Nahum Tate
Nahum Tate was an Irish poet and playwright born around 1652 into a Puritan family. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin, he was known for his intellectual prowess and later moved to London, where he became associated with prominent literary figures, including poet John Dryden, who mentored him. Tate is particularly recognized for his adaptations of Shakespeare's works, notably "The History of King Lear," which became the preferred version staged for over a century despite later criticism. He also revised "Richard II" and created adaptations like "The Ingratitude of a Commonwealth," although not all of his works were successful. Beyond drama, Tate was a translator of classical texts and collaborated on hymns, with "As Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night" being one of his most notable creations. He wrote the libretto for the opera "Dido and Aeneas" by Henry Purcell, further showcasing his influence in the arts. Tate served as poet laureate for over two decades starting in 1692, a role that involved writing commemorative poetry, but he faced financial difficulties later in life, ultimately passing away in 1715 in London and being buried at St. Paul’s Cathedral.
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Nahum Tate
Poet
- Born: c. 1652
- Birthplace: Ireland
- Died: July 30, 1715
- Place of death: The Mint, London, England
Biography
Nahum Tate was born in Ireland around 1652 into a family of devout Puritans; “Nahum” is a book in the Bible. Both his father and grandfather were educated at Trinity College in Dublin, where they also taught, and both were poets. Tate and his brother Faithful were trained for Trinity by Henry Savage, who had been at Trinity with their grandfather, and entered Trinity in June, 1668. While at Trinity, Tate’s brilliance and learning were admired by his classmates. Since Dublin was much like London, with plays and musical performances readily available, Tate would easily have had access to performances of William Shakespeare’s plays, most likely at Smock Alley.
Sometime between his graduation from Trinity in 1672 and 1676, when he had his first poem published under his original name, Nahum Teate, Tate moved to London. Here he changed his name to “Tate” and became friends with noted poet John Dryden, who became his mentor. Dryden wrote the prologue to Tate’s play The Loyal General, and Tate assisted Dryden with the second part of Dryden’s poem Absalom and Achitophel (1681). Tate’s play Brutus of Alba was derived in part from Dryden’s work.
Tate, whose primary interest was drama, sought to make Shakespeare relevant, as had Dryden, whose All for Love (1677) was a popular adaptation of Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra. Tate revised Shakespeare’s dramas Richard II and King Lear. His play, The History of King Lear, which omitted the character of the Fool and ended with the marriage of Edgar and Cordelia, was immensely popular and was the version of Lear that was staged for the next century, although scholars later ridiculed his work. His The History of Richard II, about a usurper to the throne, was banned and his play The Ingratitude of a Commonwealth, which dealt with the irresponsibility of the crowd, was an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Coriolanus. Both were failures, as were his other adaptations of Renaissance plays. Tate also published translations of Ovid and Juvenal, but his greatest achievement in translation was of the psalms of David. With Nicholas Brady, he wrote many hymns, the most famous of which was “As Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night.” His other triumph was writing the libretto for composer Henry Purcell’s acclaimed opera Dido and Aeneas (1689).
Tate may have served as a schoolmaster between 1687 and 1692; his close friend, Lewis Maidwell, was headmaster at a school in Westminster. Not an admirer of King Charles II, Tate did not enjoy a preferred position at court until King William III and Queen Mary II assumed the throne in 1689. In 1692, he succeeded Thomas Shadwell as poet laureate, a post he held for twenty-two years and which essentially involved writing commemorative poems. Queen Anne reappointed him as laureate in 1702, but the post never paid well. He was eventually imprisoned for debt and died in the Mint, a section of Southwark, London, where criminals and debtors hid from the law, on July 30, 1715. He is buried in St. Paul’s Cathedral.