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For other persons named John Dryden, see John Dryden (disambiguation). John Dryden was an influential English poet literary critic translator and playwright
John Dryden

Born c. August 19, 1631(1631-08-19)
Aldwincle, Northamptonshire, England
Died May 12, 1700 (aged 68)
England
Occupation poet, literary critic, playwright

John Dryden (August 19 [O.S. August 9] 1631–May 12 [O.S. May 1] 1700) was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator and playwright, who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden. Events 43 BC - Octavian, later known as Augustus compels the Roman Senate to elect him Consul. Aldwincle is a Village in the east of the county of Northamptonshire, England. Northamptonshire (or archaically the County of Northampton; abbreviated Northants England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Events 1191 - Richard I of England marries Berengaria of Navarre. Employment is a Contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. A poet is a person who writes Poetry. Etymology From the Ancient greek: ποιέω, poieō: "I make or compose" Literary criticism is the study discussion evaluation and interpretation of Literature. A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or Drama. Events 43 BC - Octavian, later known as Augustus compels the Roman Senate to elect him Consul. Old Style (or OS) and New Style (or NS) are used in English language historical studies either to indicate that the start of the Julian year Events 1191 - Richard I of England marries Berengaria of Navarre. Old Style (or OS) and New Style (or NS) are used in English language historical studies either to indicate that the start of the Julian year England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland A poet is a person who writes Poetry. Etymology From the Ancient greek: ποιέω, poieō: "I make or compose" Literary criticism is the study discussion evaluation and interpretation of Literature. Translation is the interpreting of the meaning of a text and the subsequent production of an equivalent text likewise called a " translation A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or Drama. The English Restoration, or simply The Restoration began in 1660 when the English monarchy, Scottish monarchy and Irish monarchy were restored

Contents

Early life

Dryden was born in the village rectory of Aldwincle near Oundle in Northamptonshire, where his maternal grandfather was Rector of All Saints. Depending on denomination, local custom and the status of the minister the Building inhabited (or formerly inhabited by the leader of a local Christian church can Aldwincle is a Village in the east of the county of Northamptonshire, England. Oundle is an ancient Market town on the River Nene in Northamptonshire, England, with a population of 5345 (2001 Census) Northamptonshire (or archaically the County of Northampton; abbreviated Northants He was the eldest of fourteen children born to Erasmus Dryden and wife Mary Pickering, paternal grandson of Sir Erasmus Dryden, 1st Baronet (1553-1632) and wife Frances Wilkes, Puritan landowning gentry who supported the Puritan cause and Parliament. A Puritan of 16th and 17th century England was an associate of any number of religious groups advocating for more "purity" of Worship and Doctrine, He was also a second cousin once removed of Jonathan Swift. Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 As a boy Dryden lived in the nearby village of Titchmarsh where it is also likely that he received his first education. In 1644 he was sent to Westminster School as a King’s Scholar where his headmaster was Dr Richard Busby, a charismatic teacher and severe disciplinarian. The Royal College of St Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain 's leading boys' Independent schools with The Rev Dr Richard Busby ( 27 September 1606 - 1695 was an English clergyman and headmaster of Westminster School. [1] Recently enough re-founded by Elizabeth I, Westminster during this period embraced a very different religious and political spirit encouraging royalism and high Anglicanism. " High Church " relates to Ecclesiology and Liturgy in Anglican theology and practice Whatever Dryden’s response to this was, he clearly respected the Headmaster and would later send two of his own sons to school at Westminster. Many years after his death a house at Westminster was founded in his name.

As a humanist grammar school, Westminster maintained a curriculum which trained pupils in the art of rhetoric and the presentation of arguments for both sides of a given issue. This is a skill which would remain with Dryden and influence his later writing and thinking, as much of it displays these dialectical patterns. The Westminster curriculum also included weekly translation assignments which developed Dryden’s capacity for assimilation. This was also to be exhibited in his later works. His years at Westminster were not uneventful, and his first published poem, an elegy with a strong royalist feel on the death of his schoolmate Henry, Lord Hastings from smallpox, alludes to the execution of King Charles I, which took place on 30 January 1649. Smallpox is an Infectious disease unique to humans caused by either of two virus variants named Variola major and Variola minor. Events 1648 - Eighty Years' War: The Treaty of Münster is signed ending the conflict between the Netherlands and Spain

