Charles Johnson (writer)
Encyclopedia
Charles Johnson was an English
playwright
, tavern
keeper, and enemy of Alexander Pope
's. He was a dedicated Whig
who allied himself with the Duke of Marlborough, Colley Cibber
, and those who rose in opposition to Queen Anne
's Tory ministry of 1710 - 1714.
Johnson claimed to be trained in the law, but there is no evidence of his membership in any of the inns of court
. At the same time, it is possible that he was a lawyer, as his first two published works, in 1704 and 1705 (Marlborough; on the Late Glorious Victory Near Hochstet in Germany and The Queen; a Pindaric Ode) had him living in Gray's Inn
, and he married a Mary Bradbury in Gray's Inn chapel in 1709, the year of his first play, Love and Liberty (unproduced).
Some time around 1710, he became friends with the actor-manager of Drury Lane Theatre
, Robert Wilks
, and Wilks ensured that Johnson's plays received consideration. In 1711, The Wife's Relief, or, The Husband's Cure was a great success. The play starred Colley Cibber, Robert Wilks, Thomas Doggett
, and Anne Oldfield
. He received £300 for the play, and it remained in print for two decades. In 1712, The Successful Pyrate
was acted, and John Dennis complained to the Charles Killigrew, master of revels
that the play glamorized the pirate Henry Every
. Nevertheless, the play's controversy helped its attendance, and it was a theatrical success.
After the Hanoverian succession in 1715, when the whigs were ascendant, Johnson had his greatest success with The Country Lasses. It was acted in repetore until 1813, and it had six editions and two adaptations by 1779. Furthermore, it was used as a test case for Drury Lane. The managers claimed that they needed no license from the master of revels, and they presented The Country Lasses without license. The play is sentimental, affectionate, and nostalgic, with little of the sexuality or railery of earlier comedies.
The next year, Johnson was more overtly political with The Cobler of Preston, which was a play about the Jacobite Rising
of 1715. In 1717, he wrote The Sultaness, a tragedy, and in the preface to the printed play, he satirized the recent Three Hours after Marriage
as "Long-labour'd Nonsense." That play had been written by John Gay
, Alexander Pope, and John Arbuthnot
, and Pope repaid Johnson with interest in the 1728 The Dunciad
, where he deplores
Johnson was therefore lumped in with his much more political theatrical manager, Cibber, and the overtly political accountant, John Ozell. In comparison with those two individuals, Johnson was an innocent.
Johnson's next play was much later, Medea
in 1730, and his last was Caelia, or, The Perjur'd Lover, which was a tragedy that failed so badly that it was withdrawn early. In the preface to Medea, Johnson replied to Pope, admitting that Pope was a better poet but complaining of the pettiness shown by Pope's treatment of those who offended him. It is possible that during these decades Johnson was already engaged in other business. He ran a tavern in Bow Street, Covent Garden
. He died in 1748.
His plays emphasize tragic female characters (a late version of the she-tragedy
), and contemporary accounts suggest that he was an extremely friendly and inoffensive individual. He was personally corpulent, and one biographer suggested that he was attacked in The Dunciad
simply for being too large a target to avoid. Johnson's remarks in Medea show that he was personally very surprised and sorry to be mentioned in The Dunciad.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, tavern
Tavern
A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food, and in some cases, where travelers receive lodging....
keeper, and enemy of Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope was an 18th-century English poet, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. He is the third-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare and Tennyson...
's. He was a dedicated Whig
British Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
who allied himself with the Duke of Marlborough, Colley Cibber
Colley Cibber
Colley Cibber was an English actor-manager, playwright and Poet Laureate. His colourful memoir Apology for the Life of Colley Cibber describes his life in a personal, anecdotal and even rambling style...
, and those who rose in opposition to Queen Anne
Anne of Great Britain
Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...
's Tory ministry of 1710 - 1714.
Johnson claimed to be trained in the law, but there is no evidence of his membership in any of the inns of court
Inns of Court
The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. All such barristers must belong to one such association. They have supervisory and disciplinary functions over their members. The Inns also provide libraries, dining facilities and professional...
. At the same time, it is possible that he was a lawyer, as his first two published works, in 1704 and 1705 (Marlborough; on the Late Glorious Victory Near Hochstet in Germany and The Queen; a Pindaric Ode) had him living in Gray's Inn
Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
, and he married a Mary Bradbury in Gray's Inn chapel in 1709, the year of his first play, Love and Liberty (unproduced).
Some time around 1710, he became friends with the actor-manager of Drury Lane Theatre
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane is a West End theatre in Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster, a borough of London. The building faces Catherine Street and backs onto Drury Lane. The building standing today is the most recent in a line of four theatres at the same location dating back to 1663,...
, Robert Wilks
Robert Wilks
Robert Wilks was a British actor and theatrical manager who was one of the leading managers of Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in its heyday of the 1710s...
, and Wilks ensured that Johnson's plays received consideration. In 1711, The Wife's Relief, or, The Husband's Cure was a great success. The play starred Colley Cibber, Robert Wilks, Thomas Doggett
Thomas Doggett
Thomas Doggett was an Irish actor.Doggett was born in Dublin, and made his first stage appearance in London in 1691 as Nincompoop in Thomas D'Urfey's Love for Money. In this part, and as Solon in the same author's Marriage-Hater Matched, he became popular...
, and Anne Oldfield
Anne Oldfield
Anne Oldfield , English actress, was born in London, the daughter of a soldier.She worked for a time as apprentice to a seamstress, until she attracted George Farquhar's attention by reciting some lines from a play in his hearing...
