Trivia: What playwright greatly influenced William Shakespeare?
Thomas Dekker
Christopher Marlowe
Thomas Kyd
Samuel Beckett
The correct answer is Christopher Marlowe
So why is this answer correct? : Christopher Marlowe’s playwriting career was tragically cut short on May 30, 1593, when he was killed over a bar tab. But during his short six-year career, Marlowe and his work influenced Shakepeare’s “The Merchant of Venice” and many of his historical plays, including “Richard II,” “Henry IV,” and “Henry V.” When it comes to Elizabethan drama, Marlowe is still considered second only to the Bard himself.