In 1650 Dryden went up to Trinity College, Cambridge where he would have experienced a return to the religious and political ethos of his childhood. Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The Master of Trinity was a Puritan preacher by the name of Thomas Hill who had been a rector in Dryden’s home village. Thomas Hill DD (died 1653 was an English Puritan divine He took a BA in 1622 at Emmanuel College Cambridge, an MA in 1626 a BD in 1633 and a DD in 1646 [2] Though there is little specific information on Dryden’s undergraduate years, he would have followed the standard curriculum of classics, rhetoric, and mathematics. In 1654 he obtained his BA, graduating top of the list for Trinity that year. In June of the same year Dryden’s father died, leaving him some land which generated a little income, but not enough to live on. [3]

Arriving in London during The Protectorate, Dryden obtained work with Cromwell’s Secretary of State, John Thurloe. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. In British history, the Protectorate was the period 1653&ndash1659 during which the Commonwealth of England Scotland and Ireland was governed by a Lord John Thurloe (June 1616 - 21 February 1668) was a secretary to the council of state in Protectorate England and spymaster for This appointment may have been the result of influence exercised on his behalf by the Lord Chamberlain Sir Gilbert Pickering, Dryden’s cousin. Sir Gilbert Pickering was a member of the English Council of State during The Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. Dryden was present on 23 November 1658 at Cromwell’s funeral where he processed with the Puritan poets John Milton and Andrew Marvell. Events 800 - Charlemagne arrives at Rome to investigate the alleged crimes of John Milton ( 9 December, 1608 – 8 November, 1674) was an English Poet, Prose Polemicist and Andrew Marvell ( 31 March 1621 &ndash 16 August 1678) was an English metaphysical poet, and the son of a Church of Shortly thereafter he published his first important poem, Heroique Stanzas (1658), a eulogy on Cromwell’s death which is cautious and prudent in its emotional display. In 1660 Dryden celebrated the Restoration of the monarchy and the return of Charles II with Astraea Redux, an authentic royalist panegyric. The English Restoration, or simply The Restoration began in 1660 when the English monarchy, Scottish monarchy and Irish monarchy were restored Charles II (Charles Stuart 29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685 was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Astraea Redux written by John Dryden in 1660, is a full-blown royalist Panegyric in which Dryden welcomes the new regime of King A panegyric is a formal public speech, or (in later use written verse delivered in high praise of a Person or thing, a generally highly studied and discriminating In this work the interregnum is illustrated as a time of anarchy, and Charles is seen as the restorer of peace and order.

Later life and career

After the Restoration, Dryden quickly established himself as the leading poet and literary critic of his day and he transferred his allegiances to the new government. Along with Astraea Redux, Dryden welcomed the new regime with two more panegyrics; To His Sacred Majesty: A Panegyric on his Coronation (1662), and To My Lord Chancellor (1662). These poems suggest that Dryden was looking to court a possible patron, but he was to instead make a living in writing for publishers, not for the aristocracy, and thus ultimately for the reading public. These, and his other nondramatic poems, are occasional— that is, they celebrate public events. Thus they are written for the nation rather than the self, and the Poet Laureate (as he would later become) is obliged to write a certain number of these per annum. [4] In November 1662 Dryden was proposed for membership in the Royal Society, and he was elected an early fellow. The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as The Royal Society, is a Learned society for science that was founded in 1660 However, Dryden was inactive in Society affairs and in 1666 was expelled for non-payment of his dues.

On December 1, 1663 Dryden married the royalist sister of Sir Robert Howard—Lady Elizabeth. Events 800 - Charlemagne judges the accusations against Pope Leo III in the Vatican Sir Robert Howard (January 1626 – 3 September 1698) was an English playwright and politician born to Thomas Howard 1st Earl of Berkshire and his wife Dryden’s works occasionally contain outbursts against the married state but also celebrations of the same. Thus, little is known of the intimate side of his marriage. Lady Elizabeth however, was to bear him three sons and outlive him.

