Thomas Otway

Neil Forsyth (Université de Lausanne)

Ed. by Neil Forsyth, Université de Lausanne
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.04: English Writing and Culture of the Seventeenth Century, 1625-1688.
Vol. editors: Jennifer Brady (Rhodes College), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Neil Forsyth (Université de Lausanne), Claire Preston (Queen Mary, University of London), J A Roe (University of York), Virginia Mason Vaughan (Clark University)

Dates

Born 3 Mar 1652
Died 14 Apr 1685
Activity 1675-1685

Places

Born in England
Active in England

Activities

Primary

Playwright / Dramatist
Poet

Resources

Otway's Works

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Thomas Otway was an English dramatist and poet whose presentation of human emotion was unusually convincing for the period of the Restoration. His tragic masterpiece,

Venice Preserved

, first performed in 1682, was one of the greatest theatrical successes of the time: it enjoyed a revival by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2019.

Otway was born at Trotton, near Midhurst, Sussex, on 3 March 1652 (and died April 14, 1685 in London). He was the only son of Humphrey Otway, at the time curate of Trotton. A silver flagon (according to the British History Online website) that is still used in holy communion in nearby Woolbeding church bears an inscription stating that it was the gift in 1703 of Humphrey Otway’s widow Elizabeth. Thomas’s signature is attached to many Latin quotations scribbled

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3209 words

Citation: Forsyth, Neil. "Thomas Otway". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 December 2020 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3442, accessed 19 April 2024.]

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