Dryden's Essay on Dramatic Poesy

Hello friends, 

This thinking Activity is a part of academic study of Dryden's "Dramatic Poesy" here I watched six vedioes base on this topic and I try to interpretation on my understand all this things. 

Why Dr. Samual Johnson called Dryden the father of English criticism?

Dryden was Neoclassical critic. Dr. Samual Johnson also called to Dryden the father of the English criticism. It means the Dryden was the founder of the English Criticism. But Philip Sidney is first and after Dryden but Sidney's work was published after his death, edited by his sister Mary Sidney. Compare to that Dryden's has quite more and he also defined of the play and basided his of Dramatic Poesy. Which gives the position of the father of criticism to Dryden.

Dryden as Neoclassical critic:-

He belong to the Neoclassical age and also known as critic. He influence are Aristotle, longinus and many other classical critic. Dryden given the defination but that time he not offering to a defination, he saying that I am offering a description. Dryden also influenced of the Aristotle's defination of Tragedy.

Definition by Dryden:-

"A just and lively image of human nature, representing it's Prassions and humours and changes of fortune to which it is subject, for the delight and instruction of manking".

The debate between critic & Eugenius's views on the superiority of the ancients and the moderns in of te Dramatic Poesy:-

Eugenius who favour the moderns over the ancients argued that the modern excced the ancient because of having learned and profited from their example. He campare to Elizabethan to the Neoclassical. Eugenius is not blind to good things in the Elizabethan himself. He's pro- classicist, he honors the classicist model.

Lisideius the representative of the conservative tory and his views in favour of the French plays:-

Lisideius who argues that French drama is superior to English drama. Lisideius argument also is very much taking its falling in place. After the classical morden. Neoclassical contrast the English practice is also becoming very appropriate.

Let discuss other thing in seperate questions.

# Do you any difference between Aristotle's defination of Tragedy and Dryden's defination of the play?

Yes, Dryden defination divided in three parts like:

-A just and lively image of human nature.

-representing it's prassions and humours and chages of fortune to which it is subject.

- delight and instruction of mankind.

Dryden defined word image, another word just can also be a very drab kind of an image. So, reader, viewers might not be very interested in it and he inserts the word livel also.

Aristotle's defination of Tragedy ended with therapeutic word 'catharsis'. He says that tragedy is an imitation of an action. He believed that there is natural pleasure in imitation. 

# what would be your preference so far as poetic dialogues are concerned in the play?

I would like the poetic dialogues are better understanding of the human nature and work of human mind. Poetic dialogues helped to the illiterate, common reader and also used on every people. Poetic language is neither simple nor easy but it complex to understand but poetic dialogues by understand.

# if you are supposed to give your personal predilection, would you be the side of the ancient or the modern? Plese give reason.

According to me, it is not necessary that modern always tries to copy from the ancient.

"Old is gold"

It means that the ancient idea, thought give to way in modern time. Ancient always trying to go back to some different and inspiration as the modern. And modern takes idea from ancient and tries to present it in a different and unique manner. I prefer to both because ancient and modern are two side of coins any always to tries to support each other.

This whole described questions on Dramatic Poesy by Dryden and i tried to make a easy way to answer those questions.

Thank you!!