With the reopening of the theatres after the Puritan ban, Dryden busied himself with the composition of plays. His first play, The Wild Gallant appeared in 1663 and was not successful, but he was to have more success, and from 1668 on he was contracted to produce three plays a year for the King's Company in which he was also to become a shareholder. The Wild Gallant is a Restoration comedy written by John Dryden. The King's Company was one of two enterprises granted the rights to mount theatrical productions in London at the start of the English Restoration. During the 1660s and 70s theatrical writing was to be his main source of income. He led the way in Restoration comedy, his best known work being Marriage A-la-Mode (1672), as well as heroic tragedy and regular tragedy, in which his greatest success was All for Love (1678). Restoration comedy is the name given to English comedies written and performed in the Restoration period from 1660 to 1710 This article is about the play by John Dryden; Marriage á-la-mode is also the name of a series of pictures by William Hogarth. All for Love or the World Well Lost is a Heroic drama by John Dryden written in 1677. Dryden was never satisfied with his theatrical writings and frequently suggested that his talents were wasted on unworthy audiences. He thus was making a bid for poetic fame off-stage. In 1667, around the same time his dramatic career began, he published Annus Mirabilis, a lengthy historical poem which described the events of 1666; the English defeat of the Dutch naval fleet and the Great Fire of London. At least two significant Poems in English literature have shared the title "Annus Mirabilis": Dryden Annus Mirabilis is a It was a modern epic in pentameter quatrains that established him as the preeminent poet of his generation, and was crucial in his attaining the posts of Poet Laureate (1668) and historiographer royal (1670). A Poet Laureate is a Poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for State occasions and other government events

When the Great Plague closed the theatres in 1665 Dryden retreated to Wiltshire where he wrote Of Dramatick Poesie (1668), arguably the best of his unsystematic prefaces and essays. In human history the term plague refers to an Epidemic disease causing a high rate of mortality i Dryden constantly defended his own literary practice, and Of Dramatick Poesie, the longest of his critical works, takes the form of a dialogue in which four characters–each based on a prominent contemporary, with Dryden himself as ‘Neander’- debate the merits of classical, French and English drama. The greater part of his critical works introduce problems which he is eager to discuss, and show the work of a writer of independent mind who feels strongly about his own ideas, ideas which demonstrate the incredible breadth of his reading. He felt strongly about the relation of the poet to tradition and the creative process, and his best heroic play "Aureng-zebe" (1675) has a prologue which denounces the use of rhyme in serious drama. Aureng-Zebe is a Restoration Drama by John Dryden, 1675 based loosely on the figures of Aurangzeb (Aureng-zebe the then-reigning His play All for Love (1678), was written in blank verse, and was to immediately follow Aureng-Zebe. All for Love or the World Well Lost is a Heroic drama by John Dryden written in 1677.

Dryden’s greatest achievements were in satiric verse: the mock-heroic MacFlecknoe, a more personal product of his Laureate years, was a lampoon circulated in manuscript and an attack on the playwright Thomas Shadwell. Thomas Shadwell (c 1642 &ndash 19 November 1692) was an English Playwright and miscellaneous Writer who was appointed It is not a belittling form of satire, but rather one which makes his object great in ways which are unexpected, transferring the ridiculous into poetry. [5] This line of satire continued with Absalom and Achitophel (1681) and The Medal (1682). Absalom and Achitophel is a landmark poetic political Satire by John Dryden. His other major works from this period are the religious poems Religio Laici (1682), written from the position of a member of the Church of England; his 1683 edition of Plutarchs Lives Translated From the Greek by Several Hands in which he introduced the word biography to English readers; and The Hind and the Panther, (1687) which celebrates his conversion to Roman Catholicism. A biography (from the Greek words bíos (βίος meaning "life" and gráphein (γράφειν meaning "to write" is an account

