Middleton, Thomas (1580-1627), was a leading English playwright of the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods in English drama. The periods were named after the English monarchs Elizabeth I and James I. Middleton wrote several popular comedies as well as some tragedies. He also collaborated with other noted dramatists of his time, notably Thomas Dekker and William Rowley. Many scholars credit Middleton with contributing passages to William Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth.
Middleton’s comedies are realistic portraits of London life. The best-known include A Mad World, My Masters (about 1606), A Trick to Catch the Old One (about 1606), and A Chaste Maid in Cheapside (about 1613). His most powerful tragedy is Women Beware Women (about 1621). He collaborated with William Rowley on The Changeling (1622), one of the great tragedies of Jacobean drama.
Middleton’s political satire A Game at Chess (1624) reflected widespread opposition to the proposed marriage of Prince Charles (later King Charles I) to a Spanish princess. The play was wildly popular with Londoners but soon banned by King James I. Middleton also wrote many pageants for the Lord Mayor of London. Middleton was born in London and educated at Oxford University.
