Thomas Heywood

Thomas Heywood (1574?-1641), English dramatist and writer, born in Lincolnshire and educated at the University of Cambridge. According to his own testimony, he wrote more than 220 plays for the English stage. Although not always tightly constructed and sometimes resorting to cliché, Heywood's plays exhibit a remarkable talent for dramatic and fanciful situations and pleasing an audience.

Heywood's best plays are A Woman Killed with Kindness (performed 1603, printed 1607), The Fair Maid of the West (1631), both of which have been recently revived and performed, and The English Traveller (1633). He also wrote poems, including “Troia Britannica” (England's Troy, 1609) and “The Hierarchy of the Blessed Angel” (1635). His Apology for Actors (1612) is a witty and anecdotal defense of the theater.