When in 1688 James was deposed, Dryden’s refusal to take the oaths of allegiance to the new government left him out of favour at court. Thomas Shadwell succeeded him as Poet Laureate, and he was forced to give up his public offices and live by the proceeds of his pen. Dryden translated works by Horace, Juvenal, Ovid, Lucretius, and Theocritus, a task which he found far more satisfying than writing for the stage. Quintus Horatius Flaccus, ( Venosa, December 8, 65 BC - Rome, November 27, 8 BC known in the English-speaking world as Horace The Publius Ovidius Naso ( March 20, 43 BC – 17 AD was a Roman poet known to the English -speaking world as Ovid who wrote on many topics including Titus Lucretius Carus (ca 99 BC- ca 55 BC was a Roman Poet and Philosopher. Theocritus ( Greek: Θεόκριτος the creator of Ancient Greek Bucolic Poetry, flourished in the 3rd century BC In 1694 he began work on what would be his most ambitious and defining work as translator, The Works of Virgil (1697), which was published by subscription. The publication of the translation of Virgil was a national event and brought Dryden the sum of ₤1,400. Publius Vergilius Maro ( October 15, 70 BCE &ndash September 21, 19 BCE later called Virgilius, and known in English as Virgil or [6] His final translations appeared in the volume Fables Ancient and Modern (1700), a series of episodes from Homer, Ovid, and Boccaccio, as well as modernized adaptations from Geoffrey Chaucer interspersed with Dryden’s own poems. Homer ( Ancient Greek:, Homēros) is a legendary ancient Greek epic Poet, traditionally said to be the author of the epic poems the Publius Ovidius Naso ( March 20, 43 BC – 17 AD was a Roman poet known to the English -speaking world as Ovid who wrote on many topics including Geoffrey Chaucer (c 1343 – 25 October 1400? was an English author poet Philosopher, bureaucrat, courtier and Diplomat. The Preface to Fables is considered to be both a major work of criticism and one of the finest essays in English. As a critic and translator he was essential in making accessible to the reading English public literary works in the classical languages.

Dryden died in 1700 and is buried in Westminster Abbey. The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, which is almost always referred to by its original name of Westminster Abbey, is a large mainly Gothic church He was the subject of various poetic eulogies, such as Luctus Brittannici: or the Tears of the British Muses; for the Death of John Dryden, Esq. (London, 1700), and The Nine Muses. For the mythological figures see Muse. "The Nine Muses" may also refer to nine letters written by Aeschines, or a recent anthology

Reputation and influence

Dryden was the dominant literary figure and influence of his age. He established the heroic couplet as the standard meter of English poetry, by writing successful satires, religious pieces, fables, epigrams, compliments, prologues, and plays in it; he also introduced the alexandrine and triplet into the form. A heroic couplet is a traditional form for English Poetry, commonly used for epic and Narrative poetry; it refers to poems constructed from a An alexandrine is a line of poetic meter comprising 12 Syllables Alexandrines are common in the German literature of the Baroque period and In his poems, translations, and criticism, he established a poetic diction appropriate to the heroic couplet—Auden referred to him as "the master of the middle style"[7]—that was a model for his contemporaries and for much of the 18th century. Wystan Hugh Auden (21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973 ˈwɪstən ˈhjuː ˈɔːdən who signed his works W The considerable loss felt by the English literary community at his death was evident from the elegies which it inspired. [8] Dryden's heroic couplet became the dominant poetic form of the 18th century. The most influential poet of the 18th century, Alexander Pope, was heavily influenced by Dryden, and often borrowed from him; other writers were equally influenced by Dryden and Pope. Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 – 30 May 1744 is generally regarded as the greatest English Poet of the eighteenth century best known for his Satirical Pope famously praised Dryden's versification in his imitation of Horace's Epistle II. Quintus Horatius Flaccus, ( Venosa, December 8, 65 BC - Rome, November 27, 8 BC known in the English-speaking world as Horace i: "Dryden taught to join / The varying pause, the full resounding line, / The long majestic march, and energy divine. " Samuel Johnson[9] summed up the general attitude with his remark that "the veneration with which his name is pronounced by every cultivator of English literature, is paid to him as he refined the language, improved the sentiments, and tuned the numbers of English poetry. " His poems were very widely read, and are often quoted, for instance, in Tom Jones and Johnson's essays. The History of Tom Jones a Foundling, often known simply as Tom Jones, is a Comic novel by the English playwright and novelist

Johnson also noted, however, that "He is, therefore, with all his variety of excellence, not often pathetic; and had so little sensibility of the power of effusions purely natural, that he did not esteem them in others. Simplicity gave him no pleasure. " The 18th century did not mind this too much, but in later ages, this was increasingly considered a fault.

