George Peele (born in London and baptized 25 July 1556 – buried 9 November 1596), was an English dramatist. His play Edward I was printed in 1593. This theory is in part due to Peele’s predilection for gore, as evidenced in The Battle of Alcazar (acted 1588-1589, printed 1594), published anonymously, which is attributed with much probability to him.
The Old Wives’ Tale (printed 1595) was followed by The Love of King David and fair Bethsabe (written ca. 1588, printed 1599), which is notable as an example of Elizabethan drama drawn entirely from Scriptural sources. In this regard, F. G. Fleay sees in it a political satire, and identifies Elizabeth and Leicester as David and Bathsheba, Mary, Queen of Scots as Absalom.Peele wrote the first act and the first two scenes in Act II of Titus Andronicus, with Shakespeare.
John Lyly was an English writer, best known for his books Euphues, The Anatomy of Wit and His England. In 1632, Blount published Six Court Comedies. In an other sequence, the first printed collection of Lyly was Love’s Metamorphosis (though printed in 1601, possibly Lyly’s earliest play — the surviving version is likely a revision of the original). Lyly's another play, The Woman in the Moon, first printed in 1597. Ben Jonson names him among those foremost rivals who were “outshone” and outsung by Shakespeare.
Lyly must also be considered and remembered as a primary influence on the plays of William Shakespeare, and in particular the romantic comedies. Following the previous line, Love’s Metamorphosis is a large influence on Love’s Labour’s Lost, and Gallathea is a major source for A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
In addition to the plays, Lyly also composed at least one “entertainment” for Queen Elizabeth. On the other hand, the Entertainment at Chiswick was staged on July 28 and 29, 1602. Lyly has been suggested as the author of several other royal entertainments of the 1590s, and most notably “The Entertainment at Mitcham” performed on September 13, 1598.
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