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John DrydenAn Essay of Dramatic Poesy
Nonfiction | Essay / Speech | Adult | Published in 1668A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Key FiguresCharacter Analysis
John Dryden, or Neander
John Dryden was the most influential English poet of the 17th century. In fact, the literary era in which he worked is often called the Age of Dryden. Considered a progenitor of the field of literary criticism, Dryden not only wrote poetry and plays, but also treatises—like “An Essay of Dramatic Poesy”—on the purposes and qualities of literary expression. Born to a Puritan family in 1631, Dryden lived through a tumultuous period in history, with civil war as the backdrop to his youth and a repressive Puritan Interregnum (1649-1660) that impinged on his authorial coming-of-age. He would eventually rise to the position of Poet Laureate. Dryden was a shrewd operator in a divisive time, composing a poem in tribute to Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector, upon his death and later penning a panegyric in praise of the restoration of Charles II to the throne. He remained a staunch royalist until his death in 1700.
In “An Essay of Dramatic Poesy,” Dryden’s voice speaks through the character of Neander, whose name means “new man” in Greek. Neander’s role is to act as the impassioned defender of English literary and theatrical greatness as well as to justify the use of rhyme (“poesy”) for the stage. Indeed, Neander boldly claims that the English “have invented, increased, and perfected a more pleasant way of writing for the stage than was ever known to the ancients of moderns of any nation” (189). He also argues that English plays are more complex, more original, and wholly unique: “We have borrowed nothing from them [the French]; our plots are weaved in English looms” (196). Finally, he declares, “[I]t can be no addition to pronounce of our present poets that they have far surpassed all the ancients, and the modern writers of other countries” (207). Of course, Dryden himself is one of those “present poets,” so it is with undisguised (if enlightened) self-interest that Neander makes his claims on behalf of his creator.
Eugenius (Charles Sackville, Lord Buckhurst)
The character of Eugenius is based on one of Dryden’s benefactors, to whom the essay is dedicated. Of the essay’s supporting characters, Eugenius harbors an opinion that is most akin to Dryden’s (or rather, Neander’s) own: He first defends modern writers against the ancients and then passes the baton to Neander to defend English theater against the French. He disagrees with Crites over his unstinting devotion to the ancients: “If your quarrel […] to those who now write, be grounded only on your reverence to antiquity, there is no man more ready to adore those great Greeks and Romans than I am” (152). Hence, in keeping with the values of the era, Eugenius rightly reveres the ancients. However, he continues, “I cannot think so contemptibly of the age in which I live, or so dishonourably of my own country, as not to judge we equal the ancients in most kinds of poesy, and in some surpass them” (152). He also considers himself “zealous for the reputation of our age” (153), presumably an appropriate attitude for a patron of one of the greatest poets of it.
Later, Eugenius argues that the literature of the moderns is superior to that of the ancients because of the moderns’ greater knowledge of nature: “We draw not therefore after their lines, but those of nature; and having the life before us, besides the experience of all they knew, it is no wonder if we hit some airs and features which they have missed” (162). Finally, Eugenius is instrumental in ensuring that the figure whose opinion holds the most weight is Neander—that is to say, Dryden. After Lisideius finishes his argument in favor of French theater, Eugenius defers to his companion, Neander, to supply the counterargument, saying “his opinion of our plays is the same with mine” (174). This is notable for two reasons: First, it allows Dryden to credit (even flatter) his benefactor for his agreeable opinions; second, it marks the intellectual elevation of a younger man and social inferior. Dryden as Neander (“new man”) has the most valued opinion, rather than the old guard aristocracy.
Crites (Sir Robert Howard)
The character of Crites is modeled on Dryden’s brother-in-law and fellow dramatist, Sir Robert Howard. The only character whom Dryden specifically (albeit briefly) describes, Crites plays the foil to Eugenius and Dryden’s Neander. The author describes him as “a person of a sharp judgement, and somewhat too delicate a taste in wit, which the world has mistaken in him for ill-nature” (148). This characterization of Crites as more unjustifiably critical than intellectually adroit dovetails with his role, which is to espouse the most objectionable opinions—at least, those that are the opposite of what Dryden, the author, believes. Off the page, Dryden and Howard were competitors, though typically without overt animosity, for the audiences who crowded the London theaters.
Crites first argues in favor of the superiority of the ancients over the moderns. Again, the authentic representation of nature anchors these arguments: “Those ancients have been faithful imitators and wise observers of that nature which is so torn and ill represented in our plays” (157). Eugenius will quickly dismantle that assertion and prove (or at least claim) exactly the opposite. Later, Crites will argue against the use of rhyme (“poesy”) in dramatic plays, once again invoking nature as his basis: “I am of the opinion that rhyme is unnatural in a play because dialogue is there presented as the effect of sudden thought” (208)—in effect, people do not naturally or suddenly speak in verse. This time, Neander has the honor of undoing Crites’s contention by reasoning that rhyme is actually an elevation of nature. He also asserts that, while rhyme “is not the effect of sudden thought […] this hinders not that sudden thought may be represented in verse” (220). There is no time for Crites to respond, as the barge has arrived at its designated stop along the Thames: Neander, Dryden himself, has the final say in the debate.
Lisideius (Sir Charles Sedley)
Another fellow dramatist, Sedley was a libertine infamous for his sexual exploits and profligate manner—though he was sought out for his company because of his impressive wit. His literary output is not widely studied today. His role in the essay is primarily to celebrate the French theater for its adherence to the rules set out by the ancients and for its ability to soothe temperaments rather than prick base passions. This is in contrast to the English habit of showing great battles and tragic deaths upon the stage. Lisideius argues that a proper theatrical production should exercise restraint and avoid fancy: “That is, those actions which by reason of their cruelty will cause aversion in us, or by reason of their impossibility unbelief, ought either wholly to be avoided by a poet, or only delivered by narration” (184). Neander deems these very points liabilities in his ardent response in favor of the English theater.
It is ironic that the Francophile Lisideius appears to defend the qualities of these plays that are most unlike the French reputation: Instead of being passionate, their theater is soothing; instead of heightening emotions, it calms temperaments. Earlier in the essay, Lisideius criticizes contemporary English writers for their disinterest in the outcome of important events: They are as likely to compose two versions of a poem in honor of a battle, one in which the English are victorious and one in which they are not. That is, they are interested only in their own reputations, not in fealty to country. That too is quite ironic, as Lisideius becomes the voice who speaks on behalf of the French, not the English.
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