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John Webster (Playwright)

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Playwright

The Resume

    (circa 1578-circa 1634)
    Born in London, United Kingdom
    Jacobean dramatist
    Best-known plays were ‘The White Devil’ and ‘The Duchess of Malfi’

Why he might be annoying:

    Little is known about his life, including the years of his birth and death.
    He had to get a special license to wed Sara Peniall, as the bride was seven months pregnant (1606).
    When the debut performance of ‘The White Devil’ was a failure (1612), he blamed the audience for having the intellect of donkeys.
    His best-known plays are violent and macabre.

Why he might not be annoying:

    Despite being best known for bloody revenge tragedies, he also wrote several comedies (usually with collaborators).
    His work grew in stature, with ‘The White Devil’ and ‘Malfi’ being staged more often in the 20th century than any plays by his contemporaries other than Shakespeare.
    The line ‘Cover her face, mine eyes dazzle: she died young’ from ‘Malfi’ is quoted in both Agatha Christie’s ‘Sleeping Murder’ and Anne Rice’s ‘Queen of the Damned.’

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2022, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 12 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying