Dryden, the public writer, 1660-1685 / George McFadden.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

McFadden, George, 1916- author.

Series:

Princeton legacy library.

Princeton Legacy Library

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Politics and literature--Great Britain--History--17th century.

Politics and literature.

Authors, English--Early modern, 1500-1700--Biography.

Authors, English.

Great Britain--Politics and government--1660-1688.

Great Britain.

Dryden, John, 1631-1700--Political and social views.

Dryden, John.

Dryden, John, 1631-1700--Friends and associates.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (320 pages).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, 1978.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This reinterpretation of Dryden's life and works shows how his writings were influenced by important contemporaries, the power struggles of Restoration politics, and the friendships and rivalries of society. Professor McFadden sees Dryden's poems, plays, and essays as forms of address immediately related to the historical moment and the patron or dedicatee. This approach created a dialogue between the writer and his age that enabled him to interpret some of the deepest and still inchoate social and political attitudes of his day.The author traces Dryden's rise to notoriety, along with the development of the poetic techniques he used to acquire and form his audience. Dryden's work for the theater figures prominently in the analysis, including the prologues, epilogues, and especially the dedications, which have never before been exploited. Historical and biographical findings lead Professor McFadden to new readings of major works, lie also draws important conclusions bearing upon the genre of the heroic play, the relationships between lampoon, satire, and comedy in Restoration writing, and the sense in which the term "Augustan" may be applied to that writing. Finally, he demonstrates that Dryden was a writer in the fullest contemporary sense of the word: a worker in language, carrying on a creative exchange with the contingencies and forms of his time.Originally published in 1978.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

Books and Periodicals Frequently Cited

Introduction

PART ONE. Dryden the Poet

ONE. Dryden's Early Attitudes toward Politics and the Heroic

Two. The Controversy with Sir Robert Howard

THREE. Dryden and His Betters

FOUR. Dryden among the Courtiers

FIVE. Among the Wits

PART TWO: The Succession Crisis and its Critic

Six. Aureng-Zebe: The Character of a Loyal Successor

SEVEN. On Stage: Sophocles, Shakespeare, the Popish Plot

EIGHT. Absalom and Achitophel

NINE. The Augustan Interlude (1683-1684)

Index

Notes:

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 08. Jul 2019)

Description based on print version record.

Includes index.

ISBN:

9780691643786

0691643784

9780691616490

0691616493

9781400870226

1400870224

OCLC:

905862892