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the world has ever seen. It might be mentioned, that as all the 
dramas were written to be acted before Queen Elizabeth, it is not 
to be wondered at that many compliments were put inte the mouths 
of the actors to please the dictatorial and somewhat vain queen. 
There were several dramatists before the advent of Shakespere, 
of more or less note; and in almost every instance these men 
possessed a classical education. George Peele, John Lyly, Robert 
Greewe, had studied at the Universities, and evidently had imbibed 
their love for dramatic composition from the Greek and Latin 
poets. 
Christopher Marlowe, a fiery and imaginative spirit, who 
appeared a little before the time of Shakespeare, wrote “The Jew 
of Malta,” “Edward the Second,” and other plays, but was doomed 
to pale in brightness before the greatest master of the age, William 
Shakespere. 
The writings of Marlowe had evidently prepared the way for 
Shakespere. They had adorned the stage with more variety of 
character and action, with deeper passion and with truer poetry 
than had been known before. Above all, they had familiarized 
the public ear to the use of blank verse. The last improvement 
was the greatest, for even Shakespere would have been fettered if 
he had been compelled to write in rhyme. 
The Elizabethan age was a glorious one for the drama. 
Shakespere, Ben Jonson, Christopher Marlowe, Beaumont and 
Fletcher, burst upon the world with their mighty lines. It was the 
age of chivalry, of honour, and romance, and as such was reflected 
in the -writings of the dramatist. The stage has ever been the 
reflex of the hour: so we have left to us in the comedies of Shake- 
spere and Jonson, the quaint conceits and peculiar humours which 
inhabited the brains and formed the manners of the courtiers of 
those days. We see that till the advent of Shakespeare there was 
scarcely any drama in England. It was he who took the ancient 
stories of the time, and with wit, fire, grace, and imagery, gave life 
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