Dryden as a critic

 John Dryden as a father of English criticism:

John Dryden is often referred to as the "father of English criticism" because of his significant contributions to literary criticism in the late 17th century. His critical works, particularly his essays and prefaces, played a crucial role in shaping the way literature was analyzed and evaluated during his time and for many years to come. Here are some reasons why Dryden is considered a key figure in the development of English literary criticism:

1. Introduction of Neoclassical Ideals: Dryden was a proponent of Neoclassical literary theory, which drew inspiration from the works of ancient Greek and Roman writers like Aristotle and Horace. He emphasized the importance of adhering to classical principles of unity, decorum, and verisimilitude in literature. His critical writings helped establish these Neoclassical ideals as the foundation for evaluating literary works.

2. "An Essay of Dramatic Poesy": One of Dryden's most famous critical works is "An Essay of Dramatic Poesy" (1668), in which he defended the use of rhyme in English drama, discussed the nature of tragedy and comedy, and offered insights into the art of writing for the stage. This essay was not only a defense of English drama but also a significant contribution to the theory of drama.

3. Prefaces and Prologues: Dryden wrote numerous prefaces and prologues to his own plays and translations. In these pieces, he often discussed the principles of good writing, the role of the poet, and the value of classical models. These prefaces served as important critical manifestos and influenced other writers of his time.

4. Translation and Adaptation: Dryden was known for his translations of classical works, such as Virgil's "Aeneid" and Juvenal's satires. Through these translations and adaptations, he introduced classical literature to English readers and demonstrated how to adapt foreign works to the English literary tradition, contributing to discussions about the relationship between translation and creativity.

5. Critical Authority: Dryden's status as a respected poet and playwright gave him considerable authority in matters of literary criticism. His opinions and judgments carried weight, and other writers often looked to him for guidance in matters of style, genre, and taste.

6. Influence on Later Critics: Dryden's critical principles had a lasting impact on English literary criticism. His ideas about the importance of clarity, balance, and reason in literature were echoed and developed by later critics, including Alexander Pope, Samuel Johnson, and the Augustans.

In summary, John Dryden's critical writings and his advocacy for Neoclassical ideals in literature earned him the title "father of English criticism." His works helped shape the way literature was analyzed and evaluated in the late 17th century and continued to influence English literary criticism for generations to come.

JOHN DRYDEN: AN ESSAY OF DRAMATIC POESY

John Dryden (1631-1700) was an English poet, critic, and playwright active in the second half of the 17th century. As a poet, Dryden is best known as a satirist and was England's first poet laureate in 1668. In addition to satires, Dryden wrote elegies, prologues, epilogues, odes, and panegyrics. His most famous poem is Absalom and Achitophel (1681). Dryden was so influential in Restoration England that the period was known to many as the Age of Dryden.

• Samuel Johnson calls John Dryden "the father of English criticism

• Sir Walter Scott calls John Dryden "Glorious John

An Essay of Dramatic Poesy

In this Essay, Dryden has put forward his criticism of dramatic poetry.

Occasion

In the summer of 1665 when Dryden and his wife fled plague-stricken London for the countryside taking along only a few books, the theatres had been re-opened for only a few years and there were exciting new critical ideas from France to be debated. There, in a quiet rustic setting, Dryden went fishing and wrote theory (An Essay of Dramatic Poesy), paraphrasing and quoting directly from Corneille's Prefaces that lay open on the desk. Never having been to France, Dryden knew the French dramatist's plays not from theatre, but from the study.

The Setting & Four Interlocutors

The essay begins with the scene where Four friends, Crites, Neander, Eugenius, and Lesidius are sailing to see a naval battle between the British and Dutch armies. These four characters of the essay are thought to have been related to four critics including Dryden himself. In between, they talk about the poetry which is going to be produced after the naval battle. 

Each one of the interlocutors represents a famous contemporary critic and Dryden himself as Neander or the New Man:

1. Crites: Sir Robert Howard

2. Eugenius: Lord Buckhurst or Charles Sackville

3. Lisedeius: Sir Charles Sedley 4. Neander: John Dryden

Dryden's Aim

In his address, "To the Reader" prefixed to the Essay, Dryden says that his aim was, "to vindicate the honour of our English writers, from the censure of those who unjustly prefer the French before them." However, the real aim is much wider than this. The Essay is also an

attempt to evolve the principles which ought to guide us in judging a play, as well as an effort to discover the rules which could help a dramatist in writing a good play.

The Essay is also a contribution to two current controversies:

1. The comparative superiority of the ancient and the modern . Dryden demonstrates the superiority of the moderns over the ancients, and also the superiority of contemporary (Restoration) English dramatists over the Elizabethan dramatists. 

2. The comparative merits and demerits of blank verse and rhyme for dramatic purpose. Dryden upholds the superiority of rhymed verse.

