Question

social, Relegious and political backgrounds of age of Dryden​

Answer 1

Answer:

John Dryden (1631-1700), the major poet of the Restoration Age, was born at Aldwincle, a village near Oundle in Northampton shire. His paternal grand father named Sir Eramus Dryden was a baroner and his mother was Lady Pickering, the first cousin of Sir Gilbert Pickering. He received his primary education in the village school of neighbouring Tichmarsh. From Tichmarsh, he passed on to Westminster school about the year 1642. From Westminster, he went to Trinity College, Cambridge in 1650.He was close to Sir Robert Howard that friendship caused of his marriage with Lady Elizabeth in 1663, the daughter of his friend, but the marriage proved unhappy.

Undoubtedly, he was an original and discriminating critic. Dr Johnson called him, "the father of English Criticism". Besides, he was the founder of modern prose style. He was an outstanding poet and dramatist. In his age, minor literary critics were so many with their erratic work, but the major contemporaries with significant work were Thomas Rhymer, John Dennis and Jeremy Collier. It would be better to discuss social and literary background of his age (1660-1700).

A. Social Background:

The Age of Dryden begins with the Restoration of Charles II to the throne in 1660 till the death of the poet in 1700. It will not be exaggeration to say that he was the dominant literary figure who nicely represented the period.

B. Literary Background:

In literature, this school of criticism is called Neo-classical, pseudo classical or Augustan Age. In this era, literary men began to imitate the French writers. It was a blind imitation led them copy the worst work instead of using their wit. So it was only copy. They call it Augustan Age because the writers of the time considered their age was as glorious as the age of King Augustus Caesar of Rome. That age produced brilliant literary figures as Horace, Virgil, Longinous and Quintillian. Where as, in this pseudo-classical age, John Dryden was a dominant figure that's why it is called the Age of Dryden.