Age of John Dryden (1631-1700) l John Dryden as a Satirist l John Dryden Famous Works l John Dryden Political views

He was a famous English playwright, poet, critic, interpreter, and dramatist, and became the first poet to receive England's Poet laureate award in 1668. He is the finest restoration age literary figure.

Birth
Thrapston Northamptonshire, England, Aldwincle, August 19, 1631.

Died
London, UK, May 12, 1700 (aged 68)

Occupation
Poet, critical literary, drama

Important works
Mac Flecknoe,  The Hind and the Panther, Fables, Ancient and Modern, All for Love and The Spanish Fryar, Annus Mirabilis, Religio Laici, Absalom and Achitophel,  Astraea Redux

Family 
Erasmus Dryden(Father) 

Mary Pickering (Mother)

Wife
Lady Elizabeth

Children
Charles, John, Henry Erasmus.

Dryden was born in 1631, he was the eldest of fourteen children born in a village named Aldwinkle, Northamptonshire.

He was up with strong puritanical views and was sent to Westminster in 1644 and then to Cambridge in 1650. He made excellent use of his opportunities, studied with enthusiasm, and became one of his oldest educated people. With his expertise and familial connections, he was associated with the puritan party. Dryden's first significant poem about the death of Cromwell, 'Heroic Stanzas,' has been published in 1658:
This is the "Heroic Stanzas" poetry

''He alone received his splendor from above,
Because he was so rich ere;
And struggles, like mists of light,
Made it, but it doesn't seem larger.''

At the age of 32 on 1 December 1663, Dryden married Lady Elizabeth, Sir Robert Howard's Royal sister. Charles, John, Erasmus Henry, were three sons.

Dryden Carrier and Later Life
Dryden 'Astrea Redux,' a welcome poem for Charles II and his 'Panegyric for his Holy Majesty,' breathes a greater appreciation for his love for 'the old goat' and his earlier puritanical writings. The poem "Heroic Stanzas" made Dryden known and was fairly transformed into the New Poet of puritanism. His "Annus Mirabilis" got more renowned and famous in 1667. It is a narrative poem, describing the terror of the great fire in London and some events of the terrible battle in the Netherlands.

Dryden gave himself severe labor for almost 20 years. Theater needed dirty play and Dryden following his crowd, which was demonstrated in some of his later work, "All for Love" being the first play written in a blank verse, the others primarily in a few times. During this time Dryden became the most renowned literary personality in London, but his efforts were rewarded with considerable economic returns and his position as poet and collector at the London Harbor.

At the age of 50, Dryden went from his theatre work into the struggle between religion and politics by writing his numerous prose and lyrical treatises at the time. The laity's religion was born in 1682 in defense of the Anglican Church against most sects especially Catholicism and the Protestants.

Dryden's most famous religious poetry is "the hind and the panther." During the 1688 uprising, he refused to stick to William of Orange, as he was deprived of all pensions and was condemned again as the only income of an old person in his works. However, Dryden's "Fables"' final work contains poetic parables of Boccaccio and Chaucer tales. The opening to the tale is generally considered as an example of Dryden and the new prosaic style of his successors.

Dryden Poetic Style
Dryden used formal frameworks like heroic couples, he tried to repeat the flow of genuine speech, and he realized that different subjects required different verses. His subject was characterized by or composed of facts. Dryden had a major impact on the following classical period.

This effect may be summed up by taking into consideration the three components in our literature.

• These are the following:
• His development as we continue to cultivate the simple, functional writing style,
• The establishment of Satiric heroic pairs, educational and descriptive poetry.
• His growth in his works and many prefaces to his literary-critical art poetry. It's a tremendous task to do for one man, we can definitely say and it deserves appreciation for Dryden, but little of what he wrote is in our libraries.

Youtube Lecture: Age of  John Dryden