One of the first attacks on Dryden's reputation was by Wordsworth, who complained that Dryden's descriptions of natural objects in his translations from Virgil were much inferior to the originals. However, several of Wordsworth’s contemporaries, such as George Crabbe, Lord Byron, and Walter Scott (who edited Dryden's works), were still keen admirers of Dryden. George Crabbe ( 24 December 1754 - 3 February 1832) was an English Poet and naturalist. Sir Walter Scott 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 &ndash 21 September 1832 was a prolific Scottish Historical novelist and Poet popular throughout Besides, Wordsworth did admire many of Dryden's poems, and his famous "Intimations of Immortality" ode owes something stylistically to Dryden's "Alexander's Feast. " John Keats admired the "Fables," and imitated them in his poem Lamia. Later 19th century writers had little use for verse satire, Pope, or Dryden; Matthew Arnold famously dismissed them as "classics of our prose. " He did have a committed admirer in George Saintsbury, and was a prominent figure in quotation books such as Bartlett's, but the next major poet to take an interest in Dryden was T. S. Eliot, who wrote that he was 'the ancestor of nearly all that is best in the poetry of the eighteenth century', and that 'we cannot fully enjoy or rightly estimate a hundred years of English poetry unless we fully enjoy Dryden. George Edward Bateman Saintsbury ( October 23, 1845 - January 28, 1933) was an English writer and critic Thomas Stearns Eliot, OM (September 26 1888 – January 4 1965 was a poet Dramatist, and Literary critic. '[10] However, in the same essay, Eliot accused Dryden of having a "commonplace mind. " Critical interest in Dryden has increased recently, but, as a relatively straightforward writer (William Empson, another modern admirer of Dryden, compared his "flat" use of language with Donne's interest in the "echoes and recesses of words"[11]) his work has not occasioned as much interest as Andrew Marvell's or John Donne's or Pope's. Sir William Empson ( 27 September 1906 – 15 April 1984) was an English Literary critic Andrew Marvell ( 31 March 1621 &ndash 16 August 1678) was an English metaphysical poet, and the son of a Church of John Donne (pronounced like done, dʌn 1572 – 31 March 1631 was a Jacobean poet preacher and a major representative of the Metaphysical poets [12]

Poetic style

What Dryden achieved in his poetry was not the emotional excitement we find in the Romantic poets of the early nineteenth century, nor the intellectual complexities of the metaphysical poets. The metaphysical poets were a loose group of British lyric poets of the 17th century who shared an interest in metaphysical concerns and a common way of investigating them His subject-matter was often factual, and he aimed at expressing his thoughts in the most precise and concentrated way possible. Although he uses formal poetic structures such as heroic stanzas and heroic couplets, he tried to achieve the rhythms of speech. However, he knew that different subjects need different kinds of verse, and in his preface to Religio Laici he wrote: “. . . the expressions of a poem designed purely for instruction ought to be plain and natural, yet majestic. . . The florid, elevated and figurative way is for the passions; for (these) are begotten in the soul by showing the objects out of their true proportion. . . . A man is to be cheated into passion, but to be reasoned into truth. ”

Major works

Modern dedications and references in media

Select bibliography

Editions

Biography

Modern criticism

References

  1. ^ Hopkins, David, John Dryden, ed. by Isobel Armstrong, (Tavistock: Northcote House Publishers, 2004), 22
  2. ^ John Dryden The Major Works, ed. by Keith Walker, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987),ix-x
  3. ^ Ibid, x
  4. ^ Abrams, M. H. , and Stephen Greenblatt eds. ‘John Dryden’ in The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 7th ed. , (New York: Norton & Co, 2000), 2071
  5. ^ Eliot, T. S. , ‘John Dryden’, in Selected Essays, (London: Faber and Faber, 1932), 308
  6. ^ John Dryden The Major Works, ed. by Keith Walker, xiv
  7. ^ W. H. Auden, New Year Letter, in Collected Poems
  8. ^ John Dryden The Major Works, 37
  9. ^ Dryden, in Samuel Johnson, The Major Works (ed. Donald Greene), 707
  10. ^ Eliot, T. S. , John Dryden, 305-6
  11. ^ Seven Types of Ambiguity, Chapter 7
  12. ^ Robert M. Adams, "The Case for Dryden," New York Review of Books March 17, 1988

External links

Preceded by
William Davenant		 English Poet Laureate
1668–1689		 Succeeded by
Thomas Shadwell
Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to Digitize, archive and distribute Cultural works Sir William Davenant (baptised 3 March, 1606 &ndash April 7, 1668) also spelled D'Avenant, was an English Poet A Poet Laureate is a Poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for State occasions and other government events Thomas Shadwell (c 1642 &ndash 19 November 1692) was an English Playwright and miscellaneous Writer who was appointed
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