General Estimate of Dryden's Essay

Name:Gohil Hetalba C

Paper: 3 Literary Theory and Criticism

M.A 2   Sem 1

Roll: 5

                      Topic: General Estimate of Dryden's Essay

Submitted To,

Dr Dilip Barad

Dept of English

Mk Bhavnagar University

Bhavnagar

General Estimate of Dryden’s Essay 

   The Essay is written in the form of a dialogue concerned to four gentlemen: Eugenius, Crites, Lisideius and Neander. Neander seems to speak for Dryden himself. Eugenius takes the side of the modern English dramatists. Crites defends the ancient. Lesideius defends the French playwrights and attacks the English tendency to mix genres. 

Dryden's definition of drama 

  Dryden's definition of drama really covers a wide range. According to him, drama is a just and lively image of human nature, representing its passions and humours, and the changes of fortune to which it is subject, for the delight and instruction of mankind. He insists on the words 'Just' and 'lively' image of human nature. In support of the words, it must be admitted that material of all topics is drawn from a society. The society is made of mankind or living things, and without them, society is nothing. Dryden implies word 'Image' as an imitation or appearance of human nature must be just. Just means exact or as it is. It means an exact copy of reality. Dryden is different; he does not like only the slavish or exact copy of reality, but it must be lively. John Dryden gives value to labour. If one reveals it as rough as it was, it must be a rough work with a trivial value. If it is represented lively, the work would be lively, and the poet would be valued. John Dryden gives primary importance to delight, and the secondary to instruction. The function of poetry is delight, and to instruct is the function of prose. 

The Ancients versus Modern Playwrights 

      Dryden in his essay, An Essay on Dramatic Poesy, justified the Moderns. The case for the ‘Ancients’ is presented by Crites.He makes us see the achievement of the Ancients and the gratitude of the Moderns to them. The superiority of the Ancients is established by the very fact that the Moderns simply imitate them, and build on the foundations laid by them. The Ancient drama is superior because the Ancients closely observed Nature and faithfully represented her in their work Crites makes special mention of the Unities, of Time, Place, and Action. The Ancients followed these rules and the effect is satisfying and pleasing. 

   Eugenius favors the Moderns and said that moderns have not blindly imitated them. Had they done so, they would have lost the old perfection, and would not achieve any new excellences. Even the Ancients’ observance of the three unities is not perfect. The Ancient critics, like Horace and Aristotle, did not make mention of the Unity of Place. Their plays do not perform one of the functions of drama, which of giving delight as well as instruction. There is no poetic justice in their plays. Ancient themes are equally defective. The proper end of Tragedy is to arouse “admiration and concernment (pity)”. But their themes are lust, cruelty, murder, and bloodshed, which instead of arousing admiration and pity arouse “horror and terror”. 

Lisideius’s view in favour of the Superiority of the French Drama over the English Drama 

    Lisideius speaks in favour of the French. He agrees with Eugenius that in the last generation the English drama was superior. The French do not burden the play with a fat plot. They represent a story which will be one complete action, and everything which is unnecessary is carefully excluded. But the English burden their plays with actions and incidents which have no logical and natural connection with the main action so much so that English play is a mere compilation. Hence the French plays are better written than the English ones. Based on the definition of the play, Neander suggests that English playwrights are best at "the lively imitation of nature" Further; he suggests that English plays are more entertaining and instructive because they offer an element of surprise that the Ancients and the French do not. 

Mixture of Tragedy and Comedy 

    Dryden is more considerate in his attitude towards the mingling of the tragic and the comic elements and emotions in the plays. Mirth does not destroy compassion and thus the serious effect which tragedy aims at is not disturbed by mingling of tragic and comic. Just as the eye can pass from an unpleasant object to a pleasant one, so also the soul can move from the tragic to the comic. And it can do so much more swiftly. 

Rhymed Verse versus Blank Verse Controversy 

    Crites’s attack on Rhyme occurs towards the end of the Essay, Rhyme is unnatural in a play, for a play is in dialogues, and no man without premeditation speaks in rhyme. Drama is a ‘just’ representation of Nature, and rhyme is unnatural, for nobody in Nature expresses himself in rhyme. It is artificial and the art is too apparent, while true art consists in hiding art. Tragedy is a serious play representing nature exalted to its highest pitch; rhyme being the noblest kind of verse is suited to it, and not to comedy. 

Conclusion 

In short, John Dryden in his essay, An Essay on Dramatic Poesy, gives an account of the Neo-classical theory and discusses all the topics in the essay.