3 Review(s)

Dryden’s main contribution to literary criticism is represented by An Essay of Dramatic Poesy in which in the form of a lively dialogue his views on drama are propounded. In this landmark of English Criticism, Dryden examines five important issues : the relative merits of ancient and modern poets, the French versus the English school of drama, the Elizabethan dramatists versus those of Dryden’s own time, conformation to the dramatic rules laid down by the ancients and the question of substituting rhyme for blank verse.