1685 in literature
Encyclopedia
The year 1685 in literature involved some significant events.
Events
- Antoine FuretièreAntoine FuretièreAntoine Furetière , French scholar and writer, was born in Paris.-Biography:He studied law and practised for a time as an advocate, but eventually took orders and after various promotions became abbé of Chalivoy in the diocese of Bourges in 1662...
is expelled from the French Academy. - in London, the year sees one of the major theatrical flops of the Restoration era: Albion and Albanius — an allegorical drama in praise of Charles IICharles II of EnglandCharles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
, with text by John DrydenJohn DrydenJohn Dryden was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden.Walter Scott called him "Glorious John." He was made Poet...
and music by Louis GrabuLouis GrabuLouis Grabu, Grabut, Grabue, or Grebus was a Catalan-born, French-trained composer and violinist who was mainly active in England....
— is in rehearsals when Charles dies in February. A revised version fails in June when it coincides with the Duke of MonmouthJames Scott, 1st Duke of MonmouthJames Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, 1st Duke of Buccleuch, KG, PC , was an English nobleman. Originally called James Crofts or James Fitzroy, he was born in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the eldest illegitimate son of Charles II and his mistress, Lucy Walter...
's invasion. - In June, Parliament revives the Printing Act of 1662, limiting London printers.
New books
- Scipion AbeilleScipion AbeilleScipion Abeille was a French surgeon and poet, and brother of Gaspard Abeille. His most famous work was Histoire des Os which was published in 1685...
- Histoire des Os ("Description of the Bones") - Aphra BehnAphra BehnAphra Behn was a prolific dramatist of the English Restoration and was one of the first English professional female writers. Her writing contributed to the amatory fiction genre of British literature.-Early life:...
- Love-Letters Between a Nobleman and His SisterLove-Letters Between a Nobleman and His SisterLove-Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister by Aphra Behn is a three volume roman à clef playing with events of the Monmouth Rebellion and exploring the genre of the epistolary novel... - Ihara SaikakuIhara Saikakuwas a Japanese poet and creator of the "floating world" genre of Japanese prose .-Biography:Born the son of the wealthy merchant Hirayama Tōgo in Osaka, he first studied haikai poetry under Matsunaga Teitoku, and later studied under Nishiyama Sōin of the Danrin School of poetry, which emphasized...
- Five Women Who Loved Love
New drama
- Jean Galbert de CampistronJean Galbert de CampistronJean Galbert de Campistron was a French dramatist-Biography:Campistron was born in Toulouse, France to a noble family.At the age of seventeen he was wounded in a duel and sent to Paris...
- Andronic - John CrowneJohn CrowneJohn Crowne was a British dramatist and a native of Nova Scotia.His father "Colonel" William Crowne, accompanied the earl of Arundel on a diplomatic mission to Vienna in 1637, and wrote an account of his journey...
- Sir Courtly Nice - Thomas d'UrfeyThomas d'UrfeyThomas D'Urfey was an English writer and wit. He composed plays, songs, and poetry, in addition to writing jokes. He was an important innovator and contributor in the evolution of the Ballad opera....
- The Banditti, or A Lady's Distress
- The Commonwealth of Women (adapted from The Sea VoyageThe Sea VoyageThe Sea Voyage is a late Jacobean comedy written by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger. The play is notable for its imitation of Shakespeare's The Tempest.-Performance and publication:...
)
- Nahum TateNahum TateNahum Tate was an Irish poet, hymnist, and lyricist, who became England's poet laureate in 1692.-Life:Nahum Teate came from a family of Puritan clergymen...
- The Cuckold's Haven (an adaptation of Eastward HoEastward HoeEastward Hoe or Eastward Ho, is an early Jacobean era stage play, a satire and city comedy written by George Chapman, Ben Jonson, and John Marston, printed in 1605. The play was written in response to Westward Ho, an earlier satire by Thomas Dekker and John Webster...
