The Oxford Companion to English Literature | Ford, John
Ford, John
(
1586
–after
1639
), born in Devon, and admitted to the Middle Temple in
1602
. He probably spent many years there, since he is called ‘Master
John
Ford
, of the Middle Temple’ as late as
1638
. His earliest work was non-dramatic (
1606
–
20
), but he wrote all or a substantial part of 18 plays, of which seven have been lost. Between
1621
and
1625
he collaborated with
Dekker
and others in at least five plays including
The Witch of Edmonton
. After
1625
Ford probably worked alone. His chief plays are
The Lover's Melancholy
(
1629
),
Love's Sacrifice
(
1633
),
'Tis Pity She's a Whore
(
1633
),
The Broken Heart
(
1633
),
Perkin Warbeck
(
1634
), The Lady's Trial (
1639
). Ford's plays are predominantly concerned with human dignity, courage, and endurance in suffering. He explores melancholy, torture, incest, delusion,...
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