See also:

• DEKKER (or DECKER), THOMAS (c. 1570-1641)
• DEKKER, EDWARD DOUWES (182o-1887)
• DEKKER, JEREMIAS DE (1610-1666)

DEKKER (or See also:

• DECKER, PIERRE DE (1812-1891)
• DECKER, SIR MATTHEW

DECKER), See also:

• THOMAS
• THOMAS (c. 1654-1720)
• THOMAS (d. 110o)
• THOMAS, ARTHUR GORING (1850-1892)
• THOMAS, CHARLES LOUIS AMBROISE (1811-1896)
• THOMAS, GEORGE (c. 1756-1802)
• THOMAS, GEORGE HENRY (1816-187o)
• THOMAS, ISAIAH (1749-1831)
• THOMAS, PIERRE (1634-1698)
• THOMAS, SIDNEY GILCHRIST (1850-1885)
• THOMAS, ST
• THOMAS, THEODORE (1835-1905)
• THOMAS, WILLIAM (d. 1554)

THOMAS (c. 1570-1641)  , See also:

• ENGLISH

English dramatist, was See also:

• BORN, IGNAZ, EDLER VON (1742–1791)

born in See also:

• LONDON

London . His name occurs frequently in See also:

• HENSLOWE, PHILIP (d. 1616)

Henslowe's See also:

• DIARY

Diary during the last three years of the 16th See also:

• CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century; he is mentioned there as receiving loans and payments for See also:

• WRITING
• WRITING (the verbal noun of " to write," O. Eng. writan, to inscribe)

writing plays in See also:

• CONJUNCTION (from Lat. conjungere, to join together)

conjunction with See also:

• BEN (from Old Eng. bennan, within)

Ben See also:

• JONSON

Jonson, See also:

• DRAYTON, MICHAEL (1563-1631)

Drayton, See also:

• CHETTLE, HENRY (1564?–16o7?)

Chettle, See also:

• HAUGHTON, SAMUEL (1821-1897)
• HAUGHTON, WILLIAM (fl. 1598)

Haughton, See also:

• WILSON, ALEXANDER (1766-1813)
• WILSON, HENRY (1812–1875)
• WILSON, HORACE HAYMAN (1786–1860)
• WILSON, JAMES (1742—1798)
• WILSON, JAMES (1835— )
• WILSON, JAMES HARRISON (1837– )
• WILSON, JOHN (1627-1696)
• WILSON, JOHN (178 1854)
• WILSON, ROBERT (d. 1600)
• WILSON, SIR DANIEL (1816–1892)
• WILSON, SIR ROBERT THOMAS (1777—1849)
• WILSON, SIR WILLIAM JAMES ERASMUS
• WILSON, THOMAS (1663-1755)
• WILSON, THOMAS (c. 1525-1581)
• WILSON, WOODROW (1856— )

Wilson, See also:

• DAY (O. Eng. dreg, Ger. Tag; according to the New English Dictionary, " in no way related to the Lat. dies")
• DAY, JOHN (1574-1640?)
• DAY, THOMAS (1748-1789)

Day and others, and he would appear to have been then in the most active employment as a playwright . The titles of the plays on which he was engaged from See also:

• APRIL

April 1599 to See also:

• MARCH
• MARCH (1) (from Fr. marcher, to walk; the earliest sense in French appears to be " to trample," and the origin has usually been found in the Lat. marcus, hammer; Low Lat. marcare, to hammer; hence to beat the road with the regular tread of a soldier: cf.
• MARCH, AUZIAS (c. "1395-1458)
• MARCH, EARLS OF
• MARCH, FRANCIS ANDREW (1825– )

March 1599/1600 are See also:

• TROILUS

Troilus and Cressida, See also:

• ORESTES

Orestes Fures, See also:

• AGAMEMNON

Agamemnon, The See also:

• GENTLE (through the Fr. gentil, from Lat. gentilis, belonging to the same gens, or family)

Gentle See also:

• CRAFT (a word common to Teutonic languages for strength, or power; cf. Ger. Kraft)

Craft, The Stepmother's Tragedy, See also:

• BEAR
• BEAR, BLACK
• BEAR, BROWN
• BEAR, GRIZZLY
• BEAR, ISABELLINE
• BEAR, WHITE

Bear a See also:

• BRAIN (A.S. braegen)

Brain, Pagge of See also:

• PLYMOUTH
• PLYMOUTH, EARLS OF

Plymouth, See also:

