James Love (poet) facts for kids

James Love (1721–1774) was the pseudonym of British poet, playwright, and actor James Dance. He is best known for his poem Cricket: An Heroic Poem, which was published in 1744.

Life and Work of James Love

James Love's father, George Dance the Elder, was an important architect and city planner. James Love himself loved playing cricket. He was a member of the Richmond Cricket Club. This club was one of the best in the 1740s. He might have even played for Surrey, but we don't have many details about his cricket games.

Love also helped start the Theatre Royal in Richmond upon Thames. He managed this theatre from 1766 to 1773. As an actor, he became very famous for playing the character Falstaff. He first played Falstaff at Drury Lane in London in 1763. His stage name, James Love, was also the name he used for his writings. In 1766, he played Falstaff again in a new play called Falstaff's Wedding. This play by William Kenrick was meant to be a follow-up to Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 2. James Love also performed and managed theatres in Dublin and Edinburgh. He worked at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane from 1762 and stayed connected to it for the rest of his life.

Love's Writing Career

As a writer, James Love had success with his plays. He wrote pantomimes, which are like plays with music and dance, often inspired by ancient Rome. Some of his famous pantomimes include The Witches; or, Harlequin Cherokee (1762), The Rites of Hecate; or, Harlequin from the Moon (1763), and The Hermit; or, Harlequin at Rhodes (1766). His very first work was a play called Pamela in 1742.

Cricket: An Heroic Poem

James Love is especially famous among cricket fans for his poem Cricket: An Heroic Poem (1744). A line from this poem, "The strokes re-echo o'er the spacious ground," has even been quoted in the Oxford English Dictionary. The full title of the poem was quite long: "Illustrated with the Critical Observations of Scriblerus Maximus. To which is Added an Epilogue, call'd 'Bucks Have at Ye All'. Spoken by Mr. King, at the Theatre Royal in Dublin, in the Character of Ranger, in The Suspicious Husband."

The poem was advertised on July 4, 1745, in the Daily Advertiser newspaper. It cost one shilling. It was printed by W Bickerton near the Inner Temple Gate on Fleet Street.

The famous cricket historian H.S. Altham said that Love's poem "should be in every cricket lover's library." He also said that Love's description of the game "goes with a rare swing," meaning it was very lively and exciting.

Family Life

James Love was the brother of George Dance the Younger. George the Younger followed in his father's footsteps and also became an architect. It is likely that both George Dance the Younger and George Dance the Elder helped build the Richmond Theatre. However, there is some confusion about who exactly designed it.

See also

• Cricket poetry