Nahum Tate is best known today as the author of the most famous—and infamous—adaptation of a Shakespeare play, his version of
King Lear. During his lifetime, he established himself as an all-around man of letters, producing a wide range of poetry and drama, most notably satirical poetry; translations of Ovid, Juvenal, and the Psalms of David; one of the earliest and most successful English farces; and the libretto for the greatest English opera of the seventeenth century. In 1692 he succeeded Thomas Shadwell as poet laureate, a position he held for twenty-two years.
Tate was probably born in Dublin in 1652, the son of Faithful Teate and Katherine Kenetie Teate. His father and both his grandfathers were clergymen. Faithful Teate was the rector of Castleterra, Ballyhaise from 1625 to
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Citation: Corman, Brian. "Nahum Tate". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 11 August 2003 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4317, accessed 23 November 2024.]
