Philip Frowde facts for kids
Philip Frowde (who died in 1738) was an English writer who wrote poems and plays. He is remembered for his dramatic works.
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About Philip Frowde's Life
Philip Frowde was born into a family that worked for the government. His father, Ashburnham Frowde, helped run the post office in England from 1678 to 1688. Philip's grandfather, Colonel Philip Frowde, was a loyal supporter of King Charles I and King Charles II. Because of his loyalty, he was made a knight in 1665, which meant he received the title "Sir." He also became the head of the post office.
Young Philip Frowde went to Eton College, a famous school. While he was there, he was in the same class as Robert Walpole, who later became a very important politician in Britain. After Eton, Frowde went to Magdalen College, Oxford, a university. He studied there and was taught by Joseph Addison, a well-known writer and politician of that time. However, Philip Frowde did not finish his degree at Oxford.
Philip Frowde never married. He passed away in December 1738 in London and was buried in a cemetery called Lamb's Conduit Fields.
Philip Frowde's Writings
Philip Frowde wrote both poems and plays. His writing style was often serious and dramatic.
Early Poems
In 1699, Frowde contributed a Latin poem called Cursus Glacialis, Anglicè, Scating to a collection of writings edited by his teacher, Joseph Addison. Years later, in 1720, a publisher named Edmund Curll printed these verses. He claimed that Addison was the real author, even though Frowde had been known to share them as his own work.
Dramatic Plays
Frowde was most known for his tragedies, which are serious plays with sad endings. He wrote them in blank verse, which means the lines do not rhyme but still have a rhythm.
The Fall of Saguntum
One of his plays was called The Fall of Saguntum, published in London in 1727. This play was influenced by another famous tragedy called Cato, a Tragedy. The Fall of Saguntum was performed at the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre in London in January 1727. A famous actor named James Quin played one of the main characters. The play also had a special opening speech, called a prologue, written by Lewis Theobald.
However, The Fall of Saguntum was only performed about three times. Frowde dedicated this play to Robert Walpole, the important politician he knew from school. In the dedication, Frowde praised Walpole for bringing "learning and arts" into government. Before the play was performed, someone (possibly Frowde himself) wrote a book to explain the historical details in the play for readers.
Philotas
Frowde wrote another serious play in blank verse called Philotas, which came out in 1731. This play was also performed at Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre in February 1731, with James Quin acting in it again. Even though it ran for six nights, it was not very popular. The famous writer Henry Fielding even made a joke about Philotas in his novel Joseph Andrews, suggesting it wasn't a great success.
