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Marmaduke Bonthrop Shelmerdine, Esquire / Shel
A very famous writer and critic whom Orlando first meets during the Elizabethan era. According to Greene, poetry is “dead” in England, and poets like Shakespeare and Marlowe only write for money. He claims they have no “divine ambition,” or “Glawr,” and he finds more to appreciate in the poetry of the ancient Greeks. Orlando asks Greene to read his original play, the Death of Hercules, but Greene is initially hesitant until Orlando offers to pay him a quarterly pension. Greene finds the Death of Hercules “wordy and bombastic in the extreme,” and he proceeds to write a satire based on a noble Lord who is obviously Orlando. Orlando is crushed but continues to pay Greene’s pension. Greene again meets Orlando during the Victorian era, and Greene again claims that poetry is “dead” in England. However, this time he claims that the Elizabethans, like Shakespeare and Marlowe, were the true talents. He also changes his opinion of Orlando’s work after he reads “The Oak Tree.” Greene claims Orlando’s poem reminds him of Addison and has nothing of the “modern spirit.” Greene only appreciates writing when it is reminiscent of traditional literature, and he represents literary critics who resist contemporary literature and favor only traditional forms. Greene’s hypocrisy makes critics, especially Victorian critics, appear incredibly hypocritical, and it is in this way that Woolf argues poets should write for themselves, not the critics, whose opinions are often meaningless.
Nicholas Greene Quotes in Orlando
The Orlando quotes below are all either spoken by Nicholas Greene or refer to Nicholas Greene. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 6 Quotes
“Ah!” he said, heaving a little sigh, which was yet comfortable enough, “Ah! my dear lady, the great days of literature are over. Marlowe, Shakespeare, Ben Jonson—those were the giants. Dryden, Pope, Addison—those were the heroes. All, all are dead now. And whom have they left us? Tennyson, Browning, Carlyle!”—he threw an immense amount of scorn into his voice. “The truth of it is,” he said, pouring himself a glass of wine, “that all our young writers are in the pay of booksellers. They turn out any trash that serves to pay their tailor’s bills. It is an age,” he said, helping himself to hors d’oeuvres, “marked by precious conceits and wild experiments—none of which the Elizabethans would have tolerated for an instant.”
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Nicholas Greene Character Timeline in Orlando
The timeline below shows where the character Nicholas Greene appears in Orlando. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
In the letter to his friend, Orlando asks to meet Mr. Nicholas Greene, “a very famous writer” and an acquaintance of his friend. Orlando tells his friend that...
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At dinner, Orlando and Nick Greene engage in small talk. Nick tells Orlando of his last name, and how some...
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Greene tells Orlando that he has sold only 500 copies of his own poem. “But that...
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Nick laughs “sardonically.” Sure, he claims, some of Shakespeare’s plays are “well enough,” but most of...
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The ancient Greek writers, Nick says, “cherished a divine ambition” that he likes to call “La Gloire” (only he pronounces...
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“So, my dear Lord,” Nick says to Orlando, we must “cherish the past and honour those writers—there are still a...
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...wonderful things about books, “provided they were written three hundred years ago.” Time passes and Greene stays on as Orlando’s houseguest. Orlando has for him a “strange mixture of liking and...
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Nick Greene soon tells Orlando that he must be on his way, and while Orlando is...
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Back home, Nick finds himself in the perfect “atmosphere for writing,” and he quickly pens “a very spirited...
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Soon after Greene’s visit, at the age of 30, Orlando takes to burning each of his “fifty-seven poetical...
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One June day, Orlando’s Memory flashes before his mind the image of Nick Greene. “I’ll be blasted,” Orlando cries, “if I ever write another word, or try to...
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Chapter 4
...her ear” aboard the ship to England. “Addison, Dryden, Pope.” Despite Orlando’s awful experience with Nick Greene, “such names still exercise over her the most powerful fascination.” Only the most accomplished...
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Chapter 6
...His shape looks “vaguely familiar,” and Orlando is shocked to see “her very old friend, Nick Greene,” walking slowly toward her. “The Lady Orlando!” he yells pleasantly. “Sir Nicholas!” she replies....
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Nick Greene laughs. Indeed, he is “a Knight,” and “a Litt.D.” and “Professor.” He has written...
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“No, my dear lady,” Nick Greene says to Orlando, “the great days are over.” He says they live in “degenerate...
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...of Orlando’s dress bursts open, and “The Oak Tree” falls to the table. “A manuscript!” Nick Greene exclaims. “Permit me to look at it.” Orlando allows Greene to read her work,...
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...all of Shakespeare’s works for only “half a crown,” and she finds books written by Sir Nicolas as well. Orlando tells the bookseller to “send her everything of any importance,” and walks...
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...of “critical journals,” Orlando makes her way to the park. She reads an article by Sir Nicolas about John Donne, but the hustle and bustle of the park distracts her. “Life? Literature?...
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...and tell him of her discovery. She has learned that “it is not articles by Nick Greene on John Donne” that matter; it is “something useless, sudden, violent; something that costs...
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