. He received £300 for the play, and it remained in print for two decades. In 1712, The Successful Pyrate
The Successful Pyrate
The Successful Pyrate is a play by Charles Johnson, first performed 1712, published 1713, dealing with the life of the pirate Henry Avery....
was acted, and John Dennis complained to the Charles Killigrew, master of revels
Master of the Revels
The Master of the Revels was a position within the English, and later the British, royal household heading the "Revels Office" or "Office of the Revels" that originally had responsibilities for overseeing royal festivities, known as revels, and later also became responsible for stage censorship,...
that the play glamorized the pirate Henry Every
Henry Every
Henry Every, also Avery or Avary, , sometimes given as John Avery, was an English pirate who operated in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans in the mid-1690s. He likely used several aliases throughout his career, including Benjamin Bridgeman, and was known as Long Ben to his crewmen and associates...
. Nevertheless, the play's controversy helped its attendance, and it was a theatrical success.
After the Hanoverian succession in 1715, when the whigs were ascendant, Johnson had his greatest success with The Country Lasses. It was acted in repetore until 1813, and it had six editions and two adaptations by 1779. Furthermore, it was used as a test case for Drury Lane. The managers claimed that they needed no license from the master of revels, and they presented The Country Lasses without license. The play is sentimental, affectionate, and nostalgic, with little of the sexuality or railery of earlier comedies.
The next year, Johnson was more overtly political with The Cobler of Preston, which was a play about the Jacobite Rising
Jacobite rising
The Jacobite Risings were a series of uprisings, rebellions, and wars in Great Britain and Ireland occurring between 1688 and 1746. The uprisings were aimed at returning James VII of Scotland and II of England, and later his descendants of the House of Stuart, to the throne after he was deposed by...
of 1715. In 1717, he wrote The Sultaness, a tragedy, and in the preface to the printed play, he satirized the recent Three Hours after Marriage
Three Hours After Marriage
Three Hours After Marriage was a restoration comedy, written in 1717 as a collaboration between John Gay, Alexander Pope and John Arbuthnot. It premiered in 1717 and among its satirical targets were Richard Blackmore....
as "Long-labour'd Nonsense." That play had been written by John Gay
John Gay
John 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...
, Alexander Pope, and John Arbuthnot
John Arbuthnot
John Arbuthnot, often known simply as Dr. Arbuthnot, , was a physician, satirist and polymath in London...
, and Pope repaid Johnson with interest in the 1728 The Dunciad
The Dunciad
The Dunciad is a landmark literary satire by Alexander Pope published in three different versions at different times. The first version was published in 1728 anonymously. The second version, the Dunciad Variorum was published anonymously in 1729. The New Dunciad, in four books and with a...
, where he deplores
- "A past, vamp'd, future, old, reviv'd, new piece,
- 'Twixt PlautusPlautusTitus Maccius Plautus , commonly known as "Plautus", was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest surviving intact works in Latin literature. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the genre devised by the innovator of Latin literature, Livius Andronicus...
, FletcherJohn Fletcher (playwright)John Fletcher was a Jacobean playwright. Following William Shakespeare as house playwright for the King's Men, he was among the most prolific and influential dramatists of his day; both during his lifetime and in the early Restoration, his fame rivalled Shakespeare's...
, Congreve, and CorneillePierre CorneillePierre Corneille was a French tragedian who was one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine...
, Can make a CibberColley CibberColley Cibber was an English actor-manager, playwright and Poet Laureate. His colourful memoir Apology for the Life of Colley Cibber describes his life in a personal, anecdotal and even rambling style...
, Johnson, or OzellJohn OzellJohn Ozell was an English translator and accountant who became an adversary to Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope.He moved to London from the country at around the age of twenty and entered an accounting firm, where he was successful in managing the accounts of several large entities, including the...
." (I. 235-40)
Johnson was therefore lumped in with his much more political theatrical manager, Cibber, and the overtly political accountant, John Ozell. In comparison with those two individuals, Johnson was an innocent.
Johnson's next play was much later, Medea
Medea
Medea is a woman in Greek mythology. She was the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, niece of Circe, granddaughter of the sun god Helios, and later wife to the hero Jason, with whom she had two children, Mermeros and Pheres. In Euripides's play Medea, Jason leaves Medea when Creon, king of...
in 1730, and his last was Caelia, or, The Perjur'd Lover, which was a tragedy that failed so badly that it was withdrawn early. In the preface to Medea, Johnson replied to Pope, admitting that Pope was a better poet but complaining of the pettiness shown by Pope's treatment of those who offended him. It is possible that during these decades Johnson was already engaged in other business. He ran a tavern in Bow Street, Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
. He died in 1748.
His plays emphasize tragic female characters (a late version of the she-tragedy
She-tragedy
The term she-tragedy refers to a vogue in the late 17th and early 18th centuries for tragic plays focused on the sufferings of an innocent and virtuous woman...
), and contemporary accounts suggest that he was an extremely friendly and inoffensive individual. He was personally corpulent, and one biographer suggested that he was attacked in The Dunciad
The Dunciad
The Dunciad is a landmark literary satire by Alexander Pope published in three different versions at different times. The first version was published in 1728 anonymously. The second version, the Dunciad Variorum was published anonymously in 1729. The New Dunciad, in four books and with a...
simply for being too large a target to avoid. Johnson's remarks in Medea show that he was personally very surprised and sorry to be mentioned in The Dunciad.