Drydens comparative criticism with Shakespeare, Ben jonson ,Fletcher Beaumont

                                                  ASSIGNMENT PAPER NO- 3

v(Literary criticism and Theory)

                     

vTopic- Dryden’s comparative criticism of Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Beaumont and Fletcher in “An Essay on dramatic poesy)

vSubmitted to – Smt.S.B Gardy

Department of English

v(M.K. University Bhavnagar)

vName- Shital D Italia

vRoll no – 34

            

vIntroduction

Ø  John Dryden was a great restoration poet as well as critic. He was a versatile writer who left no branches of literature untouchable. He produce lots of outstanding merits in each field. He was a poet, prose writer, dramatist and critic also. His works like “An essay on dramatic poesy”, “Preface and dedication” and “preface to fables” are his chief contribution to criticism.

                          Among them his” Essay on dramatic poesy is regarded as an important landmark in history of literary criticism. He established himself as a revolutionary critic. So Dr.Johnson called him “The Father of English criticism”.

Dryden’s contribution.

  

1)    Progress and Modernity.

            Dryden has deep faith on progress and modernity .He objects to the pettiness to the roman comic plot. He finds that roman play lacks in moral instruction in wit, in warmth of love scene. But at the sometime he admires their plot and regularity of structure. He finds fault in ancient writers, but considered them to be the best teacher of the modern. He advocates classical restraint in diction.

2)    Comparative criticism

            Dryden’s comparative criticism theory is proved revolutionary, before Dryden, most of the classist had been conduct to compare modern literature with Greek and Latin, because they were regarded as a perfect model for all time. According to him the critic who accused Shakespeare for his liberalization in using the dramatic technique had no passion to delve deep in understanding of Shakespearean style. According to him they might not have noticed that

                              

                             “Art is Dynamic not a static force”

v  His originality and Liberalism

           Dryden was genius and it is well expressed in his criticism. He influenced by Aristotle and

Cicero but he disregards them if they are fentastic.He gives more important to delight then to instruction in his criticism. He says that,

“Delight is the chief, it not the end of poesy”

v John Fletcher (1579-1625)

          He was an English poet and playwright, although he wrote many works alone and with several different dramatists he is best known for his collaborative with fellow playwright Francis Beaumont.

                 Fletcher’s real talent lay in comedy, especially in the genre of tragicomedy. His style of tragicomedy at its best manages to generate considerable power the sheer variety of the emotion it arouses. He is the master of plot and character and used exaggerated speech for dramatic effect. In the Elizabethan drama we can found generally ten syllable line while in Fletcher’s play he used 11 lines sometimes 12 syllables. But the wild appearance of his Drama is that Extravagance language. He is a highly mannered style.

              The hero of Fletcher’ play were preoccupied wit the theme of love or honor or sometime both together. Fletcher’s particular technical abilities served him well in handling plot of comic intrigue and his delight.

v William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

   

          Dryden remarks on Shakespeare, He ceases to be a classicist and goes over to the other romantics. Dryden considers him as a “comprehensive soul”.

                  In his “essay on Dramatic poesy “he says that Shakespeare he was the man who of all moderns, and perhaps Ancient poets. All the image of nature was still present to him, and he drew them not laboriously, but luckily: when he describes any thing we can see and feel it.

v Ben Jonson

                  

                   Ben Jonson was both a creative and critical writer. He was an English playwright and poet best known for his satiric comedy “Everyman in his humor” and “Everyman out of humor”

                 

                   Dryden believes that he was most learned and judicious writer which any theater ever had. He was a most server judge of himself as well as other. One cannot say he wanted wit, but rather that he was frugal of it. In his critical work “Discoveries” we may also find three things for the good style i.e.:

To read the best authors.

To observe the best speakers.

Has much exercise of his own style.