John Dryden Brief Biography and Works

English Poet, Playwright, Translator, Famous for Play All for Love

Jul 24, 2009 Tel Asiado

Brief biography of John Dryden, prominent poet and playwright of the late 17th century during Cromwell and King Charles II. Translated works of Chaucer, Virgil, Ovid.

John Dryden, the 17th-century's most influential man of letters, was the leading English poet and playwright of the Restoration period, when poetry and drama flourished following the return of the English monarchy in 1660. As a playwright, his best known plays are All for Love and Marriage à la mode.

Early Life of John Dryden

John Dryden was born into a rural but well-off family in Aldwincle, Northumpsonshire on August 9, 1631. He was educated at Westminster School in London and Cambridge University, where he enjoyed studying science as well as the arts. While he was still a child, the English Civil War was fought. Dryden's family supported Oliver Cromwell, who won the struggle to overthrow King Charles I and make England a republic.

Dryden was more concerned that the country should have a stable government than with who was in charge. When he was 28, he produced his first important poem, Heroic Stanzas on the Death of Cromwell. It was a celebration of Cromwell's life, who had died the previous year after ruling the country since the end of the war.

Dryden's Life after Cromwell

During Cromwell's dictatorship many theatres were closed. A year later Dryden welcomed the return of a new king, Charles II, and the end of the republic with his poem Astraea Redux, praising the new king, in 1660.

John Dryden was a contemporary of John Milton, and along with him, Dryden worked as a civil servant, as an administrator during the Restoration.

Dryden as Playwright

With the return of the monarchy the theatres were reopened, with the period of great theatre known today as Restoration Drama began. Dryden wrote his first play in 1663. Soon he discovered that plays earned him more money than poems. Over the next twenty years he wrote more than 20 plays, both comedies and tragedies in verse.

All for Love, a version of the story of Antony and Cleopatra, was his most successful tragedy. His comedy Marriage à-la-Mode is also popular.

Last Insight on Dryden

Aside from poetry, Dryden's output covers many dramatic works including operas. Notably, he collaborated with the great composer that time, Henry Purcell. He also translated some of the works of Chaucer, Virgil, Ovid, Juvenal and Lucretius. He died in London on May 1, 1700, at the age of 68.

Works by John Dryden

• Heroic Stanzas on the Death of Cromwell, 1659
• Astraea Redux, 1660
• The Wild Gallant, 1663
• Annus Mirabilis, 1667, poem
• Secret Love, 1667
• Marriage à-la-Mode, 1672
• All for Love, 1677,
• Absolom and Achitophel, 1681-1682, poem
• Mac Flecknoe, 1682, poem
• The Hind and the Panther, 1687, poem
• Alexander's Feast, 1697, poem

Sources:

• McGovern, Una, Ed. Chambers Biographical Dictionary. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers, 2002.
• Ousby, Ian. The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
• Payne, Tom. The A-Z of Great Writers. London: Carlton, 1997.

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John Dryden, English Poet, Playwright, Translator

John Dryden Play ... All for Love