Bridge Course: Dryden's Essay on Dramatic poesy 

    This blog is in response to the understanding of Bridge course: Dryden's Essay on Dramatic poesy allotted by Dr. Dilip Barad sir.  

    John Dryden 

John Dryden (1631-1700) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who was appointed England's first poet laureate in 1668.

Dryden was the dominant literary figure and influence of his age.  Dryden's heroic couplets became the dominant poetic from of the 18th century.  

Dryden's Essay on Dramatic poesy 

An Essay on Dramatic poesy deals with the views of major critics and the tastes of men and women of the time of Dryden. The  narrative of An Essay on Dramatic poesy has four debaters among whom, Neander is the one who holds the views of Dryden. 

 

John Dryden's An Essay on Dramatic poesy presents a brief discussion on Neoclassical theory of literature.  He defends the Classical drama saying that it is an imitation of life and reflects human nature clearly.  An Essay on Dramatic poesy is written in the form of a dialogue among four  gentlemen: Eugenius, crities, lisideius and Neander. 

 Views of Crites: 

Crites favours classical drama. The drama of Aristotle who believed that drama is " imitation of life." He say that both classical and Neoclassical  favour rules and unifies- time, place and action. The classical is more skilful in languages than their successors.

Views of Eugenius :

Eugenius favours modern Dramatisis.   According to him, the classical drama is not divided into acts and also lacks originality.  Their tragedies are based on worn -out myths that are already known to the audience.  

Views of Lisideius:

Lisideius favours French drama of earlier 17th century.  The French Dramatists never mix tragedy and comedy.  Lisideius defends  the French playwright and attacks the English tendency to mix genres.

Views of Neander 

Neander speaks in favour of the Moderns and respects the Ancients; he is however critical of the rigid rules of drams and that 'tragic - comedy ' is the best form for a play; because it is closer to life in which emotion are heightened by mirth and sadness. He finds single action in French drama to be rather inadequate since it so often has a narrowing and cramping effect.

Dryden thus argues against the Neoclassical critics. Since nobody speaks in rhyme in real life, he supports the use of blank verse in drama and say that the use of rhyme in serious plays is justifiable in place of the blank verse.