Essay on Dramatic poesy

Name: jumani pooja k.

Roll no: 08

Sem.: 3

Part: 2

Topic: Essay on Dramatic poesy

Paper no: Literary Criticism

Year: 2012-13

Submitted to

Dr. Dilip Barad,

                                      Dept. of English,

Maharaja Krishnkumarsinhji Bhavnagar University,

Bhavnagar

An essay of Dramatic poesy (John Dryden)

An essay of dramatic poesy written by john Dryden and he was master of in his works at also best dramatic writer in that time.

    John Dryden (1631-1700), English poet, dramatist, and critic, was the leading literary figure of the restoration age.

In 1668, he wrote his most important prose work, of dramatic Poesy, an Essay, the basis for his reputation as the father of English literary criticism.

The climate of criticism changed with the arrival on the literary scene of such giants as Miguel de Cervantes, lope de Vega, and Pedro Calderon in Spain, William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, and john Milton in England, and Pierre Corneille, Jean Baptieste Racine, and Moliere in France. 

Most of these writers specialized or excelled in drama, and consequently the so-called battle of the ancients and moderns-the critical comparison of Greek and Roman authors with more recent ones-was fought chiefly in that arena.

In his Essay of dramatic Poesy (1668), English poet and playwright John Dryden presented the conflicting claims of the two sides as a debate among four friends, only one of whom favors the ancient over the modern theater. One modernist Prefers the dignified “decorum” of French drama to the confusing “tumult” of actions and emotions on the English stage, By contrast, Dryden’ s spokesman prefers the lifelike drama of English theater to French tragedy, which he considers beautiful but lifeless.

All agree, however, that “ a play ought to be a just and lively image of human nature, representing its passions and humors, and the changes of fortune to which it is subject, for the delight and instruction of mankind.”

In his address, “To the Readers”, prefixed to ‘the Essay’,  Dryden says that his aim we”….. to vindicate the honor of our English writers from the censure of those who unjustly prefer the French before them.”

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)         Regarding comparative superiority of ancient and the moderns

2)   The comparative merits and demerits of blank verse and rhyme for dramatic purpose.

Samuel sorbiere’s (French) unfavorable remark about English life, stage and science.

Five issues are under discussion in this essay:

Ancients vs. moderns

Unities

French vs. English Drama Separation of tragedy and comedy vs. tragicomedy

Appropriateness of Rhyme in Drama

Dryden is a neoclassic critic, and at he also deals in his criticism with some issues of the form and morality in drama. However, he is not a rule bound critic, tied down to the classical unities or to notions of what constitutes a “proper” character for the stage. He relies heavily on a pragmatic tradition.

Dryden wrote the essay and dramatic dialogue with the four characters representing four critical positions. These four critical position deals with five issues.

In his essay he primarily focusing on the drama, the poetry of plays, at also used “platonic” method, he was creates a dialogue between poet/critics of the day who have different viewpoint about the strengths and weaknesses of, and influences on, British poesy. And put the argument and at also talk about variety of position into consideration. And create new “rules” for drama and comedy, or verse.

At the end of the essay, a discussion of the proper use of rhyme and verse ensues, mostly between cries who wants to eliminate the use of rhyme, which he sees as sounding artificial, and Neander, who says if you want to eliminate rhyme on that basic, why not verse on the same grounds. He also suggests that comedy should not be rhymed but that the heroic tragedy should be.

Comment upon Dryden’s comparative criticism of Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Beaumont and Fletcher in ‘An Essay of Dramatic Poesy’.

John Fletcher (1579-1625)

He was English poet and playwright. He well known for the tragicomedies Most scholars acknowledge that Fletcher’s real talent lay in comedy, in the genre of tragicomedy. His style of tragicomedy at its best manages to generate considerable power through the sheer variety of the emotions it arouses. His main themes of love and emotions.

Shakespeare: in his remarks on Shakespeare, Dryden ceases to be a classicist and goes over to the other camp of the romantics. He writes “To begining then with Shakespeare, he was the man who of all Moderns, and perhaps Ancient poets, had the largest and most comprehensive soul his all image of nature were still present to him

He further adds that: …however others are now generally prefer before him, yet the Age wherein e lived  which had contemporaries with him, Fletcher and Jonson never equal’s them to him in their esteem.

These remarks are illuminating and suggestive. They show that Dryden was quite conscious of both the weakness and real greatness of Shakespeare.

Ben Jonson: he said that I think the most learned and judicious writer which any Theater ever had. But something of Art was wanting to the Drama till he came. He managed his strength to more advantage then any who preceded him.

Significance of Dryden’s view:

Dryden’s evolution of Shakespeare, Jonson,Beaunont and Fletcher, is of significance for number of reasons.

1)    First, the ‘Essay’ completes historical perspective which Dryden presents in the essay. He talk about the Ancients, the French, and the Moderns.

2)    His ‘Essay’ is a valuable contribution to the controversies of the day:

·       The Ancients Vs the Modern

·       The French Vs the English Drama

·       The Blank verse Vs rhyme and

·       The Elizabethan Vs the Restoration drama.

3)    This Essay reveals Dryden’s comparative method of criticism at its best.