D'URFEY, THOMAS

born , 1653, Exeter?, Devon, Eng. died February 1723, London English dramatist, satirist, and songwriter with a light satirical touch whose plays were very popular in their time; his comedies, with complicated plots carried forward by lively dialogue, to some extent pointed the way to sentimental comedy of the later 18th century. Patronized by King Charles II, whom he entertained as a jester and singer, and more cautiously by James II, D'Urfey changed his religious and political allegiance on the accession of William and Mary and was, in turn, favoured by them. He befriended such literary figures as the essayists Richard Steele and Joseph Addison. D'Urfey wrote 32 plays between 1676 and 1688. He also wrote some 500 songs, many of which were inserted in contemporary ballad operas; he also wrote texts to be set to music by Henry Purcell, notably an ode, The Yorkshire Feast Song, and an epilogue for Purcell's opera Dido and Aeneas.