10. Try to account for the weakness of English prose when compared with the poetry of the time.
(1) No single prose writer of the time, not even Hooker, holds the same rank that Spenser holds in poetry.—Saintsbury.
(2) The poets and dramatists of the age of Elizabeth completed their work quickly, and attained, by leaps and bounds, to the consummate perfection of their diction. But prose style grows more slowly; and its growth is hindered rather than quickened by the very variety of its subject.—Craik.
11. In what respects is the title “Elizabethan literature” open to objection when it is applied to the matter of this chapter? Suggest other titles.
12. To what extent were the University Wits immature dramatists? What was their contribution to the English drama?
13. “The age of Elizabeth made the most of both native and classical elements.” Discuss this statement.
14. It is frequently stated that during the second half of the Elizabethan period drama weakened and prose strengthened. Confirm or confute the statement.
15. How was this time “the Golden Age of the lyric”?