born 1497?, London, Eng.?
died after 1575, Mechelen, Belg.
British playwright.
His witty, satirical verse interludes (dialogues on a set subject) helped put English drama on the road to the fully developed comedy of the Elizabethans. His interludes, which replace biblical allegory with representations of everyday life and manners, include The Play of the Wether , A Play of Love , and Wytty and Wytless (all printed 1533), and The Playe Called the Foure P.P.: A Palmer, a Pardoner, a Potycary, a Pedler (printed 0441; 1544). He also wrote epigrams, ballads, and a verse allegory, The Spider and the Flie (1556).