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Poet-Playwrights Inns of Court Gray's Inn Bacon, Anthony (1558-1601): poet, intelligencer; Trinity College, Cambridge (1573-5); Gray's Inn (1575); intelligencer in France (1579-92); member of Sidney-Essex circle; 'secretary of state' for Essex and head of an intelligence network with his own secretariat (1595-1600); possibly the Shakespeare 'twin'. Bacon, Francis (1561-1626): poet, dramatist, philosopher, writer, barrister, Trinity College, Cambridge (1573-1575); mission to the French Court (1576-79); Gray's Inn (1580); mission to Italy and Spain (1581-2); called to the Bar (1585); Queen Elizabeth's Counsel Extraordinary (appointed 1588); Member of the Queen's Counsel Learned in the Law (1595-1603); Learned Counsel (Aug. 1604-7); Solicitor-General (25 June 1607-1613); Clerk to the Star Chamber (1608); President of the Court of the Verge (1611); Chief Advisor to the Crown (-1613); Attorney General (27 Oct. 1613-1617); Privy Councillor (9 June 1616-21); Lord Keeper of the Great Seal (7 March 1617-21); 'Regent of England' (14 March 1617 - Sept. 1617); Lord Chancellor (4 Jan. 1618-21); Honorary Titles: knighted (23 July 1623); Baron Verulam (12 July 1618); Viscount St. Alban (21 Jan. 1621). Member of Sidney-Essex circle; chief of a group of poets and writers; President of the Society of the Rosy Cross; Original Grand Master of Freemasonry; the author Shakespeare. Campion, Thomas (1567-1620): poet, musician; Peterhouse, Cambridge; Gray's Inn (1586); by 1607 he was a 'doctor in physic' with a medical degree; collaborated with Philip Rosseter; wrote 100 songs; wrote four masques; associated with Somerset. Davison, Francis (?1575-?1619): poet, lawyer; Gray's Inn, (1593); contributed to Gray's Inn masque in 1595; friend of Essex. Fraunce, Abraham (c.1558-c.1633): lawyer and writer; St John's, Cambridge, Fellow (1581); Gray's Inn (1583); treatises on logic and experimental verses, translator (1583-1592). Hughes, Thomas (c.1557-?1623): barrister, writer; Queen's, Cambridge (1571-6, Fellow 1576); Gray's Inn (1579); called to the Bar (1585); wrote major part of entertainment for the Court at Greenwich performed by Gray's Inn, The Misfortunes of Arthur, a tragedy (two speeches contributed by William Fulbech; among the devisers of dumb shows was Francis Bacon); Reader of Gray's Inn (1623). Inner Temple Beaumont, Francis (1584-1616): dramatist; Broadgates Hall, Oxford (1587), Inner Temple (1600); wrote comedies for Paul's Boys; collaborated with Fletcher, writing plays for the Revels and Lady Elizabeth's Companies; wrote the Inner Temple and Gray's Inn masque for Princess Elizabeth's wedding (20 Feb 1613). Browne, William (?1591-?1643): poet; Exeter College, Oxford; Inner Temple (1613); produced the Inner Temple masque Ulysses and Circe in 1615; patronised by the Pembrokes; wrote a succinct epitaph on Mary Herbert, dowager Countess of Pembroke; returned to Oxford in 1624, taking his Master's degree; spent last years in the Herbert household at Wilton; friends with George Wither. Sackville, Thomas, 1st Earl of Dorset (1539-1608): poet; ?Hart Hall, Oxford; St John's, Cambridge; Inner Temple (1554); main literary work in 1560's; rebuilt Knowle in Kent; diplomat in the Low Countries; Knight of the Garter (1589); succeeded Burghley as Lord Treasurer (1598). Middle Temple Ford,
John (1586-?1640): Exeter, Oxford (matr.1601);
Middle Temple (1602-1606/1608); playwright (1613-), collaborated with