• ROBERT
• ROBERT (1275—1343)
• ROBERT, HUBERT (1753-1808)
• ROBERT, LOUIS LEOPOLD (1794-1835)

Robert the Second, The Whole See also:

• HISTORY

History of See also:

• FORTUNATUS
• FORTUNATUS, VENANTIUS HONORIUS CLEMENTIANUS (530-609)

Fortunatus, Patient Grissel, Truth's Supplication to Candlelight, The See also:

• SPANISH

Spanish See also:

• MOOR

Moor's Tragedy, The Seven See also:

• WISE, HENRY ALEXANDER (1806-1876)
• WISE, ISAAC MAYER (1819-1900)

Wise Masters . At that date it is evident that See also:

• DEKKER (or DECKER), THOMAS (c. 1570-1641)
• DEKKER, EDWARD DOUWES (182o-1887)
• DEKKER, JEREMIAS DE (1610-1666)

Dekker's services were in See also:

• GREAT

great See also:

• REQUEST, LETTERS OF

request for the See also:

• STAGE (Fr. 6/age; from Lat. stare, to stand)

stage . He is first mentioned in the Diary under date 8th of See also:

• JANUARY

January 1597/1598, as having sold a See also:

• BOOK

book, i.e. the See also:

• MANUSCRIPT

manuscript of a See also:

• PLAY

play; the payments in 1599 are generally made ,in advance, in See also:

• EARNEST (probably a corruption of the obsolete arles or erles, adapted from Lat. equivalent arrha, due to a confusion with the adjective " earnest," serious, O. Eng. eornust, cognate with Ger. ernst)

earnest " of See also:

• WORK

work to be done . In the See also:

• CASE
• CASE, JOHN (d. 1600)

case of three of the above plays, Orestes Fures, Truth's Supplication and The Gentle Craft, Dekker is paid as the See also:

• SOLE (Solea)

sole author . Only The Gentle Craft has been preserved; it was published anonymously in 1600 under the See also:

• TITLE (0. Fr. title, mod. titre, from Lat. titulus)

title of The Shoemaker's See also:

• HOLIDAY

Holiday . It would be unsafe to argue from the classical subjects of some of these plays that Dekker was then a See also:

• YOUNG
• YOUNG, A
• YOUNG, ARTHUR (1741-1820)
• YOUNG, BRIGHAM (1801-1877)
• YOUNG, CHARLES MAYNE (1777–1856)
• YOUNG, EDWARD (1683–1765)
• YOUNG, JAMES (1811-1883)
• YOUNG, THOMAS (1773-1829)

young See also:

• MAN
• MAN, ISLE OF (anc. Mona)

man from the university, who had come up like so many others to make a living by writing for the stage . Classical know-ledge was then in the See also:

• AIR (from an Indo-European root meaning " breathe," " blow ")
• AIR, or ASBEN

air; playwrights in want of a subject were content with See also:

• TRANSLATIONS

translations, if they did not know the originals . However educated, Dekker was then a young man just out of his teens, if he spoke with any accuracy when he said that he was threescore in 1637 . And it was not in scholarly themes that he was destined to find his true vein . The See also:

• CALL (from Anglo-Saxon ceallian, a common Teutonic word, cf. Dutch kallen, to talk or chatter)

call for the publication of The Gentle Craft, which deals with the See also:

• LIFE

life of the See also:

• CITY (through Fr. cite, from Lat. civitas)

city, showed him where his strength See also:

• LAY

lay .

To give a See also:

• GENERAL
• GENERAL (Lat. generalis, of or relating to a genus, kind or class)

general See also:

• IDEA (Gr. Ibia, connected with i&eiv, to see; cf. Lat. species from specere, to look at)

idea of the substance of Dekker's plays, there is no better way than to call him the See also:

• DICKENS, CHARLES JOHN HUFFAM (1812-187o)

Dickens of the Elizabethan See also:

• PERIOD
• PERIOD (Gr. irepioSos, a going or way round, circuit, aepi, round, and &Sis, way, road)

period . The two men were as unlike as possible in their habits of work, Dekker having apparently all the thriftlessness and impecunious shamelessness of Micawber himself . Henslowe's Diary contains two notes of payments made in 1597/1598 and 1598/1599 to See also:

• RELEASE (O.Fr. reles, variant of relais, from relaisser, to release, let go, Lat. relaxare)

release Dekker from See also:

