Robert Greene
Who was Robert Greene?
English author (1558-1592)
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Robert Greene (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Robert Greene (1558–1592) was an English author and playwright who became one of the most prolific and widely read writers of the Elizabethan era. Born in Norwich, England, he studied at Norwich School before attending Corpus Christi College at the University of Cambridge, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1580 and a Master of Arts in 1583. He later received another M.A. from Oxford, which he often mentioned on his book titles. After his studies, Greene moved to London and got involved in the city's literary and theatrical scene.
In London, Greene worked as a professional writer when such a career was just starting to be taken seriously. He is often considered the first professional author in England, trying to make a living solely from selling his writing rather than relying on patrons or other jobs. He wrote in many genres, including prose romances, plays, pamphlets, and autobiographies. His work was highly popular with the growing number of literate people in Elizabethan England.
Among his plays, Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay is his most famous. It mixes comedy, romance, and magic, drawing on the legendary figure of Roger Bacon. His prose romance Mamillia: A Mirror or Looking-glass for the Ladies of England was one of his earliest works, and The Historie of Orlando Furioso, adapted from Ariosto's Italian epic, shows his interest in European literary traditions. These works show how he connected with his audience's tastes while also incorporating humanist ideas.
In his later years, Greene faced personal and financial troubles. Despite his productivity, he struggled with poverty and reportedly led a chaotic life. He died in London in 1592 under unclear circumstances, with reports suggesting he died poor after an illness. Soon after his death, a pamphlet attributed to him, Greene's Groats-Worth of Witte, bought with a million of Repentance, was published. This document gained lasting attention because it is believed to criticize a young William Shakespeare, referring to an 'upstart crow' who used the work of more educated writers. Whether Greene actually wrote all of this pamphlet is still debated by scholars.
Before Fame
Robert Greene was born in Norwich in 1558, a city that was one of the largest and most prosperous in England at the time, with a lively mercantile and cultural scene. He went to Norwich School, which had a strong humanist curriculum, before moving on to Corpus Christi College at Cambridge. His time at university exposed him to classical literature, rhetoric, and the broader ideas of Renaissance Europe, all of which later influenced his writing.
After finishing his degrees, Greene reportedly traveled in Europe, an experience he mentioned in his later autobiographical writings, although the details of these travels are hard to confirm. Once he settled in London, he joined a competitive literary scene filled with fellow university-educated writers known as the University Wits. This group, which included people like Christopher Marlowe and Thomas Nashe, shared Greene's background in classical studies and his aim to make a living through writing for both the stage and the press.
Key Achievements
- Authored Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay, one of the most popular comedies of the Elizabethan stage.
- Credited as arguably the first professional author in England to sustain a career primarily through the commercial sale of his writing.
- Wrote Pandosto (1588), the prose source directly adapted by Shakespeare for The Winter's Tale.
- Published one of the earliest known references to William Shakespeare in the posthumously attributed Greene's Groats-Worth of Witte.
- Produced a substantial body of work across prose romance, drama, and pamphlet literature that helped shape popular Elizabethan literary culture.
Did You Know?
- 01.Greene advertised his dual master's degrees from Cambridge and Oxford on the title pages of his books, a form of self-promotion unusual for the period.
- 02.The posthumous pamphlet Greene's Groats-Worth of Witte contains a phrase referencing an 'upstart crow beautified with our feathers,' long interpreted by scholars as one of the earliest known references to William Shakespeare.
- 03.Greene's prose romance Pandosto, published in 1588, served as the direct source for William Shakespeare's play The Winter's Tale.
- 04.Despite his prolific output across plays, romances, and pamphlets, Greene died in poverty in 1592, reportedly from an illness exacerbated by his lifestyle.
- 05.Greene was one of the so-called University Wits, a loose group of Cambridge and Oxford graduates who dominated London's literary and theatrical scene in the late sixteenth century.