Thomas Morton (playwright)
Encyclopedia
Thomas Morton was an English
playwright
.
. He was the son of John and Grace Morton of Whickham, County Durham. He went to London to study law at Lincoln's Inn
, but abandoned his studies for playwriting. For much of his life, Thomas lived in Pangbourne
in Berkshire
. His son, John Maddison Morton
, was also a well-known dramatist.
, has entered the English language as a synonym
for "prude".
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...
.
Life
Morton was born in the city of DurhamDurham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
. He was the son of John and Grace Morton of Whickham, County Durham. He went to London to study law at Lincoln's Inn
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...
, but abandoned his studies for playwriting. For much of his life, Thomas lived in Pangbourne
Pangbourne
Pangbourne is a large village and civil parish on the River Thames in the English county of Berkshire. Pangbourne is the home of the independent school, Pangbourne College.-Location:...
in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
. His son, John Maddison Morton
John Maddison Morton
John Maddison Morton was an English playwright who specialized in one-act farces. His most famous farce was Box and Cox . He also wrote comic dramas, pantomimes and other theatrical pieces.-Biography:...
, was also a well-known dramatist.
Works
He wrote about 25 plays, several of which had great popularity, among them Columbus, or a World Discovered (1792); Children in the Wood (1793); Zorinski (1795); The Way to Get Married (1796); A Cure for the Heart Ache (1797); Speed the Plough (1798); Secrets Worth Knowing (1798); The Blind Girl, or A Receipt for Beauty (1801); The School of Reform, or How to Rule a Husband (1805); Town and Country, or Which Is Best? (1807); The Knight of Snowdown (1811); Education (1813); The Slave (1816); Methinks I See My Father (1818); A Roland for an Oliver (1819); Henri Quatre (1820); School for Grown Children (1826); and The Invincibles (1828). The name of one of the characters in Speed the Plough, Mrs GrundyMrs Grundy
Mrs Grundy is the name of an imaginary English character, who typifies the disciplinary control of the conventional proprieties of society over conduct, the tyrannical pressure of the opinion of neighbours on the acts of others...
, has entered the English language as a synonym
Synonym
Synonyms are different words with almost identical or similar meanings. Words that are synonyms are said to be synonymous, and the state of being a synonym is called synonymy. The word comes from Ancient Greek syn and onoma . The words car and automobile are synonyms...
for "prude".