• PRISON (derived through the Fr. from the Lat. prehensio, seizure)

prison, and he is supposed to have spent the years between 1613 and 1616 in the See also:

• KING
• KING (O. Eng. cyning, abbreviated into cyng, cing; cf. O. H. G. chun- kuning, chun- kunig, M.H.G. kiinic, kiinec, kiinc, Mod. Ger. Konig, O. Norse konungr, kongr, Swed. konung, kung)
• KING [OF OCKHAM], PETER KING, 1ST BARON (1669-1734)
• KING, CHARLES WILLIAM (1818-1888)
• KING, CLARENCE (1842–1901)
• KING, EDWARD (1612–1637)
• KING, EDWARD (1829–1910)
• KING, HENRY (1591-1669)
• KING, RUFUS (1755–1827)
• KING, THOMAS (1730–1805)
• KING, WILLIAM (1650-1729)
• KING, WILLIAM (1663–1712)

King's See also:

• BENCH (an O.E. and Eng. form of a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Bank, Dan. baenk and the Eng. doublet " bank ")

Bench . Dekker's Bohemianism appears in the slightness and See also:

• HURRY (or URRV), SIR JOHN (d. 165o)

hurry of his work, a strong contrast to the thoroughness and See also:

• RICH, BARNABE (c. 1540-1617)
• RICH, CLAUDIUS JAMES (1787-1821)
• RICH, JOHN (1692-1761)
• RICH, PENELOPE, LADY (c. 1562–1607)
• RICH, RICHARD, 1ST BARON RICH (1490?-1567)

rich completeness of every labour to which Dickens applied himself; perhaps also in the exquisite freshness and sweetness of his songs, and the natural See also:

• CHARM (through the Fr. from the Lat. carmen, a song)

charm of stray touches of expression and description in his plays . But he was like Dickens in the See also:

• BENT
• BENT (E1. BENI)
• BENT, JAMES THEODORE (1852–1897)

bent of his See also:

• GENIUS (from Lat. genere, gignere)

genius towards the See also:

• REPRESENTATION

representation of the life around him in London, as well as in the humorous kindliness of his way of looking at that life, his vein of sentiment, and his See also:

• EYE
• EYE (O. Eng. edge, Ger. Auge; derived from an Indo-European root also seen in Lat. oc-ulus, the organ of vision (q.v.)

eye for See also:

• ODD (in middle English odde, from old Norwegian oddi, an angle of a triangle; the old Norwegian oddamann is used of the third man who gives a casting vote in a dispute)

odd characters, though the See also:

• RANDOM (older forms randon, randrun; from the French, cf. randir, to run quickly, impetuously; generally taken to be of Teutonic origin and connected with Ger. Rand, edge, brim, the idea being possibly of a brimming river)

random pickings of Dekker, hopping here and there in See also:

• SEARCH, or VISIT AND SEARCH

search of a subject, give less See also:

• COMPLETE

complete results than the more systematic labours of Dickens . Dekker's See also:

• SIMON, ABRAHAM (1622-1692)
• SIMON, JULES FRANCOIS (1814–1896)
• SIMON, RICHARD (1638–1712)
• SIMON, SIR JOHN (1816–1904)
• SIMON, THOMAS (c. 1623-1665)

Simon See also:

• EYRE, EDWARD JOHN (1815-1901)
• EYRE, SIR JAMES (1734-1799)

Eyre, the See also:

• GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good-hearted, mad See also:

• SHOE (a word appearing in the Teutonic languages in various forms, as Ger. Schuh, Swed. and Dan. sko, sometimes supposed to come from an unknown root ska or sku, cover)

shoe-maker, and his Orlando Friscobaldo, are touched with a kindly See also:

• HUMOUR (Latin humor)

humour in which Dickens would have delighted; his Infelices, Fiamettas, Tormiellas, even his Bellafront, have a certain likeness in type to the heroines of Dickens; and his roaring See also:

• BLADES, WILLIAM (1824-1890)

blades and their gulls are prototypes of See also:

• SIR

Sir Mulberry See also:

• HAWK (O. Eng. hafoc or heafoc, a common Teutonic word, cf. Dutch havik, Ger. Habicht; the root is hab-, haf-, to hold, cf. Lat. accipiter, from capere)

Hawk and See also:

• LORD
• LORD (O. Eng. hldford, i.e. hldfweard, the warder or keeper of bread, hlIf, loaf; the word is not represented in any other Teutonic language)
• LORD, JOHN (1810-1894)

Lord See also:

