Restoration Poetry

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Restoration poetry

1

  1. John Dryden (1631-1700) The Restoration Poetry was mostly satirical, realistic and 

written in the heroic couplet 

  1. Dryden was the supreme master of the heroic couplets.

  2. In the field of poetry, Dryden was the only poet noteworthy.

  3. Earlier in his youth, Dryden was under the influence of the metaphysical.

  4. Gradually, he emancipated himself and wrote in a clear forceful style.

  5. And this laid the foundation of the classical school of Poetry. 

2

  1. The poetry of Dryden can be divided into three parts 

  1. Political satire 

  2. Doctrinal Poems and

  3. The fables

  1. Of his political satires, The Achitophel and The Medal are well known.

  2. Abs Rach is one of the greatest political satires

  3. There Dryden defended the king against Karl of Shaftesbury.

  4. Achitophel is represented as Shaftesbury. 

3

  1. The two great doctrinal poems of Dryden was Religio Laici and Laymans Faith

  2. These poems are neither religious nor devotional.

  3. Instead, it is theological and controversial.

4  striking the first ( Religio Laici) was written when Dryden was a protestant

5  Here he defends the Anglican church.

6  The second was written when he became a catholic.

7  Here he defends Catholicism.

8  Here we find that Dryden’s power and skill of defending any position he took up  

     and his mastery in presenting and an argument in verse.

9  

  1. The fables were written during the last years of Dryden’s life.

  2. And these works show no decrease in his poetic power.

  3. These have works show no decrease in his poetic power.

  4. These have been written in narrative form.

  5. These are one of the best storytellers in verse.

10.

  1. The Palamon and Arcite is based on Chaucer’s Knight’s tale.

  2. This helps us to compare the method and art of a 14th-century poet with one belonging to the 17th century.

  3. Of the many miscellaneous poems of Dryden Annus Mirabilis is a fine example of narrative power. 

  4. His Alexander’s Feast is one of the best odes in English Literature.

11. 

  1. The poetry of Dryden possesses all the characteristics of the restoration age.

  2. The poetry of Dryden has the

  1. Formation 

  2. The intellectual precision 

  3. The argumentative skill & 

  4. Realism which were the main characteristic of the age.

  1. Dryden’s greatness lies in being a great satirist & reasoner in verse.

  2. His greatest contribution to English poetry was his Heroic couplet.

  3. This style became an accepted measure of serious English poetry for many years.