Essay, Biography or Paragraph on “Philip Massinger” great author complete biography for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

Philip Massinger

Philip Massinger was born in 1583 to Anne and Arthur Massinger. He was baptized in the church of St. Thomas, Salisbury, on November 24, 1583. Arthur Massinger was a long-time trusted servant first to Sir Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, and then to his heir Sir William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, until Arthur’s death in 1603. On May 14, 1602, Philip Massinger entered as a commoner of St. Alban Hall, Oxford. Massinger left Oxford without taking a degree, and came to London in 1606. Scholars have assumed that Massinger became John Fletcher’s primary collaborator after 1613 when Beaumont got married and retired from the theatre.

Around 1618, Massinger collaborated with Thomas Middleton and William Rowley on The Old ,Law and with Nathan Field in The Fatal Dowry (c.1616-1619), a domestic tragedy set in France. His collaborations were many, including a collaboration with Thomas Dekker on The Virgin Martyr (1620), a history play about the persecution of Christians under the Emperor Diocletian, but most cannot be attributed to him unquestionably, or have since been lost. Massinger’s collaboration with Fletcher, begun around 1613 and ending at Fletcher’s death in 1625, spanned some 20 plays, including The Custom of the Country (c.1619), The False One (c. 1620), The Beggar’s Bush (1622), and The Spanish Cu-rate. He wrote at least two independent works for the ‘King’s Men’, the leading theatre company Exact date of composition is not known, but these included The Duke of Milan (1621? pub. 1623) and The Unnatural. Combat, not printed until 1639, but composed around this time. Massinger also wrote at least two independent plays at this time for the Queen of Bohemia’s Men at the Phoenix. The Renegado (1624, pub. 1630) was a sympathetic portrayal of a Jesuit priest, a daring subject in the anti-Catholic London. The Maid of Honour (c.1621), A New Way to Pay Old Debts (c.1622), and The Great Duke of Florence (1627) were also performed at the Phoenix. In 1625, Massinger replaced Fletcher as chief playwright of the King’s Men. His first play under Charles I was The Roman Actor (1626), a tragedy about the Emperor Domitian. After 1630, Massinger wrote numerous plays, all for the King’s Men. Unfortunately, a great number of them have been lost and only exist as little more than titles and dates of license. Of the ones that remain, worth mention is The City Madam (1632). All of Massinger’s extant plays were written by 1636.

On March 18, 1640, Massinger was found dead in his bed, having been well the night before. His body was laid to rest in S. Saviour’s Church, Southwark, as it is told, in the same grave with the bones of his friend John Fletcher.