• FREDERICK
• FREDERICK (Mod. Ger. Friedrich; Ital. Federigo; Fr. Frederic and Federic; M.H.G. Friderich; O.H.G. Fridurih, " king or lord of peace," from O.H.G. fridu, A.S. frith, " peace," and rfh " rich," " a ruler," for derivation of which see HENRY)

Frederick Verisopht . Only there is this great difference in the spirit of the two writers, that Dekker wrote without the smallest apparent wish to reform the life that he saw, desiring only to exhibit it; and that on the whole, apart from his dramatist's See also:

• NECESSITY (Lat. necessitas)

necessity of finding interesting See also:

• MATTER

matter, he See also:

• CAST (from the verb meaning " to throw "; the word is Scand. in origin, cf. Dan. kaste, and Swed. kasta; " cast " in Middle Eng. took the place of the A.S. weor pan, cf. Ger. werf en)

cast his eye about rather with a liking for the See also:

• DISCOVERY

discovery of good under unpromising appearances than with any determination to detect and expose See also:

• VICE

vice . The observation must also be made that Dekker's See also:

• PERSON, OFFENCES AGAINST THE

person-ages have much more individual See also:

• CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character, more of that mixture of good and evil which we find in real human beings . Hack-writer though Dekker was, and writing often under sore pressure, there is no dramatist whose personages have more of the breath of life in them; See also:

• DRAWING

drawing with easy, unconstrained See also:

• HAND
• HAND (a word common to Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Hand, Goth. handus)
• HAND, FERDINAND GOTTHELF (1786-185r)

hand, he was a See also:

• MASTER (Lat. magister, related to tnagis, more, as the corresponding minister is to minus, less; the English form is due partly to the O. Eng. maegister, and partly to O. Fr. maistre, mod. maitre; cf. Du. meester, Ger. Meister, Ital. maestro)

master of those touches by which an imaginary figure is brought See also:

• HOME
• HOME, DANIEL DUNGLAS (1833-1886)
• HOME, EARLS OF

home to us as a creature with human interests . A very large See also:

• PART

part of the See also:

• MOTIVE (from Lat. movere, to move)

motive See also:

• POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power in his plays consists in the temporary yielding to an evil See also:

• PASSION (post-classical Lat. passio, formed from pati, passus, to suffer, endure)

passion . The kindly See also:

• PHILOSOPHY (Gr. gthos, fond of, and vo4 (a, wisdom)

philosophy that the best of natures may be for a See also:

• TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
• TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
• TIME, STANDARD

time perverted by passionate desires is the See also:

• CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief animating principle of his See also:

• COMEDY

comedy . He delights in showing See also:

• WOMEN

women listening to temptation, and apparently yielding, but still retaining sufficient See also:

• CONTROL (Fr. contrdle, older form contre rolle, from Med. Lat. contra-rotulus, a counter roll or copy of a document used to check the original; there is no instance in English of the use of " control " in this, its literal, meaning)

control over themselves to be capable of drawing back when on the See also:

• VERGE (Lat. virga, a rod)

verge of the precipice .

The wives of the citizens were his heroines, pursued by the unlawful addresses of the See also:

• GAY, JOHN (1685-1732)
• GAY, MARIE FRANCOISE SOPHIE (1776-1852)
• GAY, WALTER (1856– )

gay young courtiers; and on the whole Dekker, from inclination apparently as well as policy, though himself, if Ben Jonson's See also:

• SATIRE (Lat. satira, satura; see below)

satire had any point, a See also:

• BIT (from the verb " to bite," either in the sense of a piece bitten off, or an act of biting, or a thing that bites or is bitten)

bit of a See also:

• DANDY

dandy in his youth, took the part of morality and the city, and either struck the rakes with remorse or made the See also:

• OBJECTS

objects of their machinations See also:

• CLEVER

clever enough to outwit them . From Dekker's plays we get a very lively impression of all that was picturesque and theatrically interesting in the city life of the time, the interiors of the shops and the houses, the tastes of the citizens and their wives, the See also:

• TAVERN

tavern and See also:

• TOBACCO

tobacco-See also:

• SHOP

shop See also:

• MANNERS, CHARLES (1857– )

manners of the youthful See also:

• ARISTOCRACY (Gr. apuvror, best; «paria, government)

aristocracy and their satellites . The social student cannot afford to overlook Dekker; there is no other dramatist of that See also:

• AGE (Fr. age, through late Lat. aetaticum, from aetas)

age, except See also:

