History Creator / ColleyCibber

Eighteenth-century English playwright and UrExample of the theatrical actor-manager.

Cibber's other enduring mark on English letters is his BloodierAndGorier rewrite of Shakespeare's ''Theatre/RichardIII'', first published in 1700. For almost the next two hundred years, it [[AdaptationDisplacement completely displaced]] the original on the stage. Two of Cibber's additions remain famous:

He was appointed Poet Laureate in 1730, more for his support of Sir UsefulNotes/RobertWalpole than for his poetic output, which even Cibber himself didn't think much of. Alexander Pope, who had little enough respect for Cibber already, was particularly rankled by the appointment, and fired off a few scathing lines in the 1735 poem quoted above. Cibber retaliated with a claim that he had once stopped Pope from tupping a syphilitic prostitute, thereby saving Pope's life (and his translations of Creator/{{Homer}}). For that, Pope made Cibber the "hero" of the next edition of the ''Dunciad'', which has since become Cibber's main claim to fame.

These are sometimes interpolated even into modern productions, including LaurenceOlivier's 1955 film. Of all of Cibber's original works and adaptations (or as some contemporary critics remarked, "mutilations"), his ''Theatre/RichardIII'' is without doubt his most successful.

Cibber entered the world of theatre in 1690, when RestorationComedy was almost dead and more sentimental and moralistic comedies were coming into fashion. He wrote several such plays -- and acted in them, playing characters with names like [[TypeCasting Sir Courtly Nice, Sir Fopling Flutter, and Sir Novelty Fashion (later Lord Foppington)]].

Cibber's other enduring mark on English letters is his BloodierAndGorier rewrite of Shakespeare's ''Theatre/RichardIII'', first published in 1700. For almost the next two hundred years, it completely displaced the original on the stage. Two of Cibber's additions remain famous:

He was appointed Poet Laureate in 1730, more for his support of SirRobertWalpole than for his poetic output, which even Cibber himself didn't think much of. Alexander Pope, who had little enough respect for Cibber already, was particularly rankled by the appointment, and fired off a few scathing lines in the 1735 poem quoted above. Cibber retaliated with a claim that he had once stopped Pope from tupping a syphilitic prostitute, thereby saving Pope's life (and his translations of Creator/{{Homer}}). For that, Pope made Cibber the "hero" of the next edition of the ''Dunciad'', which has since become Cibber's main claim to fame.

->Off with his head; -- so much for Buckingham.

These are sometimes interpolated even into modern productions, including LaurenceOlivier's 1955 film. Of all of Cibber's original works and adaptations (or as some contemporary critics remarked, "mutilations"), his ''Theatre/RichardIII'' is without doubt his most enduring work.

He was appointed Poet Laureate in 1730, more for his support of SirRobertWalpole than for his poetic output, which even Cibber himself didn't think much of. Alexander Pope, who had little enough respect for Cibber already, was particularly rankled by the appointment, and fired off a few scathing lines in the 1735 poem quoted above. Cibber retaliated with a claim that he had once stopped Pope from tupping a syphilitic prostitute, thereby saving Pope's life (and his translations of Creator/{{Homer}}). For that, Pope made Cibber the "hero" of the next edition of the ''Dunciad'', which became Cibber's chief claim to fame.

He was appointed Poet Laureate in 1730; this is said to have had more to do with his support for SirRobertWalpole than with the excellence of his poetic output. Alexander Pope, who had little enough respect for Cibber already, was particularly rankled by the appointment, and fired off a few scathing lines in the 1735 poem quoted above. Cibber retaliated with a claim that he had once stopped Pope from tupping a syphilitic prostitute, thereby saving Pope's life (and his translations of Creator/{{Homer}}). For that, Cibber was made the "hero" of the next edition of Pope's ''Dunciad'', which poem is, unfortunately for Cibber, his chief claim to fame.

These are sometimes interpolated even into modern productions, including LaurenceOlivier's 1955 film. There's also some evidence that he was behind the addition of an extra scene in ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'' featuring Hecate and the witches.

He was appointed Poet Laureate in 1730; this is said to have had more to do with his support for SirRobertWalpole than with the excellence of his poetic output. Alexander Pope, who had little enough respect for Cibber already, was particularly rankled by the appointment, and fired off a few scathing lines in the 1735 poem quoted above. Cibber retaliated with a claim that he had once stopped Pope from tupping a syphilitic prostitute, thereby saving Pope's life (and his translations of Creator/{{Homer}}). For that, Cibber was made the "hero" of the next edition of Pope's ''Dunciad'', which poem is both men's chief claim to fame.