FORD, JowN, an English dramatist, was the second son of Thomas Ford of Ilsing ton, in the co. of Devon. The date of his birth is not known, but he was baptized iu llsington church, 17th of April, 1586. His family was connected with the famous lord chief-justice Popham, and he became a member of the middle Temple in Nov., 1602, his:cousin, a John Ford also, at the same period being a member of Gray's inn. Unlike many members of the poetic tribe, F. seems to have adhered to his studies, and to have attain'd some priifessional success. His first poem was an elegy on the death of the earl of Devonshire, entitled Fame's Memorial, and subsequently he assisted in the com position of various plays; perhaps, from his conjunction with Webster and Decker, in this way he acquired, or at least whetted, his appetite for tragic horrors. In 1629, he produced The Lover's _Melancholy; and four years after, The Broken _Heart, and Lore's •S'actuYiee. Next year came Perkin Warbeck; and in 1038-39, The Fancies Chaste and .Nob!e, and The Lady's Trial. After this, F. drops out of literary history. Some think
that he died soon after; others, that he retired to his native place, married, and lived to an Old age, with sans and daughters growing up around him.
F. takes a high position as a dramatist. and this position he attains more by general mental force than by dramatic instinct, or by what we are accustomed to call poetic genius. In his compositions, there is a sense of effort; his writing looks like task work; and one can hardly suppose that he enjoyed his work. His versification—even when the subject matter is distinctly noble—is hard and prosaic.. He has no humor. lie has been praised for his pathos, but in his pathetic scenes effort is apparent. He cannot " flatter" you to tears, as Shakespeare and the greater poets do. An edition of his works, published by Moxon (Lone]. 1840), is enriched by biographical and critical notices by Hartley Coleridge; another, by the Rev. Alex. Dyce, appeared in 1869.