Gerard Langbaine

Gerard Langbaine (15 July 1656 – 23 June 1692) was an English dramatic biographer and critic, best known for his An Account of the English Dramatic Poets (1691), the earliest work to give biographical and critical information on the playwrights of English Renaissance theatre. He is sometimes called Junior or the Younger to distinguish him from his father (1609–58) of the same name, a Doctor of Divinity who was Provost of The Queen's College, Oxford (1646–58) and Keeper of the University Archives. Quotes Athens gave Birth and Perfection to the Art, and seems, like the true Mother, to have been most fond of it, and therefore gave its professors the greatest Encouragement. The Value that Government had for both is evident from these two Instances: Sophocles, as a Reward of his Antigone, had the Government of the City and Island of Samos confer'd upon him: And on the Death of Eupolis in a Sea-Fight, there was a Law publish'd, that no Poet for the Future shou'd go to the Wars; so great a Loss they thought the Death of one Poet to the Commonwealth. The Lives and Characters of the English Dramatick Poets (1698) Dedication, to Charles Caesar External links Category:1656 births Category:1692 deaths Category:University of Oxford alumni Category:Biographers from England Category:Theatre critics