Theophilus Cibber was an early 18th century actor, playwright and author. Cibber was a famous actor who later developed a bad reputation and was linked to several scandals. He died in a shipwreck on his way to Ireland. His authorship of The Lives of the Poets of Great Britain and Ireland is disputed, since most of the text is lifted from earlier works by Gerard Langbaine and Giles Jacob. This first volume covers the lives of 58 poets including Chaucer, Shakespeare, Drummond, Middleton, Barkley, and Spencer.