Nahum Tate

Tate, Nahum

Tate, Nahum (1652–1715), a poor poet and worse playwright, who collaborated with Dryden in the second part of Absalom and Achitophel (1682) and with Brady in a metrical version of the Psalms, published in 1696, which long remained popular in the Church of England. In 1692 he succeeded Thomas Shadwell as Poet Laureate, and he was pilloried by Pope in The Dunciad (1728). Otherwise he is mainly remembered for his extremely odd versions of some of the plays of Shakespeare. His History of King Richard II (1680) was intended to blacken the character of Bolingbroke and render Richard II wholly sympathetic. In King Lear (1681) the character of the Fool is omitted, and Cordelia survives to marry Edgar. This remained the standard acting text until Macready's production of the original version in 1838. Coriolanus, as The Ingratitude of a Common-Wealth; or, The Fall of Caius Martius Coriolanus (also 1681), was not so badly mangled except in the last act, which incorporates the worst features of Titus Andronicus, probably in an unsuccessful bid for popularity.

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PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Tate, Nahum." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Tate, Nahum." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-TateNahum.html

PHYLLIS HARTNOLL and PETER FOUND. "Tate, Nahum." The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre. 1996. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O79-TateNahum.html

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Nahum Tate

Nahum Tate , 1652–1715, English poet and dramatist, b. Dublin. He wrote several popular adaptations of Shakespeare, the most famous being his King Lear (1681), in which he omitted the part of the fool and had Cordelia survive to marry Edgar. With Dryden he wrote the second part of Absalom and Achitophel (1682). In 1692 he became poet laureate. His metrical version of the Psalms (1696), written with Nicholas Brady, is generally regarded as tedious and verbose. He was the target of an attack by Pope in The Dunciad.

Bibliography: See study by C. Spencer (1972).

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"Nahum Tate." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Nahum Tate." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Tate-Nah.html

"Nahum Tate." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Tate-Nah.html

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Tate, Nahum

Tate, Nahum (1652–1715), and Brady, Nicholas (1659–1726), authors of the New Version of the Psalms (1696). Both were Irish Protestants. Tate became Poet Laureate in 1692. Brady, who had been ordained by 1688, was chaplain to William III, Mary, and Queen Anne. The New Version is a versification of the Psalter according to the artificial taste of the period. It gradually supplanted the rendering of T. Sternhold and J. Hopkins and was widely used until the early 19th cent.

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E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Tate, Nahum." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Tate, Nahum." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-TateNahumBradyNicholas.html

E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Tate, Nahum." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-TateNahumBradyNicholas.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

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