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Shakespeare was not the only celebrated writer of his time, with many poets and playwrights thriving under Queen Elizabeth I’s patronage. Theaters competed for audiences, resulting in extensive patronage for talented writers. Shakespeare’s contemporaries included the University Wits, Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, Thomas Kyd, and Philip Massinger. Other popular poets were George Chapman, William Davenant, and Sir Walter Raleigh. Unfortunately, the works of Shakespeare’s contemporaries have not been as well-preserved as his own.
Shakespeare tends to attract all the glory today, but he lived in an age during which the arts flourished and grew dramatically under the patronage of Queen Elizabeth I. Far from being the star of his time, Shakespeare was simply one among many poets and playwrights, and indeed several authors were more esteemed than he. Shakespeare’s contemporaries created a rich body of work, some of which has survived to this day to illustrate the diversity of people who wrote in the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras.
When Shakespeare was writing, a number of theaters vied for audience attention. Resident playwrights have produced a staggering volume of new work to keep people coming back, with theaters constantly trying to complement each other with lavish productions and thrilling storylines. As a result, there was extensive patronage for talented writers, as theaters often required several new plays each month.
Some of Shakespeare’s contemporaries from his early years include the so-called University Wits, a group of highly educated men who took their education to the stage, adding complexity to the theater and creating a stark change from the relatively simple productions and storytelling that had existed in precedence. Christopher Marlowe, a much celebrated playwright at the time, is an example of University Wits, along with George Peele and Thomas Nashe.
Shakespeare’s main rival was Ben Jonson, a highly regarded playwright at the time. During Shakespeare’s lifetime, the two men often fought bitterly, disparaging each other’s work in a well-known artistic rivalry. After Shakespeare’s death, Jonson became one of the champions of Shakespeare’s plays, arguing that they were worthy of preservation. Thomas Kyd, another great rival, wrote grisly tragedies that drew large crowds, thanks to the widespread violence and bloodshed involved. One of Shakespeare’s most popular contemporaries was Philip Massinger, a playwright who excelled in satire and political commentary.
Shakespeare also did not stand on his own as a poet, although many of his sonnets were quite popular. George Chapman, William Davenant, and Sir Walter Raleigh were very popular poets at the time, and these contemporaries of Shakespeare certainly didn’t let him rest on his laurels in the realm of poetry.
Alas, the work of Shakespeare’s contemporaries has not been preserved as fully as the works of Shakespeare. Many plays produced during this period used working scripts which were later discarded, rather than preserved, and indeed some of Shakespeare’s plays performed today are actually reconstructions of working scripts which were assembled by his contemporaries, rather than being directly from the hand of he. Poetry has also been indifferently preserved, with many poets writing to specific individuals who have chosen not to save or distribute the poems sent to them.
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