Hey, I'm Not Shakespeare! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Christopher Marlowe

Christopher Marlowe (1564 - 1593?)was born in Canterbury, just two months before William Shakespeare. Like Shakespeare, he came from humble origins; his father, John, was a shoemaker. Marlowe's genius was recognized at an early age, and he was awarded a scholarship to Cambridge University, where he was eventually awarded his Master of Arts degree. While at Cambridge, he was recruited by Sir Francis Walsingham, Queen Elizabeth's spymaster, and became an agent for the English government. In 1593, Marlowe was arrested and charged with a number of capital offenses, including heresy. He was supposedly killed in a brawl by a man named Ingram Frizer on May 30, 1593 in the town of Deptford.

Marlowe's play, "Tamburlaine," revolutionized the English theatre - and English literature. Everyone agrees that Shakespeare's early plays are remarkably similar to Marlowe's works. For reasons too complicated to go into here, many people, myself included, believe that Marlowe did not die in Deptford in 1593, but survived for many years, and that he actually wrote the plays and poems that are now attributed to William Shakespeare.

Answer: Robert Greene

Robert Greene (1558 -1592) was a remarkably prolific writer. He was unusual in that he was a graduate of both Cambridge and Oxford; he was also unusual in that many of his writings deal with London's lower classes and criminal elements.

Although a wonderfully talented and versatile writer, Greene is now remembered primarily for a pamphlet he wrote while dying of an unknown illness in 1592. Called "Greene's Groats-worth of Wit, bought with a Million of Repentance," it contains the following passage:

"for there is an upstart Crow, beautified with our feathers, that with his Tygers hart wrapt in a Players hyde, supposes he is as well able to bombast out a blanke verse with the best of you; and being an absolute Johannes fac totem is in his owne conceit the onely Shake-scene in a countrey."

This is invariably cited as the first reference to Shakespeare in print, but it is no such thing. If one bothers to read the entire pamphlet, it is obvious that Greene is attacking a wealthy actor and theatre owner, not a rival playwright. The real target of the passage is the famous actor, Edward Alleyn, who bought and produced many of Greene's plays, and became immensely wealthy in the process, but refused to help Greene during his final illness. Greene wrote the pamphlet on his deathbed, and died in abject poverty, despite being one of the most popular writers of his age.

Answer: Thomas Nashe

Thomas Nashe (1567 - 1601) was the funniest of all Elizabethan writers, although his florid style makes him difficult to understand for many modern readers. He was the son of a clergyman, and attended Cambridge, but left before taking his Master of Arts degree; he was evidently often in trouble at the university, and would remain in trouble for most of his life.

Nashe was a good friend and collaborator of Robert Greene's, and, after the latter's death, defended Greene's reputation against attacks made upon him by the stodgy Cambridge don, Gabriel Harvey. Nashe and Harvey exchanged insults in a number of pamphlets, with Nashe always getting the better of it. Nashe was known for his biting wit, and did not hesitate to attack his betters, a dangerous practice in Elizabethan England. He was a friend of Marlowe's, and may have co-written "Dido, Queen of Carthage," with him. In 1597, he and Ben Jonson jointly wrote a play, now lost, called "The Isle of Dogs," in which the Queen herself may have been the target of his satire. It certainly created a stir; the theatres were ordered closed and Jonson was jailed, although Nashe managed to escape and lie low until the furor died down. But on June 1, 1599 the government issued an edict ordering all of Nashe's works to be banned, and all of his books to be burned.

Nashe died sometime in 1601; the exact date and cause are unknown. Nashe was quick to praise his friends and to attack his enemies, but he never mentions Shakespeare.

Answer: Thomas Kyd

Thomas Kyd (1558 - 1594) was a tragic figure. He was the son of a scrivener, or scribe; in his day, most documents were still handwritten, either entirely or in part. Although he never went to university, he attended the Merchant Taylors' School, where he received a good education by the standards of the time. Sometime in the mid-1580s he wrote his most famous play, "The Spanish Tragedy." It was wildly successful and continued to be performed for decades.