Dekker. Davies, Sir John (1569-1626): poet, lawyer; Queen's College, Oxford; Middle Temple (1588); wrote sonnets; contributed to entertainments for the Queen; Solicitor-General for Ireland (1603-6); Attorney-General for Ireland (1606-19); Speaker of the Irish Parliament (1613). Wotton, Henry (1568-1639): poet, (playwright); New College, Oxford (matr. 1584), Queen's College, Oxford (BA 1588); wrote tragedy that was performed at Queen's; after Oxford spent seven years travelling Austria, Bavaria, Switzerland and Italy; entered Middle Temple (c.1595); friend of Essex, and for a time an agent of his; on Essex's fall, Wotton returned to Italy and served the Grand-Duke Ferdinand of Tuscany, who sent him on a secret mission to James VI of Scotland; on James' accession to the English throne, Wotton returned home and was knights; ambassador to the Venetian Republic (1604), and later to the German Princes and Empire; Provost of Eton (1624). Lincoln's Inn Brooke,
Christopher (?-1628): poet; ?Trinity, Cambridge;
Lincoln's Inn (1590's), Bencher 1614; friend of John Davies of Hereford,
Drayton, Jonson and John Donne, with whom he shared lodgings; particularly
associated with Wither and William Browne. Lodge, Thomas (1558-1625): dramatist, novelist, translator, explorer, physician; Merchant Taylor's School; Trinity, Oxford (1573-7); Lincoln's Inn (1578); collaborated with Greene; voyaged to Canaries (1588) and South America (1591); exiled as Roman Catholic convert; medical degree in Avignon and, from 1602, practised as a doctor; retruned to England in 1610. Other University Dramatists Oxford Barnes, Barnabe (c.1569-1609): poet, playwright; Brasenose, Oxford (1586); friend of Gabriel Harvey; accompanied Essex to Dieppe in 1591; disliked by Campion and Nashe. Breton, Nicholas (?1545-?1626): poet, essayist; ?Oriel, Oxford; living in Holborne (1577-); one of the writers patronised by Countess of Pembroke. Constable, Henry (1562-1613): poet; St John's, Cambridge (1578-80); friend of Philip Sydney; protégé of Sir Francis Walsingham whom he met in Perth in 1583; travelled in Europe on Walsingham's business (1585-9); spent some time at Court and became friend of Penelope Rich; involved in intrigues with James VI of Scotland on behalf of Essex; joined Essex's expedition to Rouen, became Roman Catholic; settled in Paris and paid small pension by Henri IV; kept up a correspondence with Essex and Anthony Bacon propounding various schemes to ensure the succession of James VI to the throne of England. Daniel, Samuel (1562-1619): poet and dramatist; Magdalen Hall, Oxford (1579); by 1597 agent of Walsingham; tutor to William, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, then to Anne Clifford. Digges, Leonard (1588-1635): writer, translator; University College, Oxford (graduated 1606); returned to Oxford (1621); wrote two sets of laudatory verses for the 1623 Shakespeare First Folio - the shorter set was printed. Donne, John (1573-1631): poet; relation of Sir Thomas More; Hart Hall, Oxford (1581-4), Trinity, Cambridge (c.1584-1590); Lincoln's Inn (1592); accompanied Essex to Cadiz (1596) and the Azores (1597); secretary to Sir Thomas Egerton (1598); introduced into Herbert circle (1607); ordained (1615); Dean of St Paul's (1621). Dyer, Edward (1543-1607): poet, courtier; Balliol (or Broadgates), Oxford; courtier in Leicester's service; Steward of Royal Manor of Woodstock (1570-); friend of Sir Philip Sydney; member of the Areopagus; Chancellor of the Order of the Garter (1596); helped Essex; intelligencer in Scotland for Essex. Freeman, Thomas (fl. 1607-14): poet; Magdalene College, Oxford (1610-11); went to London where he became a poet; epigram to Shakespeare in his second book of epigrams, Run and a Great Cast (1614). Gager, William (1560-1621) poet, scholar and dramatist; Westminster School; Christ Church, Oxford (1574-7); doctorate in civil law (1589); playwright (1582-92). Gosson, Stephen (1554-1624): dramatist, poet, pamphleteer and cleric; Corpus Christi, Oxford; wrote poetry and plays (1572-6); School of Abuse attacking the theatre and poetry (1579); life-long friend