University Wits Plays Practice Questions
19 free University Wits Plays practice questions for the English Literature. Tap an option to answer — you get instant feedback, the correct answer, and a detailed explanation for every question.
Which group of late sixteenth-century dramatists is known as the University Wits?
- A Romantic poets who were educated privately in small village schools
- B Educated Elizabethan playwrights associated with Oxford and Cambridge
- C Victorian novelists who wrote chiefly about industry, trade, and commerce
- D Restoration actors who performed only within the royal court theatres
Correct answer: Educated Elizabethan playwrights associated with Oxford and Cambridge
The University Wits were a group of educated Elizabethan dramatists, many of whom studied at Oxford or Cambridge. They helped prepare English drama for Shakespeare through their experiments with tragedy, comedy, blank verse, and classical themes.
Which of the following writers is usually counted among the University Wits?
- A William Congreve, the Restoration writer of witty comedies of manners
- B Christopher Marlowe, author of Tamburlaine and Doctor Faustus
- C Samuel Richardson, the eighteenth-century novelist of moral sentiment
- D Alfred Tennyson, the celebrated Victorian poet laureate
Correct answer: Christopher Marlowe, author of Tamburlaine and Doctor Faustus
Christopher Marlowe is one of the most important University Wits. His plays, especially Tamburlaine and Doctor Faustus, transformed Elizabethan tragedy with powerful blank verse and overreaching heroes.
Which University Wit wrote Tamburlaine the Great?
- A Thomas Kyd, author of the revenge tragedy The Spanish Tragedy
- B Christopher Marlowe, a Cambridge-educated playwright and poet
- C John Lyly, the euphuistic prose stylist and court dramatist
- D Robert Greene, the pamphleteer, romance writer, and dramatist
Correct answer: Christopher Marlowe, a Cambridge-educated playwright and poet
Tamburlaine the Great was written by Christopher Marlowe. It is famous for its ambitious conqueror-hero and its powerful use of blank verse.
Tamburlaine the Great is generally associated with which phase of Marlowe's career?
- A Late Jacobean tragedy written in the years after 1620
- B Early Elizabethan dramatic success won in the late 1580s
- C Restoration comedy performed on the London stage after 1660
- D Victorian poetic drama composed in the decades after 1850
Correct answer: Early Elizabethan dramatic success won in the late 1580s
Tamburlaine the Great is usually dated to the late 1580s and marks Marlowe's early dramatic fame. Its success helped establish blank verse as a dominant medium for serious English drama.
Which of the following plays is generally placed before Shakespeare's Hamlet in the development of revenge tragedy?
- A The Spanish Tragedy
- B The Way of the World
- C Cato
- D The School for Scandal
Correct answer: The Spanish Tragedy
The Spanish Tragedy predates Hamlet and helped establish the English revenge tragedy tradition. Its dramatic devices became important models for later plays dealing with revenge and moral delay.
Which University Wit is associated with the court comedy Endymion?
- A John Lyly
- B George Peele
- C Thomas Kyd
- D Christopher Marlowe
Correct answer: John Lyly
Endymion was written by John Lyly. Lyly's plays are known for courtly wit, allegory, elegant prose, and refined dramatic style.
Which University Wit wrote Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay?
- A Robert Greene
- B Christopher Marlowe
- C Thomas Kyd
- D George Peele
Correct answer: Robert Greene
Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay was written by Robert Greene. It combines magic, romance, comedy, and national elements typical of Elizabethan dramatic experimentation.
Which University Wit wrote The Arraignment of Paris?
- A George Peele
- B Robert Greene
- C John Lyly
- D Thomas Lodge
Correct answer: George Peele
The Arraignment of Paris was written by George Peele. It reflects the University Wits' interest in classical mythology, courtly entertainment, and poetic spectacle.
Which Marlowe play dramatizes the career of a scholar who sells his soul for knowledge and power?
- A Doctor Faustus
- B The Spanish Tragedy
- C Endymion
- D The Old Wives' Tale
Correct answer: Doctor Faustus
Doctor Faustus is Marlowe's tragedy of intellectual ambition and spiritual damnation. Its central figure seeks unlimited knowledge and power through a pact with Lucifer.
Which Marlowe play follows the merchant Barabas as he seeks revenge against the authorities who seized his wealth?
- A The Jew of Malta
- B Edward II
- C Tamburlaine
- D Dido, Queen of Carthage
Correct answer: The Jew of Malta
The Jew of Malta is Marlowe's play centred on Barabas. It explores revenge, greed, religious hypocrisy, and political manipulation in a darkly satirical mode.
