John Dryden (Cyclopedia of World Authors)

John Dryden (DRID-uhn), English poet, dramatist, and critic, was born at Aldwinkle All Saints, in Northamptonshire, probably on August 19, 1631. He was educated at Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he received his bachelor’s degree in 1654.

After honoring Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector, in Heroic Stanzas, he welcomed the restoration of Charles II in 1660 in Astraea Redux. Thereafter he remained a staunch royalist and a Tory. Dryden in 1663 married Lady Elizabeth Howard and proved an affectionate father for their three sons. His poem...

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