Brome, Richard

views updated

Richard Brome (brōōm, brōm), c.1590–1652, English dramatist. He was the friend, servant, and disciple of Ben Jonson. Primarily a writer of realistic satiric comedy, picturing the life and manners of Caroline bourgeois London, he also produced several tragicomedies, but with much less success. The main features of his plays are the humor characters (see humor), complicated comic intrigue, and an abundance of action. The majority of his comedies were performed between 1629 and 1642, the most noteworthy being The Northern Lass, The City Wit, and The Jovial Crew.

See study by R. J. Kaufmann (1961).

More From encyclopedia.com