A short note on University Wits

University Wits were a group of late 16th century English playwrights who were educated at the universities (Oxford or Cambridge). The name "University Wits" given by Saintsbury to a group of Elizabethan playwrights and pamphleteers. Prominent members of this group: Christopher Marlowe, Robert Greene, and Thomas Nashe from Cambridge, and John Lyly, Thomas Lodge, George Peele from Oxford. The literary elite of the time - they often ridiculed other playwrights such as Thomas Kyd and Shakespeare who did not have a university education. Some scholars think that Marlowe would have surpassed Shakespeare as an author if ha had not been killed in a tavern brawl. University Wits did make a significant contribution to Elizabethan literature in various genres. 

Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593)

Christopher Marlowe is perhaps the greatest among the University Wits. Even, he is the only dramatist who is compared with Shakespeare in that time though he lacks the warm humanity of Shakespearean plays. Marlowe represents the tragic tendency in literature. He has no interest in comedy. Again, as a dramatist, he has some serious limitations, specially, in plot constraction. His art of characterization is simple. His plays are one man show- they centre around one figure. Though he has some lackings, he is remarkable for being lyrical and romantic in his dramatic presentation of life. All his plays are poetic and artistic. The Jew of Malta and Dr. Faustus are two of his best works. These two plays clearly show Marlowe's love for conventional Machiavellian hero.

Thomas Kyd (1558-1594)

Thomas Kyd is one of the most important of the university wits. With him began the tradition of the revenge play. Many features of which are to be seen in Shakespeare’s play Hamlet and in the work of later Elizabethan dramatists like Webster and others. Almost all Shakespearean plays show a strong Senecan influence which was dominant in Elizabethan drama. The rise of English drama apparently shows the influence of classical dramatist Seneca. Of the surviving plays of Kyd The Spanish Tragedy is most important. Its horrific plot, murder, madness, death gave the play a great and lasting popularity. There is a sense of tragedy about the play. He seems to foreshadow the great tragical lines of Shakespeare.

Thomas Lodge (1558-1625)

Thomas Lodge is a lawyer by profession but he has given up his legal studied and has taken literary career. He has written only few dramas. 'Rosalynde' is the most famous of his romantic comedies. It is said that Shakespeare has taken the plot of his 'As You Like It' from Lodge's Rosalynde.

Thomas Nash (1567-1601)

Thomas Nash is a professional journalist. He took an active part in the political and personal question of the day. His writings were satirical. His ‘Unfortunate Traveller‘ or’ The Life of Jacke Wilton’ is a prose tale which is important in the development of English novel.

Robert Greene (1560-1592)

Robert Greene wrote much and recklessly. His plays made a considerable contribution to the development of English drama. His sense of wit, humour and imaginative vision revealed his dramatic Potentiality. His plays number four: Alehouses, King of Aragon, Friar Bacon & Friar Bangay. Greene is weak in creating character. His style is not one of outstanding merit but his humour is genial. His method is less strict than those of other tragedians.

George Peele (1556-1596)

George Peele became a literary hack and freelance. The famous chronicle of king ‘Edward the 1, The Old Wives Tale, The Love of King David and Fair Bethsabe etc. are his great plays. His plays have romantic, satirical and historical evidence. His style is violent to the point of absurdity. He has his moments of real poetry. He handled Blank-verse with more ease and variety that was common at that time. He was fluent and had a sense of humour and pathos. In short he represents a great advance upon the earliest drama and became Popular among the play wrights of his time for the poetical qualities of his verse.

John Lyly (1553-1606)

John lyly is another great dramatist who has a strong interest towards the romantic comedy. His comedies are marked by elaborate dialogue, jests and retorts. However, we can find his influence in Shakespearean comedies. Midas is one of the most important work of John Lyly which has shaken the development of the romantic comedy in English literature.

Further Reading:Click here 👈

Difference Between Author and Writer

Author vs Writer

We often use the words author and writer interchangeably. But indeed both these words are quite different. A writer is a person who writes a book, article, or any literary piece, while an author is essentially the person who originates the idea, plot, or content of the work being written. At times, the author and writer can be the same person. In case of an autobiography, a person writes about the own life. So the author is expressing his own thoughts and ideas. But in cases like biographies, the writer is not the author. The ideas of thoughts of another are being written.

Though the difference may not seem to be much, depending on the situation, the difference can be more. If you are writing a novel or short story based on a plot developed by self, you get to be known as the author of the novel. And if you are penning down someone else’s ideas or stories, you will be known as the writer of the work. Being a writer is at times easier than being an author. The reason being that an author has to create, develop, and communicate an idea, while a writer has to only communicate somebody else’s idea. An author may be excused if the writing skills are not that competent. But an author must have exceptional writing skills to be dominant in the field. Writing skills include the command over the language and the expressiveness with the play of words. These skills can be obtained through constant writing and may be an inborn talent in some. Only a skilled writer is capable of portraying ideas, events, and pictures through the mere use of words.

When it comes to writing books, a person becomes an author only when the book is published. If your work is unpublished, and even if the idea is purely your own, you will still be considered as the person who wrote the work. And when your work is published you get to be known as the author of the work. So if you write a lot, but never get them published and out to the public, you remain a writer.

An author can get the work copyrighted under the copyright laws. This ensures that nobody else steals or uses the original idea as it is. So only the author is always associated with that particular idea or work. To be an author one must have the capability to think and express the thoughts. And a write must have the capability to understand and convey an idea correctly to the readers.

Summary

1. To be an author, the idea of your writing must be your own and you must get your work published.
2. An author must have a specific skill set but writer’s skill is suited to the job required.
3. You become an author when your books are published, but if your writings never publish, you remain a writer.
4. An author can get work copyrighted.

Read Online 'The Discovery of India' by Jawaharlal Nehru