John Dryden

Barbeau Gardiner Anne (John Jay College, CUNY)
Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Report an Error

John Dryden (1631-1700) is one of England’s great literary figures. He ranks on a par with Chaucer, Spenser and Milton. As poet laureate and historiographer royal during the reigns of Charles II and James II, he published works in a variety of modes: heroic drama, tragedy, comedy, satire, historical poetry, religious poetry, elegy, song, literary criticism, and translation. In heroic drama, literary criticism and some other forms, he was a groundbreaker. His works, which fill twenty volumes in the modern California edition, are especially characterized by the bond he forges between history and poetry. As a public poet who interprets contemporary history from an Olympian perspective, Dryden has never been surpassed. History for him is a kind of cipher to be interpreted by parallels…

2215 words

Citation: Anne, Barbeau Gardiner. "John Dryden". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 18 January 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1320, accessed 19 March 2024.]

1320 John Dryden 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.