John Dryden Criticism
John Dryden (1631–1700) was an influential English poet, critic, playwright, and translator, often regarded as the father of modern English poetry and criticism. His work significantly shaped English literary life during the late seventeenth century. Dryden is celebrated for refining language to create a universal and expressive diction, deeply impacting English speech and writing. His literary prowess extended across several genres, including drama, with successful plays like The Indian Emperour, and satire, notably in poems such as Absalom and Achitophel, The Hind and the Panther, and Religio Laici.
Born into a prominent Puritan family, Dryden was classically educated and began his literary career with Upon the Death of the Lord Hastings. His early career was marked by his poem Heroique Stanzas, written in praise of Oliver Cromwell, which showcased his early engagement with politically charged writing. As observed by Alberto Cacicedo, works like Astraea Redux used biblical and classical analogies to offer a realistic portrayal of the political climate under King Charles II.
Dryden's satirical verse reached its zenith with Absalom and Achitophel, a critique of the political maneuverings against the monarchy, which became a model for Augustan poets like Alexander Pope. As noted by Jerome Donnelly, Dryden used humanist and Aristotelian theories to defend Charles II's monarchy. Mac Flecknoe, another significant work, demonstrated his mastery in mockheroic satire, as Margery Kingsley noted, warning against cultural and political chaos.
Dryden's religious and political views are intricately woven into his poetry. His Religio Laici reflects his classical satire style, aiming to instruct rather than criticize, as K.W. Gransden explained. Dryden's conversion to Catholicism further informed his work, with The Hind and the Panther advocating for religious moderation. His later works, including musical odes like A Song for St. Cecilia's Day and Alexander's Feast, are celebrated for their integration of poetic and musical elements, as analyzed by Douglas Murray and Bessie Proffitt.
Critically, Dryden was admired for his ability to elevate the English language, with Samuel Johnson praising his refinement of verse. Despite some criticism for impersonal tones, his later works reveal a more confessional style, reflecting his personal reactions to the religious and political dynamics of his time. Dryden's legacy as a poet who skillfully infused public events with artistic dignity remains influential.
Contents
- Principal Works
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Essays
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Irony in Dryden's Ode to Anne Killigrew
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Vieth argues that in his To the Pious Memory of the Accomplisht Young Lady Mrs. Anne Killigrew, Dryden has not written a conventional ode of praise, but created instead an elegy that is both gently mocking and affectionate.
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Political Satire in Dryden's Alexander's Feast
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Profitt asserts that Alexander's Feast should not be assessed simply for its qualities as a musical ode, but also regarded as a pointed 'attack' on King William III.
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The Musical Structure of Dryden's Song for St. Cecilia's Day
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Murray uses seventeenth-century music theory to demonstrate how the stanzas in Dryden's Song for St. Cecilia's Day, 1687, conform to classical music modes in order to produce such emotional effects as love, patriotism, and mourning.
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What Kind of Poem is Religio Laici?
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Gransden suggests that Dryden regarded his poem Religio Laici as a satire in the classical tradition: one that would instruct his audiences rather than criticize or ridicule them.
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Fathers and Sons: The Norative Basis of Dryden's Absalom and Achitophel
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Donnelly demonstrates that in Absalom and Achitophel, Dryden relied upon humanist and Aristotelian theories to defend Charles's fitness as a monarch without condoning Charles's behavior as a man.
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Divine and Royal Art: History as Hand-Formed Artwork in Dryden's Threnodia Augustalis (1685)
(summary)
In the following brief excerpt, Gardiner reflects on the 'political context' of Threnodia Augustalis, observing that Dryden constructs the poem to reassure the English public that far from being sinister, the transfer of power from the dying Charles II to his brother James was both legitimate and divine.
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Annus Mirabilis and the Ideology of the New Science
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In the following excerpt, Burke contends that in Annus Mirabilis, Dryden glorifies the 'new' or practical science of his era and in the process, anticipates the advent of the more 'materialistic' and 'republican' enlightenment that was to dominate the final half of the eighteenth century.
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Seeing the King: Biblical and Classical Texts in Astraea Redux
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Cacicedo argues that as a depiction of the Restoration, Dryden's poem Astraea Redux is not servile as critics have suggested, but that instead it relies upon analogies from the bible and from classical works to provide a realistic view of King Charles as well as of the contemporary political climate under which he was obliged to rule.
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Aborting the 'Mother Plot': Politics and Generation in Absalom and Achitophel
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Greenfield observes that a marked ambiguity in Dryden's poem Absalom and Achitophel reflects the confusion and changing attitudes toward sexual biology, succession, and the monarchy which occurred during his era.
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'High on a Throne of His Own Labours Rear'd': Mac Flecknoe, Jeremiad, and Cultural Myth
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Kingsley asserts that Dryden's intention in writing Mac Flecknoe was to warn England against the cultural, moral, and political 'chaos' that was being created by irresponsible and sloppy writers.
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Irony in Dryden's Ode to Anne Killigrew
(summary)
- Further Reading