The document provides an overview of Elizabethan literature from 1550-1620. It summarizes the major poets of the era such as Edmund Spenser, Philip Sidney, and Michael Drayton. It also discusses the University Wits including Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare. The Age of Shakespeare is examined along with his major plays. Contemporary playwrights like Ben Johnson are also mentioned. Finally, the document notes the important prose writer Francis Bacon and his works.

1. Prepared by Yesha Bhatt
The Elizabethan Age
1550 - 1620

2. Index
 Poets
 Minor Poets
 University Wits
 Age of Shakespeare
 Contemporary of Shakespeare
 The Prose Writers

3. Poets
1. Edmund Spenser (1552 – 1599)
- For Faery Queen Spenser has invented a new
verse form, which has been called a Spenserian
stanza.
 Works:
- Faery Queen
- Shepherd’s Calendar (1579)
- Mother Hubbard’s Tale – a satire on society.
- Astrophel – an elegy on the death of Sidney
- Amoretti

4. Minor Poets
1. Thomas Sackvillle (1536 – 1608)
- The Mirror for Magistrates – in imitation of
Dante’s work “Inferno”
- Induction
- Complaint of the Duke of Buckingham
2. Philip Sidney (1554 – 1586)
- The Apologie for Poetrie (1595)
- Astrophel and Stella

5. 3. George Chapman (1559 – 1634)
- Translation of Iliad and Odyssey of Homer
- Homer
- Finisher of Marlow’s ‘Hero and Leander’
4. Michael Drayton (1563 – 1631)
- Polyolbion
- Barons’ Wars
- Heroic Epistle of England
- Ballad of Agincourt
Index

6. University Wits
1. John Lyly (1554 – 1606)
2. George Peele ( 1558 – 1597)
3. Robert Greene ( 1558 – 1592)
4. Thomas Nashe (1567 – 1601)
5. Thomas Lodge ( 1558 – 1625)
6. Thomas Kyd (1558 – 1584)
7. Christopher Marlow (1564 – 1593)
Index

7. Age of Shakespeare
William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616)
- Romeo and Juliet
- Othello
- Hamlet
- Julius Caesar
- Merchant of Venice
- Macbeth
- King Lear
- Antony and Cleopatra
- Twelfth Night
- As You Like It
Index

8. Contemporary of Shakespeare
1. Ben Johnson (1573 – 1637)
- Volpone, or the Fox
- The Alchemist
- Epicoene, or the Silent Woman
- Every Man in his Humour
2. Beaumont and Fletcher
3. John Webster
4. Thomas Middletom
5. Thomas Heywood
6. Thomas Dekker
7. Philip Massinger
8. John Ford
9. James Shirley
Index

9. The Prose Writers
 Francis Bacon (1561 – 1626)
- The Advancement of Learning
- Novum Organum
- Essays
- The Great Institution of True Philisophy

10. Reference
 Works Cited
 Long, W. J. "English Literature." Long, W. J.
English Literature. n.d.