Jeremy Collier

Jeremy Collier was an English clergyman and writer born in 1650 and died in 1726. He is remembered above all for A Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage (1698), a fierce critique of Restoration comedy that challenged the language, sexual frankness, and moral tone of the London stage.

A nonjuring bishop, he refused to swear allegiance after the Glorious Revolution, a stand that placed him in political as well as religious controversy. His public life was turbulent, and his name became closely tied to the larger conflicts of his time over authority, conscience, and public morality.

For readers today, Collier is interesting not just as a churchman, but as a force in literary history. His criticism pushed playwrights and audiences to defend what theater was for, and that debate helped shape the direction of English drama in the years that followed.