Sir Charles Sedley

Sir Charles Sedley 1639?-1701, English dramatist and poet, b. London. Famous for his wit, he was a member of the intimate circle of young rakes at the court of Charles II. He wrote several plays, the best of which are the comedies The Mulberry Garden (1668) and Bellamira (1687). He also wrote amorous lyrics.

Sedley, Sir Charles (c.1639–1701), Restoration dramatist, wit, and man of letters, friend of Rochester and Etherege. He wrote several plays, of which the best are The Mulberry-Garden (1668), a comedy of contemporary manners which owes something to Molière's L'École des maris (1661) and something to Etherege's Comical Revenge (1664), and the lively but licentious Bellamira; or, The Mistress (1687), based on the Eunuchus of Terence. Sedley was also the author of a dull tragedy on the subject of Antony and Cleopatra, written in imitation of Dryden's heroic drama All for Love (1677).

Sedley, Sir Charles or Sir Charles Sidley, (?1639–1701), dramatist and poet, friend of Rochester and Dryden, was famous for his wit and urbanity and notorious for his profligate escapades. His tragedy Antony and Cleopatra (1677) was followed by two comedies, Bellamira (1687) and The Mulberry Garden (1668), which was based partly on Molière's L'École des maris. His poems and songs (‘Phillis is my only joy’, ‘Love still has something of the sea’, etc.) were included with his Miscellaneous Works (1702). Malone identified him as the Lisideius of Dryden's Of Dramatick Poesie.