{\b Francis Beaumont}.

{\b Date of Birth}.: 1584

{\b Date of Death}.: 6 March 1616

{\b Works}.

English dramatist and poet. Though his own plays number only two, The Woman 
Hater (1605) and The Knight of the Burning Pestle (1607), he joined forces 
with Fletcher and they produced over fifty plays together. Their first joint 
success was Philaster (1609), written for Shakespeare's company, later 
followed by their best plays, The Maid's Tragedy (1611) and A King and No King 
(1611). With their comedies, tragedies and romance dramas, they dominated the 
Jacobean stage along with Shakespeare and Ben Jonson. In fact, they were 
members of the "tribe of Ben," friends and followers of Jonson. Beaumont's 
poetry includes Salmacis and Hermaphroditus (1602) and his Letter to Jonson 
celebrating their meetings at the Mermaid tavern. 

{\b Featured Works}.

'On the Tombs in Westminster Abbey'.

{\b General Comment}.

Born at Leicestershire and the brother of Sir John Beaumont, Francis Beaumont 
was educated at Pembroke College, Oxford (1597-98) and entered the Inner 
Temple, London, in 1600 at sixteen. However, he did not have the inclination 
to study law and turned to writing. He first met Fletcher in 1605 and later 
formed a partnership with him for the writing of plays. He notably became a 
friend of Ben Jonson who submitted his plays to him for approval. His 
partnership with Fletcher lasted until 1613 when he retired from playwriting 
in order to get married to an heiress. This rekindled speculation that he may 
initially have given up his law studies and taken to writing and acting only 
in the hope of making quick money. His work with Fletcher had tremendous 
popularity throughout the seventeenth century, yet he never lived to enjoy it. 
Though much younger, he died in the same year as Shakespeare with whom he had 
contributed to thrill the English stage. Gradually, however, his reputation 
began to suffer because his writings have been seen to lack the merit of that 
of the great Elizabethans who preceded him. He was buried at Westminster Abbey.