Thomas Nabbes's working life as a playwright was spent at the very end of the period which produced the Renaissance English drama--literally in the last decade before the theaters were closed in 1642 for twenty years. Generally considered to be one of that group of writers ("the sons of Ben") who were strongly influenced by the aging Jonson, he actually tried his hand--certainly at city comedy--but also at a variety of other genres including heroic tragedy, the masque, the Italianate intrigue play, tragicomedy, and, most interesting, in Microcosmus, the revival of the Tudor morality play.

The year of Nabbes's birth must be deduced from the record of his matriculation at the age of sixteen at Exeter College, Oxford, on 3 May 1621. The same entry indicates that he came from Worcestershire, although at least one county historian claims he was a resident rather than a native, a supposition based on the...