• THOMAS
• THOMAS (c. 1654-1720)
• THOMAS (d. 110o)
• THOMAS, ARTHUR GORING (1850-1892)
• THOMAS, CHARLES LOUIS AMBROISE (1811-1896)
• THOMAS, GEORGE (c. 1756-1802)
• THOMAS, GEORGE HENRY (1816-187o)
• THOMAS, ISAIAH (1749-1831)
• THOMAS, PIERRE (1634-1698)
• THOMAS, SIDNEY GILCHRIST (1850-1885)
• THOMAS, ST
• THOMAS, THEODORE (1835-1905)
• THOMAS, WILLIAM (d. 1554)

Thomas See also:

• MIDDLETON
• MIDDLETON, ARTHUR (1742–1787)
• MIDDLETON, CONYERS (1683–1750)
• MIDDLETON, THOMAS (c. 1570-1627)

Middleton, from whom we can get such a vivid picture of contemporary manners in London . He See also:

• DREW
• DREW, SAMUEL (1765-1833)

drew See also:

• DIRECT

direct from Iife; in so far as he idealized, he did so not in obedience to scholarly precepts or dogmatic theories, but in the immediate interests of good-natured See also:

• FARCE

farce and See also:

• TENDER

tender-hearted sentiment . In all the serious parts of Dekker's plays there is a charming delicacy of See also:

• TOUCH (derived through Fr. toucher from a common Teutonic and Indo-Germanic root, cf. " tug," " tuck," O. H. Ger. zucchen, to twitch or draw)

touch, and his smallest scraps of See also:

• SONG

song are bewitching; but his plays, as plays, owe much more to the See also:

• INTEREST

interest of the characters and the incidents than to any excellence of construction . We see what use could be made of his materials by a stronger See also:

• INTELLECT (Lat. intellectus, from intelligere, to understand)

intellect in Westward Ho! which he wrote in conjunction with See also:

• JOHN
• JOHN (1167–1216)
• JOHN (1290-c. 1320)
• JOHN (1296-1346)
• JOHN (1371–1419)
• JOHN (1468-1532)
• JOHN (1801-1873)
• JOHN (Heb. llni')
• JOHN (ZAPOLYA) (1487-1540)
• JOHN, 4TH MARQUESS OF TWEEDDALE (c. 1695-1762)
• JOHN, DON (1545-1578)
• JOHN, DON (1629–1679)
• JOHN, GOSPEL OF ST
• JOHN, or HAYS (1513–1571)
• JOHN, THE APOSTLE
• JOHN, THE EPISTLES OF

John See also:

• WEBSTER
• WEBSTER, ALEXANDER (1707-1784)
• WEBSTER, BENJAMIN NOTTINGHAM (1797-1882)
• WEBSTER, DANIEL (1782-1852)
• WEBSTER, JOHN (fl. 1602-1624)
• WEBSTER, NOAH (1758-1843)
• WEBSTER, THOMAS (1773-1844)
• WEBSTER, THOMAS (1800-1886)

Webster . The play, somehow, though" the parts are more firmly knit together, and it has more unity of purpose, is not so interesting as Dekker's unaided work . Middleton formed a more successful See also:

• COMBINATION (Lat. combinare, to combine)

combination with Dekker than Webster; there is some See also:

• EVIDENCE (Lat. evidentia, evideri, to appear clearly)

evidence that in The Honest Whore, or The Converted Courtesan, which is generally regarded as the best that bears Dekker's name, he had the assistance of Middleton, although the assistance was so immaterial as not to be See also:

• WORTH
• WORTH, CHARLES FREDERICK (1825-1895)

worth acknowledging in the title-See also:

• PAGE
• PAGE, THOMAS NELSON (1853- )
• PAGE, WILLIAM (1811-1885)

page . Still that Middleton, a man of little genius but of much See also:

• PRACTICAL

practical See also:

• TALENT (Lat. talentum, adaptation of Gr. TaXavrov, balance, ! Recollections of a First Visit to the Alps (1841); Vacation Rambles weight, from root raX-, to lift, as in rXi vac, to bear, 1-aXas, and Thoughts, comprising recollections of three Continental

talent and robust humour, was serviceable to Dekker in determining the See also:

• FORM (Lat. forma)

form of the play may well be believed . The two wrote another play in See also:

• CONCERT (through the French from Lat. con-, with, and certare, to strive)

concert, The Roaring Girl, for which Middleton probably contributed a good See also:

