Thomas Dekker (c. 1572 - 25 August 1632) was an English dramatist and pamphleteer during the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. He was a prolific writer whose career spanned several decades and brought him into contact with many of the period's most famous dramatists. However, he was forever struggling with debt, and was even imprisoned in 1612 and held for some years. He stopped writing shortly before his death in 1632.
A play by Thomas Dekker's was purchased by Lord Westmorland's Men in 1597,[1] and performed a few weeks after William Shakespeare became involved in the plot to overthrow Spanish occupation. This transaction kept Dekker from being thrown into debtor's prison.[2]
While Dekker was not involved in the anti-Spanish plot, his plays were performed by Lord Westmorland's Men at the LondonTheatre throughout the year. Shakespeare himself had a role in Dekker's comedy The Cobbler's Holiday which, while pleasant, had a few plot-holes that had not been fixed before its performance.[3]
