John Dryden Neoclassical

Info

- first of the moderns

- field preacher

- both poetry and prose

- versatility

- envisaged new age of reasonableness and scientific progress

- poet laureate and historiographer

- satirical poetry made him politically respected and feared

- claim to greatness rests upon his versatility

- civilized literary language; established heroic couplet as dominant verse form

- art of rational control

Works

- "Of Satire" - be careful of what you say

- Absalom and Achitophel - allegorical satire attacking the Whigs

- The Medal

- Mac Flecknoe

- Religio Laici - defended Anglicanism against deism and Roman Catholicism

- The Hind and the Panther

- Fables Ancient and Modern

- "To My Honored Friend, Dr. Charleton"

Terms

- poet laureate - the official poet of a nation or region

- occasional verse - poetry written to enhance or make memorable a particular occasion, normally public and contemporary

- heroic couplets - couplets of iambic pentameter

- satirical poetry - corrective ridicule

- allegorical - literal and implied level of meaning

- poetic diction - artificially selected and refined language once considered essential to poetic expression; heavy use of personification, apostrophe, and periphrasis

- epigram - short, highly compressed poem making a wise or humorous point

Citation

Horton, Ronald A. British Literature for Christian Schools. Greenville, SC: Bob Jones University Press, 1992.