• DEAL

deal of the matter, as well as a more symmetrical form than Dekker seems to have been capable of devising . In The See also:

• WITCH

Witch of See also:

• EDMONTON

Edmonton, except in a few scenes, it is difficult to trace the. hand of Dekker with any certainty; his collaborators were John See also:

• FORD, EDWARD ONSLOW
• FORD, JOHN (r586–c.1640)
• FORD, RICHARD (1796-1858)
• FORD, THOMAS (b. c. 158o)

Ford and See also:

• WILLIAM
• WILLIAM (1143-1214)
• WILLIAM (1227-1256)
• WILLIAM (1J33-1584)
• WILLIAM (A.S. Wilhelm, O. Norse Vilhidlmr; O. H. Ger. Willahelm, Willahalm, M. H. Ger. Willehelm, Willehalm, Mod.Ger. Wilhelm; Du. Willem; O. Fr. Villalme, Mod. Fr. Guillaume; from " will," Goth. vilja, and " helm," Goth. hilms, Old Norse hidlmr, meaning
• WILLIAM (c. 1130-C. 1190)
• WILLIAM, 13TH

William See also:

• ROWLEY, WILLIAM (c. 1585-c. 1642)

Rowley; to Ford probably belongs the intense brooding and murderous wrath of the old See also:

• HAG

hag, which are too direct and hard in their See also:

• ENERGY (from the Gr. ivipyela; iv, in, ipyov, work)

energy for Dekker, while Rowley may be supposed to be responsible for the delineation of See also:

• COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country life . The Virgin See also:

• MARTYR (Gr. pimp or µaprvs)

Martyr, one of the best constructed of his plays, was written in conjunction with See also:

• MASSINGER, PHILIP (1583-1640)

Massinger, to whom the form is no doubt due .

Dekker's plays contain. a few songs which show him to have been possessed of very great lyrical skill, but of this he seems to have made sadly little use . His poem of Canaans Calamitie—if indeed it be his, which is hard to believe—is exceedingly poor stuff, and the See also:

• VERSE (from Lat. versus, literally a line or furrow drawn by turning the plough, from vertere, and afterwards signifying an arrangement of syllables into feet)

verse portion of his Dreame, though containing some good lines, is, as a whole, not much better . When See also:

• GERARD (c. 1040-1120)
• GERARD (d. I1o8)
• GERARD, ETIENNE MAURICE, COUNT (1773–1852)
• GERARD, FRANCOIS, BARON (1770-1837)
• GERARD, JEAN IGNACE ISIDORE (1803-1847)
• GERARD, JOHN (1545-1612)
• GERARD, or GIRARD, AUDRAN

Gerard Langbaine wrote his See also:

• ACCOUNT
• ACCOUNT (through O. Fr. acont, Late Lat. comptum, cornputare, to calculate)

Account of the English Dramatic Poets in 1691, he spoke of Dekker as being "more famous for the contention he had with Ben Jonson for the bays, than for any great reputation he had gained by his own writings." This is an See also:

• OPINION (Lat. opinio, from opinari, to think)

opinion that could not be professed now, when Dekker's work is read . In the contention with Ben Jonson, one of the most celebrated quarrels of authors, the origin of which is matter of dispute, Dekker seems to have had very much the best of it . We can imagine that Jonson's attack was stinging at the time, because it seems to be full of sarcastic personalities, but it is dull enough now when nobody knows what Dekker was like, nor what was the character of his See also:

• MOTHER

mother . There is nothing in the Poetaster that has any point as applied to Dekker's See also:

• POWERS, HIRAM (1805-1873)

powers as a dramatist, while, on the contrary, Satiromastix, or the Untrussing of the Humorous Poet is full of pungent ridicule of Jonson's See also:

• STYLE
• STYLE (from Gr. a-6'1ms, a column; a different word from that used in literature, see below)

style, and of retorts and insults conceived in the happiest spirit of good-natured mockery . Dekker has been accused of poverty of invention in adopting the character of the Poetaster, but it is of the very See also:

• PITH (O.E. pitca, cognate with Du. pit, kernel of a nut)

pith of the jest that Dekker should have set on Jonson's own foul-mouthed See also:

• CAPTAIN (derived from Lat. ca put, head, through the Low Lat. capitanus)

Captain Tucca to abuse See also:

• HORACE [QuINTus HORATIUS FLACCUS] (65-8 B.C.)

Horace himself .