Gourt > Arts > Literature > Authors > G > Gay, John
John Gay (30 June,1685 - 4 December,1732) was an English poet and dramatist. He is best remembered for The Beggar's Opera (1728), set to music by Johann Christoph Pepusch. The characters, including Captain Macheath and Polly Peachum, became household names.
Biography
Gay was born in Barnstaple, England and was educated at the town's grammar school. On leaving school he was apprenticed to a silk mercer in London, but being weary, according to Samuel Johnson, "of either the restraint or the servility of his occupation," he soon returned to Barnstaple, where he spent some time with his uncle, the Rev. John Hanmer, the Nonconformist minister of the town. He then returned to London.
The dedication of his Rural Sports (1713) to Alexander Pope was the beginning of a lasting friendship. In 1714, Gay wrote The Shepherd's Week, a series of six pastorals drawn from English rustic life. Pope had urged him to undertake this task in order to ridicule the Arcadian pastorals of Ambrose Philips, who had been praised by The Guardian (1713), to the neglect of Pope's claims as the first pastoral writer of the age and the true English Theocritus. Gay's pastorals completely achieved this goal, but his ludicrous pictures of the English country lads and their loves were found to be entertaining on their own account.
More on [ John Gay ]
Poets :: Poetry
18th Century :: British
Composers :: Composition
Baroque :: Composers
English :: Europe
my names john and i'm super gay
DVS_BSTRD (John) Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:11:09 -0000
my names john and i'm super gay
I read that over a 2 year span in the early 90's Elton John spent a million dollars on flowers. That's so gangster. And gay. It's gayangster
fatjew (The Fat Jew) Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:51:45 -0000
I read that over a 2 year span in the early 90's Elton John spent a million dollars on flowers. That's so gangster. And gay. It's gayangster
Dems expected to tab John Perez as next Assembly speaker: http://bit.ly/4CFFCE He would be first openly gay person to hold post.
LATimescitydesk (LA Times City Desk) Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:50:24 -0000
Dems expected to tab John Perez as next Assembly speaker: http://bit.ly/4CFFCE He would be first openly gay person to hold post.
John Berry Speaks at 2009 International Gay & Lesbian Leadership Conference in San Francisco http://bit.ly/5RD2m8 [victoryfund.org #lgbt]
GayRightsMedia (Gay Rights Media) Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:40:58 -0000
John Berry Speaks at 2009 International Gay & Lesbian Leadership Conference in San Francisco http://bit.ly/5RD2m8 [victoryfund.org #lgbt]
@Thejohnmendonca i love yo john. ive told everyone at HCS about our gay love
Drummer97 (Craig Hollensbe) Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:23:33 -0000
@Thejohnmendonca i love yo john. ive told everyone at HCS about our gay love
Dem Caucus is voting on their new speaker for next year. Will we get John Perez? First openly gay person of color elected (and now speaker!)
allanacevedo (Allan Acevedo) Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:05:17 -0000
Dem Caucus is voting on their new speaker for next year. Will we get John Perez? First openly gay person of color elected (and now speaker!)
A Unique Masterpiece - A commentary on Beggar's Opera with a bibliography and biography on John Gay.
Meta Description: [ What is the history behind the creation of the Beggar's Opera? Who was John Gay? and where was the Lincoln's Inn Fields theatre? ]
Authors' Calendar: John Gay (1685-1732) - Short biography, selected bibliography.
Beggar's Opera and its Sanskrit Puns - Puts forth evidence that John Gay's classic contains Sanskritic wordplay.
Familiar Quotations - Some of Gay's famous sayings compiled by John Bartlett.
Meta Description: [ John Gay. 1685-1732. John Bartlett, comp. 1919. Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. ]
Lowell House Opera - Photos from the March, 2000 production of Beggar's Opera.
Meta Description: [ Lowell House Opera. Harvard University. Annual Opera Production. ]
Poetry Archive - An index of his poems with a biography and links to related sites.
Meta Description: [ An index of poems by John Gay. ]
Samuel Johnson's Lives of the English Poets: John Gay (1685-1732) - Contains Johnson's Preface to Gay's works, links to Gay's works online, and a selection of poems.
Selected Poetry of John Gay (1685-1732) - Five poems and an excerpt from Beggar's Opera.
The Beggar's Opera - Transcription of John Gay's 1765 work.
The Beggar's Opera - Full electronic text of Beggar's Opera plus analysis of its impact.
The Beggar's Opera - A historical look at the original production and its music.
The Classical Era: John Gay - Short biography, mention of his works, and links.
The Contemplator's Short History John Gay and The Beggar's Opera - Biography and information about work plus links to related material, embedded audio, and links to lyrics and MIDI files.
Meta Description: [ John Gay and the Beggar's Opera>
The Lied and Art Song Texts Page: John Gay (1685-1732) - His poems which have been set to music. Does not claim to be exhaustive.
Meta Description: [ Free web archive of over 15,000 texts (lyrics) to Lieder and other classical vocal pieces in more than 25 languages. Thousands of translations to English included. ]
Wikipedia: John Gay - Article focused mainly on his literary abilities, especially his Beggar's Opera. Includes portrait, internal references to related people and topics, and quotes.
| True Colors | |
| Next Video | |
