John Dryden (19 August, 1631 – 12 May, 1700) was an English playwright, literary critic and poet. Dryden was England’s first poet laureate and was also historiographer royal.
- Walter Scott called Dryden “Glorious John”
- A period in which Dryden dominated the literary life was called Age of Dryden
- Dryden was the oldest of 14 children and a second cousin once removed of Jonathan Swift
- During his time as a playwright, Dryden maintained that he was never good enough for his audience.
- Dryden was expelled from the Royal Society for non-payment of his dues.
- Of Dramatick Poesie (1668) is considered Dryden’s best unsystematic prefaces and essays. Her wrote that work in Wiltshire when London was suffering the Great Plague.
- Dryden had a long standing conflict with John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester. In 1679 Rochester hired thugs to attack Dryden in Convent Garden near his home.
- Dryden was also known for his satiric verse.
- Dryden is believed to be the first person to state that English sentences should not end in a preposition.
- Dryden was buried in St. Anne’s Cemetery in Soho, however 10 days after his burial he was exhumed and reburied in Westminster Abbey.
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