John Heywood
Overview
 
John Heywood was an English
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...

 writer known for his plays
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...

, poems, and collection of proverb
Proverb
A proverb is a simple and concrete saying popularly known and repeated, which expresses a truth, based on common sense or the practical experience of humanity. They are often metaphorical. A proverb that describes a basic rule of conduct may also be known as a maxim...

s. Although he is best known as a playwright, he was also active as a musician and composer, though no works survive.

Heywood was born in 1497, likely in Coventry, but he moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 some time in his late teens. He spent time at Broadgate Hall, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

, and was active at the royal court by 1520 as a singer.
Quotations

Let the world slide, let the world go;A fig for care, and a fig for woe!If I can't pay, why I can owe,And death makes equal the high and low.

Be Merry Friends

Haste maketh waste.

Pt. I, ch. 2

Good to be merry and wise.

Pt. I, ch. 2

Look ere ye leap.

Pt. I, ch. 2

He that will not when he may,When he would he shall have nay.

Pt. I, ch. 3

The fat is in the fire.

Pt. I, ch. 3

When the sun shineth, make hay.

Pt. I, ch. 3

The tide tarrieth no man.

Pt. I, ch. 3

Fast bind, fast find.

Pt. I, ch. 3

And while I at length debate and beat the bush,There shall step in other men and catch the birds.

Pt. I, ch. 3

 
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