Nicholas Rowe

Nicholas Rowe (1674–1718) was an English poet and playwright best known for his tragedies and for helping shape early Shakespeare scholarship. Born in Little Barford, Bedfordshire, he studied law at the Middle Temple but turned to literature and the stage. His plays include *The Fair Penitent* (1703), *Ulysses* (1705), and *Jane Shore* (1714), works that were widely performed in the early eighteenth century. In 1715 he became Poet Laureate. Rowe also produced an influential early edition of Shakespeare’s works (1709), adding a biography and editorial apparatus that guided later editors and readers.