Tourneur, Cyril (tûr`nər), 1575?–1626, English dramatist and poet. Little is known of his life. The Transformed Metamorphosis (1600), an allegorical satire, was his first published work. His reputation rests on two gloomy, violent plays, The Revenger's Tragedy (1607), which is thought by many scholars to have been written by Thomas Middleton, and The Atheist's Tragedy (1611).

Bibliography

See his complete works (ed. by A. Nicoll, 1930).

Tourneur, Cyril

(born c. 1575—died Feb. 28, 1626, Kinsale, County Cork, Ire.) English dramatist. His early years were devoted to literature; after c. 1613 he served in the government. His reputation rests largely on The Atheist's Tragedie (1611), a verse drama rich in macabre imagery. He may be the author of The Revenger's Tragedie (1607), but most recent scholarship attributes it to Thomas Middleton; though earlier than The Atheist's Tragedie, it is more mature in its structure and sombre brilliance. Tourneur also wrote the poetical satire The Transformed Metamorphosis (1600).