In May, 1593 Kyd's lodgings were searched by officers of the Crown in connection with an investigation regarding anonymous threats made against London's foreign-born population. They found three pages of "vile heretical conceits denying the eternal deity of Jesus Christ." Poor Kyd was arrested and taken to the Tower of London, where he was subjected to torture. Under torture, he said that the papers were not his, but Christopher Marlowe's, and must have gotten mixed in with his belongings when he and Marlowe had shared a lodging a few years before. Kyd was eventually released, but he was broken in both body and spirit. He died, penniless, the next year.

Answer: Ben Jonson

Ben Jonson (1572 - 1637), was another man who rose from humble origins to become one of the greatest lights of English literature. He seems to have begun his career as an actor, but soon found that he had a much greater talent for writing. Many of his plays, such as "The Alchemist," and "Volpone," remain popular today. In 1597, he was thrown in prison for his part in writing a scandalous play called "The Isle of Dogs," with Thomas Nashe. The following year he was back in jail for killing a man in a duel. Jonson seems to have had a rather bad temper and did not always get along well with other writers, even those he worked with on a regular basis.

The character Sogliardo, in Jonson's comedy, "Every Man Out of His Humour," is widely thought to represent William Shakespeare, and it does not paint a very flattering portrait of the Bard. Jonson later wrote a long, effusive poem entitled "To the memory of my beloved, the AUTHOR, William Shakespeare; and what he has left us," which was used in the introduction to the First Folio of Shakespeare's work. In it, he calls Shakespeare "the Soul of the Age," but it is an unusual poem in many respects. For example, he also calls Shakespeare "the Swan of Avon," a strange compliment for a writer, since the swan is a bird that cannot sing.

Jonson enjoyed his greatest success under the Stuart dynasty. Despite being thrown in jail a third time for offending the authorities with the satirical content of his plays, Jonson soon became a popular writer of masques for the royal court. In 1616 King James I awarded him a substantial pension. Jonson died in 1637 and was buried in the Poet's Corner at Westminster Abbey. Tradition says that he was buried standing up, at his own request.

Answer: Thomas Watson

Not much is known about Thomas Watson (1555 - 1592); he was a graduate of Oxford and spent several years living and studying in France. He was a friend of Christopher Marlowe and Thomas Nashe, and greatly admired by both. He is known to have written several plays, but none have survived. He is more noted for his poetry, much of which was written in Latin. He was instrumental in introducing the sonnet form into England, although he often used an eccentric 18 line form, instead of the more familiar 14 line sonnets we know today.

In 1589, both Watson and Marlowe were involved in a duel with one William Bradley, the quarrel arising from a debt owed by Bradley to one of their friends. From the surviving court records, it appears that Bradley attacked Marlowe, and while the two men were fighting, Watson appeared. Bradley abandoned the fight with Marlowe, and said to Watson, "Art thou now come? Then I will have a bout with thee." Watson ran Bradley through with his sword, killing him instantly. Both Watson and Marlowe were arrested and jailed; Marlowe was paroled after only 13 days, but Watson spent five months in prison before he was released, and the killing was ruled to be in self-defense.

Watson died of unknown causes on September 26, 1592. There is no indication that he ever knew Shakespeare, whose first published work, "Venus and Adonis," appeared in 1593.

Answer: Thomas Lodge

Unlike many of the other writers in this quiz, Thomas Lodge (1558 - 1625) was from an affluent background. His father, Sir Thomas Lodge, was Lord Mayor of London from 1562-63. He earned his Master of Arts degree from Oxford in 1581. He began a career as a lawyer, but soon left England and went on a series of sea voyages. While at sea he composed a prose work entitled "Rosalynde, Euphues Golden Legacie," which was published in 1590. Shakespeare used its plot as the basis for his comedy, "As You Like It." Also around 1590, he and Robert Greene worked together on a popular play called "A Looking Glass for London and England." Lodge is believed to have contributed to many works which were published anonymously, and some critics believe he may have written parts of several plays attributed to Shakespeare. His long poem, "Glaucus and Scylla," may have served as the model for Shakespeare's "Venus and Adonis."