) - A Duke and No Duke (an adaptation of Sir Aston CockayneAston CockayneSir Aston Cockayne, Baronet of Ashbourne was, in his day, a well-known Cavalier and a minor literary figure, now best remembered as a friend of Philip Massinger, John Fletcher, Michael Drayton, Richard Brome, Thomas Randolph, and other writers of his generation.-Biography:Aston Cockayne was the...
's Trappolin Suppos'd a Prince)
- The Cuckold's Haven (an adaptation of Eastward Ho
Births
- January 9 - Tiberius HemsterhuisTiberius HemsterhuisTiberius Hemsterhuis was a Dutch philologist and critic.-Life:He was born in Groningen. His father, a learned physician, gave him a good early education and he entered the university of his native city in his fifteenth year, where he proved himself the best student of mathematics...
, Dutch critic (died 1766) - March 12 - George BerkeleyGeorge BerkeleyGeorge Berkeley , also known as Bishop Berkeley , was an Irish philosopher whose primary achievement was the advancement of a theory he called "immaterialism"...
(died 1753) - June 30 - John GayJohn GayJohn Gay was an English poet and dramatist and member of the Scriblerus Club. He is best remembered for The Beggar's Opera , set to music by Johann Christoph Pepusch...
, poet and dramatist (died 1732)
Deaths
- March 18 - Francis HaroldFrancis HaroldFrancis Harold was an Irish Franciscan and historical writer. He was for some time professor of theology in the Irish College in Prague; and afterwards went to Rome, where he spent the remaining years of his life in the Irish Franciscan College of St. Isadore, fulfilling the duties of librarian...
, Franciscan historian - April - Thomas OtwayThomas OtwayThomas Otway was an English dramatist of the Restoration period, best known for Venice Preserv'd, or A Plot Discover'd .-Life:...
, dramatist (born 1652) - April 29 - Luc d'AcheryLuc d'AchéryLuc d'Achery was a learned French Benedictine of the Congregation of St. Maur, a specialist in the study and publication of medieval manuscripts.-Life:...
, Maurist librarian and author of text-critical editions of medieval manuscripts (born 1609) - June 17 - Andrew AllamAndrew Allam-Life:The son of a humble family, he was born at Garsington, near Oxford, and was educated under a noted schoolmaster of the time, William Wildgoose, of Brasenose College, at Denton, near his native place. In 1671, he entered at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, of which he subsequently became the principal...
, historian (born 1655) - October 23 - Yamaga SokōYamaga Sokowas a Japanese philosopher and strategist during the Tokugawa shogunate. He was a Confucian, and applied Confucius's idea of the "superior man" to the samurai class of Japan...
, Japanese philosopher (born 1622) - date unknown
- Jean CabassutJean Cabassut-Life:He was born at Aix and entered the Oratory at the age of twenty-one. Though devoted to his labour he was always ready to interrupt even his most favourite study to assist the needy...
, French theologian (born 1604) - Anne KilligrewAnne KilligrewAnne Killigrew was an English poet. Born in London, Killigrew is perhaps best known as the subject of a famous elegy by the poet John Dryden entitled To The Pious Memory of the Accomplish'd Young Lady Mrs. Anne Killigrew . She was however a skilful poet in her own right, and her Poems were...
, poet (born 1660) - Placido PuccinelliPlacido PuccinelliPadre Placido Puccinelli was a Cassinese monk, a historian and scholar.Educated at the abbey of S. Maria in Florence, he began his monastic career on 15 January 1626. He was interested in historical studies, but above all genealogy and prosopography, in which the abbey had a great tradition...
, Cassinese historian (born 1609) - Nalan XingdeNalan XingdeNalan Xingde was a Chinese poet active during the Qing Dynasty, famous for his ci poetry. He was actually born Nalan Chengde , but had to change his name when the Kangxi Emperor named Yinreng, whose birth name also had the character cheng , the crown prince...
, Chinese poet (born 1655)
- Jean Cabassut