of Edward Alleyn. Gwinne, Matthew (c.1558-1627): doctor and writer; St John's, Oxford (1574-8); overseer of plays at Oxford University (1592). Lyly, John (?1554-1606): novelist, dramatist; Magdalene, Oxford (1571-3); by 1580 serving the Earl of Oxford, later managing a company of boy actors under Oxford's name; 1583-4 leased the Blackfriars Theatre; wrote retorts to the Martin Marprelate pamphlets of 1589, 1593, 1598, 1601, with Nashe; 'university wit' with Greene, Marlowe, Peele, Watson. Massinger, Phillip (1583-1640): dramatist; confidential servant to Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke; St Alban Hall, Oxford (-1606); wrote plays after ?1616; contributed to Shakespeare's Henry VIII and The Two Noble Kinsmen; collaborated with Dekker, Fetcher and Nathan Field. Middleton, Thomas (1580-1627): writer, dramatist; Queen's, Oxford (matr. 1598); plays for Admiral's Men (?1599/1602-), later for Paul's Boys amd other companies; collaborated with Dekker, Drayton, Munday and Webster, William Rowley (highly successful Middleton-Rowley partnership began 1617, writing mainly for Prince Charles's Men); wrote pageants for the City companies. Peele, George (c.1557-96): dramatist, poet; Broadgates Hall, Oxford (1571), Christchurch, Oxford (1574 - BA 1577, MA 1579), remained in Oxford until 1581 when he came to London and was married; returned to Oxford 1583, producing plays with William Gager at Christ Church; Nashe reckoned him 'primus verborum artifex' (champion word-master) as a dramatist; wrote plays for the Children of the Royal Chapel and the Admiral's men; produced pageants for the Lord mayor of London; 'university wit' with Greene, Lyly, Marlowe, Watson. Percy, William (1575-1648):
third son of the 8th Earl of Northumberland; poet, dramatist; Gloucester
Hall, Oxford (1589); friend of the poet Barnabe Barnes; written five
comedies and The Fairy Pastoral for Paul's Boys or adult actors
by the end of Elizabeth's reign. Raleigh, Walter (?1552-1618): poet, seaman, explorer, courtier, historian; Oriel College, Oxford. Rogers, Daniel (1536-91): poet, courtier, diplomat; Oxford (grad. 1561); member of the Areopagus. Sidney, Philip (1554-86): poet, soldier, diplomat, courtier, philosopher; Christ Church, Oxford (1568); life-long friend of Fulke Greville; member/leader of the Areopagus (+ Dyer, Gabriel Harvey, Rogers, Immerito); fell in love with Penelope Devereux, daughter of 1st Earl of Essex, but he died before the match could be arranged; exiled himself from Court and lived mainly at Wilton (1580-1), where he wrote his two main literary works, the sonnet sequence Astrophel and Stella, celebrating his love for Penelope Rich, and Arcadia, a prose romance for his sister; knighted and reconciled to the Queen (1582); married Frances, Walsingham's daughter (1583). Warner, William (c.1558-1609): poet, translator; ?Magdalene Hall, Oxford; Meres in 1598 associated Warner with Spenser as the two leading English heroic poets; published a translation of Plautus' Menaechmi (1595), which has been thought an influence on Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors - if so, Shakespeare must have read the manuscript. Watson, Thomas (?1557-92): poet, translator, playwright; Oxford; became a lawyer but never practised; 'university wit' with Greene, Lyly, Marlowe and Peele; patronised by Sir Francis and Thomas Walsingham. Willoughby, Henry (c.1575-?1599): ?poet; St John's College, Oxford (1591), took degree at Exeter College, Oxford (1595); thought to be the author of Willobie His Avisa (1594), which has a reference to Shakespeare as the author of Lucrece among the commendatory verses and the prefatory epistle describes how 'H.W.', presumably Willoughby, talks to his 'familiar friend W.S.' about his passion, and the 'new actor' H.W. is