Theobald, LEWIS

Theobald, LEWIS, an early Shakespearian critic, was born about 1688, the son of an attorney at Sittingbourne in Kent, and was bred to his father's business, but early took to literature, publishing in 1714 a tragedy entitled Electra, followed by twenty equally forgotten dramas. He published thirty papers under the name of 'Censor' in Mist's Journal (1715), and eighteen months later commenced the Censor as a separate tri-weekly paper, which extended to sixty-six more numbers. In 1726 he published his pamphlet, Shakspeare Restored, or a Specimen of the many Errors committed as well as unamended by Mr Pope in his late edition of this poet, which the poet repaid by immortalising him as the original hero of the Dunciad. Theobald could not compete with his adversary in wit, but he proved himself a much more competent editor of Shakespeare by his edition in 1733 (7 vols.), which quite extinguished that of his rival. He died in September 1744. Theobald was often very happy in his suggested emendations, and had the crowning merit of having much higher respect for his text than many much more brilliant men.