In the mid-1590s, Lodge became a Roman Catholic and went to France to study medicine. His later writings are mostly serious academic works, including translations of Josephus and Seneca, and a treatise on the plague. Ironically, he died of the plague in London, sometime in September, 1625.

Answer: Thomas Dekker

Thomass Dekker (1572 - 1632) was one of the most prolific of all the Elizabethan authors. He usually wrote in collaboration with other writers. Little is known of his early life, but he must have come from humble origins; he never attended university, and seems to have been in desperate need of money his entire life.

Dekker first appears on the literary scene in 1594; between 1598 and 1602, he wrote, co-wrote or "repaired" over 40 plays for the Admiral's Men alone.

In 1599, he fell out with Ben Jonson, and the two men (along with others) began what was known as "The War of the Theatres," with each man attacking and satirizing the other in his plays. They were eventually reconciled.

Dekker also wrote many popular prose works, usually in pamphlet form. Among the most famous are "The Wonderful Year," which describes the death of Elizabeth I and the succession of James I, along with graphic descriptions of a plague that struck London in 1603, and "News From Hell," which is a sequel to Nashe's "Pierce Penniless."

In 1612, Dekker was arrested and imprisoned for failure to repay a debt of forty pounds. That was a large sum of money in those days, and he remained in jail for seven years. He continued to write during his imprisonment, however, and also after his release. Dekker died in London on August 25, 1632.

Answer: Thomas Middleton

Thomas Middleton (1580 - 1627), like his great rival, Ben Jonson, was the son of a bricklayer. He attended Oxford, but did not graduate. He began writing poetry while still at university, and enjoyed a long and very successful career in many genres. He often wrote in collaboration with others, including Thomas Dekker and the actor, William Rowley. Middleton was equally adept at comedy and tragedy. His 1613 comedy, "A Chaste Maid in Cheapside," was one of his most popular plays, as were his tragedies, "Women Beware Women," and "The Changeling."

Middleton also wrote many masques for the court of James I. A masque was an elaborate production combining theatre, music, dancing, fancy costumes and even "special effects." Only the king or the most wealthy nobles could afford to produce a masque. They were a limited, but very lucrative, market for writers. A playwright might expect to get five or six pounds for a play, but could be paid over 100 pounds for a masque. Curiously, Shakespeare never wrote a single masque.

It is thought that around 1616 Middleton made substantial revisions to Shakespeare's play, "MacBeth," for the King's Men, and in 1621 he made major changes to "Measure For Measure." There is evidence that Middleton made changes or additions to several other of Shakespeare's plays as well.

In 1624 Middleton wrote a play called "A Game At Chess," which was a smashing success. Unfortunately, it satirized many contemporary political figures, and was shut down after only nine performances. There is no record of Middleton writing any plays after this one, so he may have been prohibited from writing for the stage after this incident.

The quality and diverse nature of Middleton's work was so great that he is sometimes referred to as "the second Shakespeare."

Answer: John Webster

John Webster (1580? - 1634?) was another writer from a working class background. His father was a coach maker. He began writing for the stage around 1600, in collaboration with other playwrights, such as Dekker, Marston, Drayton, Middleton, and Munday. Much of his early work may not be identified, or may have been lost.

By the second decade of the 17th century, audiences' tastes were changing, and Shakespeare's plays were falling out of favor. Webster had his greatest success with two very dark, violent plays: "The White Devil" and "The Duchess of Malfi." Both plays remain popular today.

During the latter part of his life, Webster returned to writing comedy. There is not much known about Webster's private life; even the date of his death is unknown, although it is certain that he was dead by November 1634.