James Robinson Planche

James Robinson Planché was an English dramatist, antiquary, and officer of arms. He wrote, adapted, or collaborated on 176 plays over the course of his life, covering a wide range of genres including opera, comedy, drama, and extravaganza. Planché was known for his influential role in the development of stage costume design and was a founding member of several theatrical and antiquarian societies. His work played a significant role in the 19th-century London theatre scene.

February 27, 1796

May 30, 1880

English

Song

Three score and ten by common calculation
    The years of man amount to; but we'll say
He turns four-score, yet, in my estimation,
    In all those years he has not lived a day.

Out of the eighty you must first remember
    The hours of night you pass asleep in bed;
And, counting from December to December,
    Just half your life you'll find you have been dead.

To forty years at once by this reduction
    We come; and sure, the first five from your birth,
While cutting teeth and living upon suction,
    You're not alive to what this life is worth.

From thirty-five next take for education
    Fifteen at least at college and at school;
When, notwithstanding all your application,
    The chances are you may turn out a fool.

Still twenty w...

James Robinson Planche