Farquhar, George

far'kwar, George (1678-1707), an Irish dramatist. He was born at Londonderry and received his education at Dublin. He tried acting, but without success. His first play was Love in a Bottle. It was successfully produced at Drury Lane in 1699. Other plays are The Recruiting Officer, A Constant Couple, Sir Harry Wildair, The Stage Coach, The Beaux' Stratagem, and The Way to Win Him. Farquhar died in great poverty. Three of his plays, The Way to Win Him, The Recruiting Officer, and The Beaux' Stratagem, are still favorites on the stage. Farquhar's plays are natural and witty, full of incident and action.

Farquhar is an artist in stage effect, an Irishman, with the Irish sportiveness, and an agreeable diversity.--Welsh.