compared with the 'old player' W.S. (Many writers have identified W.S. as Shakespeare, some have decided that H.W. is 'Mr. W.H.' of Shakespeare's Sonnets.) Wither, George (1588-1667): poet, satirist; Magdalene, Oxford (1604); Lincoln's Inn; friend of William Browne; patronised by Earl of Southampton and 3rd earl of Pembroke. Wotton, Henry (1568-1639): poet, diplomat; New College, Oxford (1584), Queen's, Oxford (BA 1588); travelled seven years; Middle Temple (c.1595); friend and agent of Essex. Cambridge Day, John (1574-1640): dramatist; Gonville and Caius, Cambridge (1592). Fletcher, John (1579-1625): dramatist; Corpus Christi, Cambridge; collaborated with Beaumont (c.1606-), Massinger, Middleton, Rowley and Jonson. Greene, Robert (1558-92) dramatist, novelist, pamphleteer; St John's, Cambridge (1575-8); dissolute life in Italy and Spain (1578-83); Clare Hall, Cambridge - Master of Arts (1583); 1586- dissolute life in London; knew Marlowe, Nashe, Harvey, Chettle; 'university wit' with Lyly, Marlowe, Peele, Watson. Greville, Fulke (1554-1628) later Baron Brooke, son of his namesake; writer, courtier and public servant; life-long friend of Sir Phillip Sydney; Jesus College, Cambridge (matr.1568); member of the Areopagus; publ. Sydney's Arcadia (1590); Chancellor of the Exchequer (1614); restored Warwick Castle. Hall, Joseph (1574-1656): poet, satirist, bishop; Emmanuel College, Cambridge (matr. 1589); satirical poems, Satires Virgidemiarum ('Three Biting Satires' - 1597); Bishop of Exeter (1627). Heywood, Thomas (?1574-1641): actor-dramatist; Cambridge University; Admiral's Men (1598-9), Worcester's, later Queen Anne's Men (1602-19); wrote prologues for Marlowe's Jew of Malta; boasted to have had 'an entire hand, or at least a finger' in 220 plays. Holland, Hugh (?1574-1633): poet; Westminster School; Scholar of Trinity, Cambridge (1590-4); travelled abroad; lived in Oxford on his return; friend of Ben Jonson and members of the Mermaid Club; wrote poems in English, Greek, Italian and Welsh; tributory sonnet for Shakespeare Folio. Legge, Thomas (1535-1607): dramatist and academic; Corpus Christi, Cambridge (1552), BA and Fellow of Trinity, Fellow of Jesus (1568), Master of Caius (1573), Vice-Chancellor in 1593; 'among the best for tragedy' (Meres). Marlowe, Christopher (1564-93): poet, dramatist, translator; King's School, Canterbury; Corpus Christi, Cambridge (matr. Dec. 1580), being elected to a Matthew parker Scholarship; spy in Walsingham's intelligence service; dramatist from 1587 until his death, his plays being performed by the lord Admiral's company; 'university wit' with Greene, Lyly, Peele, Watson. Nashe, Thomas (1567-1601): dramatist, satirist; St John's, Cambridge (1582-8); pamphlet was between Nashe and Harvey; contributed to Marlowe's Dido, Queen of Carthage (?1593); part-author with Jonson of Isle of Dogs. Ruggle, George (1575-1622): scholar, dramatist; St John's. Cambridge, Trinity, Cambridge (BA 1593), Fellow of Clare Hall (1598), remained at Cambridge until 1620). Spenser, Edmund (?1552-1599): poet; Pembroke Hall, Cambridge (1569-73); met Gabriel Harvey at Cambridge who found him a post in Leicester's household, where he made the acquaintance of Leicester's nephew Philip Sydney and his literary circle, the Areopagus; went to Ireland (1580-) as secretary to the Lord deputy, Grey of Wilton; given possession of Kilcolman Castle, Co Cork (1590); patronised by Essex (1596-), stayed in Essex House to write View of the Present State of Ireland; Essex paid for his funeral in Westminster Abbey; monument erected 1619 by Anne Clifford (with the poet's birth and death dates wrong). Tomkis, Thomas (c.1580-1634): scholar, dramatist; Trinity, Cambridge (1597-1600). Weever, John (1576-1632): poet, antiquary; Queen's College, Cambridge (1594-8); published his book of epigrams, Epigrams in the Oldest Cut and Newest Fashion (c.1599), one epigram being addressed to Shakespeare, in which he knew Shakespeare as a dramatist as well as a poet, and called him 'honey-tongued'. Edinburgh Drummond, William, of Hawthornden (1585-1649): poet, son of John Drummond, gentleman usher to James VI in Scotland; came to Court with his father in 1603; Edinburgh University (MA 1605); studied law in Paris and Bourges; returned to Hawthornden (1610); friend of drayton and Jonson. Tradesmen-Playwrights Chapman, George (?1559-1634): prob. self-educated; collaborated with Marlowe, Jonson Marston Chettle, Henry (c.1560-c.1607): dramatist and printer. Daborne, Robert (?-1628). Davies, John (of Hereford) (?1565-1618): poet and writing-master. Dekker, Thomas (c.1572-1632): collaborated with Jonson and Middleton. Drayton, Michael (1563-1631): poet and dramatist. Poet Laureate; collaborated with Wilson, Munday Hathway, Richard (1598-1603): dramatist - part-author of plays for Admiral's Men (1592-1602) and Worcester's men (1602-3); collaborated with Munday. Haughton, William (c.1575-1605): dramatist - Admiral's men (1597-1602) in collaboration with Chettle, Day and Dekker. Jonson, Ben (1572-1637): actor, poet, dramatist, writer of masques; Westminster School under William Camden; by July 1597 one of Pembroke's Men and part-author with Nashe of the Isle of Dogs; wrote for Admiral's Men intermittently until 1602, but major work done for other companies; first of his great comedies, Every Man in his Humour, performed by the Lord Chamberlain's Men in 1598 with Shakespeare's name in the cast list; his attack on writers of a different kind led to the so-called 'War of the Theatres' (1600-2); attacked adult actors in general and satirised Marston and Dekker with his Poetaster, provoking Dekker to write Satiromastix in reply; Sejanus (1603) acted with the King's men with Shakespeare in the cast; Eastward Ho! (1605) written in collaboration with Chapman and Marston; published his poems, plays and masques (except those for the Admiral's men) in a collected Folio edition, and unofficially recognised as Poet Laureate (1616). Kyd, Thomas (1558-94):
dramatist; Merchant Taylor's School; Spanish Tragedy written 1589, performed
1592; friend of Marlowe. Munday, Anthony (1560-1633): actor, dramatist; plays for the Admiral's men (1594-1602); among the 'best for comedy' (Meres); devised Lord mayor's pageants (1605-); collaborated with Drayton, Hathway, Wilson. Rowley, Samuel (c.1575-?1624): dramatist; with Admiral's Men (1597-1624); collaborate with William Bird, another actor in the company, to write the additions to the 1602 production of Marlowe's Faustus; collaborated with Day and Dekker. Rowley, William (?1585-1616): comic actor, dramatist, writer, poet; Prince Charles's Men (1609-23), King's Company (1623-); collaborated with Thomas Middleton. Tourneur, Cyril (c.1575-1616): poet, dramatist; main playwriting (1607-13); collaborated with others, especially Fletcher. Webster, John (1571/7-1634/8): dramatist, poss. actor; wrote plays for Henslowe (1602-); collaborated with Dekker. Wilkins, George (fl. 1604-8): dramatist, novelist, pamphleteer; nothing known of early life and career; wrote plays for King's and Queen Anne's men; collaborated with Dekker and Heywood, Day and Rowley; may have written first two acts of Shakespeare's Pericles, and may have contributed to Timon of Athens. Wilson, Arthur (1595-1652): historian, dramatist; clerk in the Exchequer; Trinity, Cambridge (after 1631). Wilson, Robert (?-1600): actor, dramatist; member of Leicester's men (1572, 1574, 1581), acting and writing plays; Queen's Men (1583-); collaborated with Chettle, Dekker, Drayton and Munday. © Peter Dawkins, 2004 The Francis Bacon Research Trust |