Shirley, James

James shirley ^{[ specify ]} (September 13, 1596, London - October 29, 1666, ibid.) - English playwright, author of about 40 plays, mostly comedies, tragicomedy and masks on topics related to the life of the upper class of London society.

He studied at the Taylor School of Commerce in London, at St. John at Oxford and then at Catherine Hall in Cambridge. In 1619, he was ordained a priest of the Church of England and received a parish near St. Albans. After converting to Catholicism from 1623 to 1625, he taught at a school in St. Albans. In 1625 he moved to London, settling in the Grays Inn and began to write plays. He wrote about 40 plays that were staged in theaters in London. In 1642, however, he was forced to stop this activity due to the adoption of a Puritan decree banning the activities of theaters. After the outbreak of the Civil War between the king and parliament, he joined the royalists. After the Restoration, he returned to work, taught, and also wrote several brochures. In 1646 he began to publish his poems. During the Great Fire in London, he lost his house on fire and died in the fall of cold and poverty with his wife, having no housing; was buried in the cemetery of St. Giles.

The most famous plays: “Love Tricks” (1625); The Maid's Revenge (1626); The Brothers (1626); The Witty Fair One (1628); "The Wedding" (1628); The Traitor, its latest and estimated best tragedy (1631); "The Changes, or Love in a Maze" (1632); Hyde Park (1632); The Gamester, a high-rated comedy (1633); The Lady of Pleasure, sometimes called his best comedy (1635); "The Cardinal" (1641). He was also considered one of the leading English mask makers: the most famous mask of his authorship is The Triumph of Beauty, as well as The Triumph of Peace, which was presented by Inns of Court to the king and queen in 1633.