The University Wits were a group of late 16th-century English dramatists and poets who:
Were educated at Oxford or Cambridge
Played a key role in the development of early Elizabethan drama
Wrote primarily for the public theatre
They are noted for their classical learning, rhetorical style, and influence on later playwrights such as Shakespeare.
Canonical Members:-
Christopher Marlowe
– Cambridge-educated; introduced mighty blank verse (Doctor Faustus, Tamburlaine).
John Lyly
– Oxford-educated; known for Euphues and refined court comedies.
Robert Greene
– Cambridge-educated; prolific playwright and pamphleteer.
George Peele
– Oxford-educated; wrote early romantic and mythological plays.
Thomas Nashe
– Cambridge-educated; famous for satire and prose style.
Thomas Lodge
– Oxford/Cambridge associations; wrote Rosalynde (source for As You Like It).
Thomas Kyd
– University connections debated, but traditionally included; author of The Spanish Tragedy.
Year-wise PYQs
