Tate was a pioneer of English farce; his
A Duke and No Duke (1684) had a long and influential history on the stage. He was also a fine librettist, providing the text for Henry Purcell's
Dido and Aeneas (1689) as well as many shorter pieces. He was appointed poet laureate in 1692 and held the position until his death twenty-three years later.
Nahum Tate was probably born in Ireland in 1652, the son of Faithful Teate and Katherine Kenetie Teate. His father and both of his grandfathers were Irish clergymen. His family had suffered considerably during the Catholic rebellion of 1641, and their lives over the next twenty years were predictably unstable.
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