D'Urfey's play Love for Money with a parody called Wit for Money, or, Poet Stutterer.
He was buried on the day of his death at the fashionable church of St. James's, Piccadilly in London. His lasting achievement lay in his best songs: 10 of the 68 songs in the The Beggar's Opera
were D'Urfey's.
"All animals, except man, know that the principal business of life is to enjoy it." — Thomas D'Urfey.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
writer and wit. He composed plays, songs, and poetry, in addition to writing jokes. He was an important innovator and contributor in the evolution of the Ballad opera
Ballad opera
The term ballad opera is used to refer to a genre of English stage entertainment originating in the 18th century and continuing to develop in the following century and later. There are many types of ballad opera...
.
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
and his brother James II
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
, and in all layers of society.
D'Urfey lived in an age of self-conscious elitism and anti-egalitarianism, a reaction against the "leveling"
Levellers
The Levellers were a political movement during the English Civil Wars which emphasised popular sovereignty, extended suffrage, equality before the law, and religious tolerance, all of which were expressed in the manifesto "Agreement of the People". They came to prominence at the end of the First...
tendencies of the previous Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
reign during the Interregnum
English Interregnum
The English Interregnum was the period of parliamentary and military rule by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the Commonwealth of England after the English Civil War...
. D'Urfey participated in the Restoration's
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
dominant atmosphere of social climbing: he claimed to be of French Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
descent, though he might not have been; and he added an apostrophe to the plain English name Durfey when he was in his 30s.
He wrote 500 songs, and 32 plays, starting with The Siege of Memphis in 1676. His first play was a failure, but he responded in the following year (1677) with a comedy, Madame Fickle, which proved more successful.
His plays include The Fond Husband (1676), The Virtuous Wife (1680), and Wonders in the Sun, or, The Kingdom of the Birds (1706). In 1698 he wrote The Campaigners as a reply and satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
of Jeremy Collier
Jeremy Collier
Jeremy Collier was an English theatre critic, non-juror bishop and theologian.-Life:Born in Stow cum Quy, Cambridgeshire, Collier was educated at Caius College, University of Cambridge, receiving the BA and MA . A supporter of James II, he refused to take the oath of allegiance to William and...
's anti-theatrical scourges. His multi-volume Wit and Mirth, or Pills to Purge Melancholy
Wit and Mirth, or Pills to Purge Melancholy
Wit and Mirth: Or Pills to Purge Melancholy is the title of a large collection of songs by Thomas d'Urfey, published between 1698 and 1720, which in its final, six-volume edition held over 1,000 songs and poems. The collection started as a single book compiled and published by Henry Playford who...
, written between 1698 and 1720, is a collection of songs and ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
s. His play The Injured Princess is an adaptation of Shakespeare's Cymbeline
Cymbeline
Cymbeline , also known as Cymbeline, King of Britain or The Tragedy of Cymbeline, is a play by William Shakespeare, based on legends concerning the early Celtic British King Cunobelinus. Although listed as a tragedy in the First Folio, modern critics often classify Cymbeline as a romance...
. Durfey wrote widely in a witty, satirical vein, usually from a courtly point of view, and his works are a compendium of comedic ideas.
His songs generally fell into three types: court songs, political songs, and country songs—the latter tending to be more than a little bawdy. (The Fart was one of his hits; The Lusty Young Smith was another.) Over forty different composers set his lyrics to music, including Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell – 21 November 1695), was an English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music. Although Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, his legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music...
. Purcell composed music for D'Urfey's play The Comical History of Don Quixote
The Comical History of Don Quixote
The Comical History of Don Quixote is a three-part dramatization of Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra's celebrated novel Don Quixote. It was written in 1694, only seventy-eight years after the death of Cervantes, by Thomas D'Urfey. It is one of the first stage dramatizations of "Don Quixote" ever...
(1694), one of the first stage dramatizations of Cervantes
Cervantes
-People:*Alfonso J. Cervantes , mayor of St. Louis, Missouri*Francisco Cervantes de Salazar, 16th-century man of letters*Ignacio Cervantes, Cuban composer*Jorge Cervantes, a world-renowned expert on indoor, outdoor, and greenhouse cannabis cultivation...
's celebrated novel.
D'Urfey wrote tunes himself as well, though even he admitted that they were not very good. Many of the songs lyrics in Wit and Mirth are preceded by their melodies written in musical notation.
D'Urfey was a friend of the great essayists Joseph Addison
Joseph Addison
Joseph Addison was an English essayist, poet, playwright and politician. He was a man of letters, eldest son of Lancelot Addison...
and Richard Steele
Richard Steele
Sir Richard Steele was an Irish writer and politician, remembered as co-founder, with his friend Joseph Addison, of the magazine The Spectator....
; but, as was not atypical of the time, he also quarreled energetically with other poets and writers. He wrote parodies, and was parodied in return. He stuttered slightly—except, it was said, when he sang or swore. At one point in his career, a jealous rival would respond to D'Urfey's play Love for Money with a parody called Wit for Money, or, Poet Stutterer.
He was buried on the day of his death at the fashionable church of St. James's, Piccadilly in London. His lasting achievement lay in his best songs: 10 of the 68 songs in the The Beggar's Opera
The Beggar's Opera
The Beggar's Opera is a ballad opera in three acts written in 1728 by John Gay with music arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch. It is one of the watershed plays in Augustan drama and is the only example of the once thriving genre of satirical ballad opera to remain popular today...
were D'Urfey's.
"All animals, except man, know that the principal business of life is to enjoy it." — Thomas D'Urfey.