The Essay's Plan

The Essay handles five critical questions:

1. The relative merits of ancient and modern poets.

2. Whether the existing French school of drama is superior or inferior to the English.

3. Whether the Elizabethan dramatists were in all points superior to those of Dryden's time.

4. Whether plays are more perfect in proportion as they conform to the dramatic rules laid down by the ancients. 

5. Whether the substitution of rhyme for blank verse in serious plays is an improvement.

The Essay's Form

The Essay is written in the form of a Dialogue in the manner of Plato's Republic, and by his skillful handling of it, Dryden made it a popular literary form during the next seventy-five years.

The Critical Positions of the Interlocutors

Crites argues in favour of the ancients: they established the unities; dramatic rules were spelled out by Aristotle which the current-and esteemed-French playwrights follow; and Ben Jonson-the greatest English playwright, according to Crites-followed the ancients' example by adhering to the unities. 

Crites

1. He supports the ancients.

2. The Moderns are dependent upon the ancients. 3. The Moderns do not follow the three units.

4. The Ancients are the law-givers and they should be the models for other writers to follow.

Eugenius favours the moderns over the ancients, arguing that the moderns exceed the ancients because of having learned and profited from their example.

Eugene

1. Although the Moderns have profited from the Ancients, they now excel the ancients through their work.

2. The Ancients have not followed the unities.

3. The Ancients did not have any sense of the division of the play. 4. The Ancients plays lack originality.

5. The Ancients did not include emotions like Love in their plays.

Lisideius argues that French drama is superior to English drama, basing this opinion on the French writer's close adherence to the classical separation of comedy and tragedy. For Lisaius "no theatre in the world has anything so absurd as the English tragicomedy..." 

Lucideus

1. He favours French plays.

2. According to him, the French plays follow the unities properly. 3. Their plots are simple, not complicated like the English plots.

4. He criticizes the English plays for mixing tragedy and comedy. 

5. French plays are more authentic.

6. They prefer emotions over action/plots (violence) 

7. They write their dialogues in rhyming verse.

Neander favors the moderns but does not underestimate the ancients. He also favors English drama and has some critical things to say of French drama: "those beauties of the French poesy are such as will raise perfection higher where it is, but are not sufficient to give it where it is not: they are indeed the beauties of a statue, but not of a man."

Neander goes on to defend tragicomedy: "contraries, when placed near, set off each other. A continued gravity keeps the spirit too much bent; we must refresh it sometimes." Tragicomedy increases the effectiveness of both tragic and comic elements by 'way of contrast. Neander asserts that "we have invented, increased, -and perfected a more pleasant way of writing for the stage... tragicomedy."

Neander criticizes French drama essentially for its smallness: its pursuit of only one plot without subplots; its tendency to show too little action; its "servile observations of the unities...dearth of plot, and narrowness of imagination" are all qualities which render it inferior to English drama.

Neander extends his criticism of French drama - into his reasoning for his preference for Shakespeare over Ben Jonson. Shakespeare "had the largest and most comprehensive soul," while Jonson was "the most learned and judicious writer which any theater ever had." Ultimately, Neander prefers Shakespeare for his greater scope, his greater faithfulness to life, as compared to Jonson's relatively small scope and French/Classical tendency to deal in "the beauties of a statue, but not of a Man."

Neander

1. He supports the English plays.

2. Tragicomedy relieves our audiences from the viness of tragedy. 

3. Lisideius criticizes English Plays for showing violence or death on the stage. Neander defends this by saying that death is the ultimate reality and the English dramatists are only presenting a lively image of nature.

4. He criticizes French dialogues as being too cold and long to suit the taste of the English audience.

5. He defends the violation of the unities by the English dramatists by claiming that there is no harm in violating if the drama is fulfilling its purpose.

Crites objects to rhyme in plays: "since no man without premeditation speaks in rhyme, neither ought he to do it on the stage." He cites Aristotle as saying that it is, "best to write a tragedy in that kind of verse...which is nearest prose" as a justification for banishing rhyme, from the drama in favor of blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter). Even though blank verse lines are no more spontaneous than are rhymed lines, they are still to be preferred because they are "nearest nature": "Rhyme is incapable of expressing the greatest thought naturally, and the lowest it cannot with any grace: for what is more unbefitting the majesty of verse than to call a servant or bid a door be shut in rhyme?"

Neander responds to the objections against rhyme by admitting that "verse so tedious" is inappropriate to drama (and to anything else). "Natural" rhymed verse is, however, just as appropriate to dramatic as to non-dramatic poetry: the test of the "naturalness" of rhyme is how well-chosen the rhymes are. Is the sense of the verses tied down to, and limited by, the rhymes, or are the rhymes in service to, and an enhancement of, the sense of the verses?

The Main Points of Dryden's Essay

1. The appreciation of the worth of the striving, nature-imitating, large scope of tragicomedy and Shakespeare over the static perfection of the ideal-imitating Classical/French/Jonsonian drama.

2. A dramatic act is defined as " an imitation with the aim to delight and to teach, and is considered a just and lively image of human nature representing its passions and humours for the delight and

instruction of mankind." 3. The idea of decorum in the work of art is emphasized.