Which Marlowe play is a historical tragedy about an English king?
- A Doctor Faustus
- B The Massacre at Paris
- C Tamburlaine
- D Edward II
Correct answer: Edward II
Edward II is Marlowe's historical tragedy about the fall of the English king. It is important for its political subject, psychological characterization, and influence on later history plays.
Which of the following sequences is broadly correct in the development of Elizabethan drama?
- A Shakespeare's mature dramatic career came before the University Wits wrote
- B Restoration comedy was established before Elizabethan tragedy had begun
- C Victorian domestic drama flourished before Marlowe wrote his plays
- D The University Wits worked before Shakespeare's mature dramatic career
Correct answer: The University Wits worked before Shakespeare's mature dramatic career
The University Wits wrote before and during the early part of Shakespeare's career. Their innovations in blank verse, plot construction, and dramatic ambition helped prepare the stage for Shakespeare's achievements.
Which play by George Peele dramatizes an Old Testament king who covets and marries the wife of one of his soldiers?
- A Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay
- B The Duchess of Malfi
- C The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus
- D The Love of King David and Fair Bethsabe
Correct answer: The Love of King David and Fair Bethsabe
The Love of King David and Fair Bethsabe is associated with George Peele. It shows the University Wits' use of biblical and historical material for dramatic purposes.
Which University Wit is associated with the prose romance Euphues and also with courtly drama?
- A Thomas Kyd
- B Christopher Marlowe
- C Thomas Nashe
- D John Lyly
Correct answer: John Lyly
John Lyly wrote Euphues and several court comedies. His ornate style and witty dialogue influenced Elizabethan prose and dramatic comedy.
Which of the following works is generally linked with Thomas Nashe rather than Marlowe or Kyd?
- A Tamburlaine the Great
- B The Spanish Tragedy
- C The Love of King David and Fair Bethsabe
- D Summer's Last Will and Testament
Correct answer: Summer's Last Will and Testament
Summer's Last Will and Testament is associated with Thomas Nashe. Nashe is better known for prose and pamphlet writing, but this work connects him with late Elizabethan dramatic entertainment.
Which University Wit is commonly linked with The Wounds of Civil War?
- A Robert Greene
- B John Lyly
- C Thomas Lodge
- D George Peele
Correct answer: Thomas Lodge
The Wounds of Civil War, on the struggle between Marius and Sulla, is Thomas Lodge's — one of the earliest English plays on a Roman historical subject, though he is better remembered for the romance Rosalynde that gave Shakespeare As You Like It. Greene, Lyly and Peele are fellow University Wits with plays of their own: Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay, Campaspe and The Arraignment of Paris.
Which chronological statement about Marlowe's works is most accurate?
- A Edward II was supposedly staged well before Elizabethan drama had begun
- B Doctor Faustus was allegedly first performed during the Victorian period
- C Tamburlaine was an early triumph; Edward II is later, more mature work
- D The Jew of Malta apparently premiered as a Restoration comedy after 1660
Correct answer: Tamburlaine was an early triumph; Edward II is later, more mature work
Tamburlaine is generally seen as Marlowe's early dramatic breakthrough, while Edward II is usually placed later in his career. This development shows Marlowe moving from heroic overreaching toward more political and psychological tragedy.
Which feature did the University Wits strongly contribute to Elizabethan drama?
- A The invention and widespread popularization of the Victorian realist novel
- B The creation and rapid spread of modernist free verse poetry
- C Their powerful use of blank verse and learned dramatic construction
- D The rise and popularity of sentimental comedy on the eighteenth-century stage
Correct answer: Their powerful use of blank verse and learned dramatic construction
The University Wits gave English drama greater literary force through blank verse, classical learning, and ambitious plots. Their work was essential in transforming popular drama into a major literary form.
Which statement best summarizes the importance of University Wits plays and chronology?
- A Their plays belong chiefly to the Romantic period after Wordsworth wrote
- B Their chronology only begins after Restoration comedy had already ended
- C They bridge early Tudor drama and Shakespeare's mature Elizabethan stage
- D Their work has no real link to the growth of English drama
Correct answer: They bridge early Tudor drama and Shakespeare's mature Elizabethan stage
The University Wits occupy a crucial position in the development of English drama before Shakespeare's full maturity. Their plays show the transition from earlier dramatic forms to a more sophisticated Elizabethan theatre.