Lewis Theobald facts for kids

Lewis Theobald (born 1688 – died 1744) was an English writer and editor. He was very important for making sure William Shakespeare's plays were printed correctly. He was also a key figure in literary satire, which is a way of making fun of people or ideas.

Life and Work

Lewis Theobald was born in Sittingbourne, Kent. He was baptized on April 2, 1688. His father, Peter Theobald, was a lawyer.

After his father died, Lewis was raised in the Rockingham family home. There, he learned Greek and Latin, which helped him a lot in his later studies. As a young man, he trained to be a lawyer and then started his own law office in London.

In 1707, he published some early works, including a poem about the union of Scotland and England. In 1708, his play The Persian Princess was performed in London.

Theobald also translated ancient Greek works. He translated Plato's Phaedo in 1714. He also translated plays by Sophocles, like Electra and Oedipus Rex, in 1715.

Editing Shakespeare

Theobald's most important work was his 1726 book, Shakespeare Restored. This book pointed out many mistakes in an edition of Shakespeare's plays that Alexander Pope had recently published. Pope was a famous poet, but Theobald showed that Pope had missed many errors in Shakespeare's original texts.

Pope had tried to "smooth out" Shakespeare's lines, but Theobald believed it was important to keep Shakespeare's exact words. When Pope released a second edition of his Shakespeare in 1728, he actually used many of Theobald's corrections. Even though Pope claimed he only used a few, he really took most of them.

In 1733, Theobald published his own seven-volume edition of Shakespeare's plays. This edition was considered the best one available before 1750. Theobald not only fixed errors but also chose the best versions of the texts. He also undid many changes that earlier editors had made. Later editions of Shakespeare, like the one by Edmond Malone, were built on Theobald's important work.

Theobald the Dunce

Alexander Pope was a much better poet than Theobald. Theobald, however, was a much better editor. Their rivalry became famous.

Because Theobald publicly criticized Pope's Shakespeare edition, Pope made Theobald the main character in his famous satirical poem, The Dunciad, in 1728. In this poem, Pope made fun of Theobald, calling him a "dunce." A dunce is someone who is seen as dull, stupid, or boring.

Pope claimed that Theobald was a boring and unoriginal writer. He even gathered negative comments from others about Theobald. Pope's poem was very powerful. It made many people think of Theobald as just a dull and overly academic person, even though his work on Shakespeare was incredibly valuable.

Double Falshood

In 1727, Theobald produced a play called Double Falshood. He claimed that this play was based on a lost play by Shakespeare. Alexander Pope said it was a fake.

However, some people, including Pope privately, thought Theobald might have used a real old play. Today, scholars still debate whether Theobald was telling the truth. Double Falshood might be based on a lost play called Cardenio, which Shakespeare and John Fletcher wrote. Theobald might have found an old manuscript of it and updated it. But Theobald's stories about where the play came from were not always the same, so not everyone believes him.

Selected plays

• The Persian Princess (1708)
• The Perfidious Brother (1716)
• Harlequin Sorcerer (1725)
• Apollo and Daphne (1726)
• Double Falsehood (1727)
• Orestes (1731)
• The Fatal Secret (1733)

See also

In Spanish: Lewis Theobald para niños

• Shakespeare's editors