| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Period | Restoration (1660) to Romantic Movement (1798) |
| Key Events | • Restoration of Charles II (1660) • Rise of coffee house culture • Growth of periodical literature • Dominance of reason over imagination |
| Core Values | • Reason, Order, Decorum • Imitation of classical models • Restraint over enthusiasm • Wit, judgment, correctness • Universal truths over individual expression |
| Literary Ideals | "Good sense" + classical rules + polish/refinement |
| MCQ Alert | Neoclassical Age = Age of Reason, Order, and Classical Imitation (NOT originality/emotion) |
"Father of English Criticism" - First major English critic with systematic body of work
| Work | Date | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Essay of Dramatic Poesy | 1668 | Defense of English drama; dialogue on dramatic theory |
| Preface to the Fables | 1700 | Chaucer criticism; comparative analysis |
| An Essay on Satire | 1693 | Theory of satire |
| Preface to Troilus and Cressida | 1679 | Defense of Shakespeare; "grounds of criticism in tragedy" |
| Defence of An Essay | 1668 | Reply to Sir Robert Howard |
| MCQ Key | Essay of Dramatic Poesy (1668) = Dryden's most famous critical work |
| Element | Details |
|---|---|
| Form | Dialogue - Platonic model, NOT dogmatic essay Four speakers debating on a barge during Anglo-Dutch naval battle |
| The Four Speakers | 1. Eugenius (Lord Buckhurst) - defends Moderns 2. Crites (Sir Robert Howard) - defends Ancients 3. Lisideius (Sir Charles Sedley) - praises French drama 4. Neander (Dryden himself) - defends English drama, especially Shakespeare |
| Central Question | "Whether the English or French are more excellent in dramatic poetry" |
| Dryden's View | Neander (Dryden) = balanced middle position: respect Ancients BUT Moderns (English) have merits |
| MCQ Alert | NEANDER = Dryden's voice in the dialogue; defends ENGLISH drama |
| Debate | Positions | Conclusion |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Ancients vs. Moderns | Crites: Ancients superior (rules, unity, perfection) Eugenius: Moderns superior (variety, naturalness, progress) | Moderns have surpassed Ancients in some ways; progress is possible |
| 2. French vs. English Drama | Lisideius: French superior (follow unities, decorum, polish) Neander: English superior (variety, liveliness, depth) | English drama richer despite violating rules; Shakespeare > French playwrights |
| 3. Unities (Time, Place, Action) | Should English drama follow strict unities? French insist on all three; English violate them | Unity of ACTION most important; time/place can be flexible for English richness |
| 4. Rhyme vs. Blank Verse | Should serious drama use rhyme (French) or blank verse (English)? Lisideius: blank verse more natural Neander: rhyme elevates tragedy, aids memorability | Dryden favors RHYME in heroic plays (though he later changed his mind) |
| Exam Key | Dryden defends ENGLISH drama over French; values VARIETY over strict rules |
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Famous Definition | "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" |
| Key Terms | • "Just": Accurate, truthful representation • "Lively": Vivid, energetic (NOT dull imitation) • "Image of human nature": Universal truths about humanity • "Delight and instruction": Horatian dulce et utile |
| MCQ Hotspot | Dryden's play definition: "JUST and LIVELY image of human nature" |
| Praise | Criticism |
|---|---|
| Greatest Genius | "He was the man who of all modern, and perhaps ancient poets, had the largest and most comprehensive soul" |
| Natural Genius | "All the images of Nature were still present to him" Intuitive understanding without learning |
| Universal Characters | Created variety of characters - each distinct, alive "When he describes anything, you more than see it, you feel it too" |
| Variety | Mastered comedy, tragedy, history Represented all human passions authentically |
| --- | Lacks "correctness" and polish Sometimes uses bombast and improper wit Violates decorum (mixing high/low) Careless construction at times |
| Balance | Dryden PRAISES Shakespeare's genius while noting lack of neoclassical "correctness" |
| Aspect | Dryden's View |
|---|---|
| Comparison with Shakespeare | Jonson = Art, Learning, Judgment Shakespeare = Nature, Genius, Imagination "I admire him [Jonson], but I love Shakespeare" |
| Jonson's Strengths | • Classical learning • Following dramatic rules • Careful construction • Wit based on judgment |
| Jonson's Weaknesses | • Lacks variety • Too scholarly/pedantic • Characters less natural • Humor narrow (humours theory) |
| Famous Contrast | "I admire him [Jonson], but I love Shakespeare" - Nature > Art |
| Principle | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Flexibility | Rules are guides, NOT absolute laws Genius can transcend rules (Shakespeare proves this) |
| Nature over Rules | "Nature" (truth to life) more important than strict adherence to classical precepts |
| Imitation with Improvement | Learn from Ancients but don't slavishly copy "We have not leisure to be good poets" - need labor and revision |
| Decorum | Appropriateness of language, character, action to genre and status |
| Wit | "Propriety of thoughts and words" - fitness of expression to subject |
| Comparative Method | Compare works across languages/periods to discover principles |
| Remember | DRYDEN = Flexible Neoclassicism + Nature > Rules + Shakespeare's Genius + Comparative Criticism |
| Type | Definition | Dryden's Preference |
|---|---|---|
| Metaphrase | Word-for-word translation | Too literal; loses spirit |
| Paraphrase | Sense-for-sense translation | BEST - faithful but flexible |
| Imitation | Free adaptation | Too loose; loses original |
| MCQ Key | Dryden prefers PARAPHRASE (sense-for-sense) in translation |
| Achievement | Impact |
|---|---|
| Father of English Criticism | First systematic, extensive body of criticism in English |
| Critical Prose Style | Clear, flexible, conversational - model for later critics |
| Practical Criticism | Grounded in working poet's experience, not abstract theory |
| Balance | Mediated between strict rules and creative freedom |
| Shakespeare Criticism | Elevated Shakespeare while noting neoclassical "faults" |
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Form | Didactic poem in HEROIC COUPLETS (rhymed iambic pentameter) 743 lines divided into 3 parts |
| Publication | 1711 (Pope was only 23 years old) |
| Model | Horace's Ars Poetica - verse treatise on poetics |
| Purpose | Guide for CRITICS (not poets) Prescriptive rules for good criticism and good poetry |
| MCQ Alert | Pope's Essay on Criticism (1711) = heroic couplets, age 23, guide for CRITICS |
| Part | Lines | Content |
|---|---|---|
| Part I | 1-200 | Introduction: Criticism as difficult as poetry Rules derived from Nature Follow the Ancients (who followed Nature) |
| Part II | 201-559 | Causes of faulty criticism: • Pride, lack of learning • Judging by parts, not whole • Following fashion over truth Common errors of critics |
| Part III | 560-743 | Moral qualities of good critic: • Modesty, candor, good breeding • Praise for great critics (Aristotle, Horace, Quintilian, Longinus) • Decline of criticism in "dark ages"; revival in Renaissance |
| Quote | Meaning/Context |
|---|---|
| "A little learning is a dangerous thing" | Shallow knowledge worse than ignorance Context: Critics with partial knowledge make errors |
| "To err is human, to forgive divine" | Humanity's fallibility vs. divine mercy Context: Critics should be charitable, not harsh |
| "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread" | Ignorant critics make bold judgments experts avoid Context: Presumptuous criticism from unqualified people |
| "True ease in writing comes from art, not chance" | Good writing requires skill and effort, NOT luck Context: Poetry as craft requiring labor |
| "For fools admire, but men of sense approve" | Wise critics judge rationally, not emotionally Context: Distinction between superficial admiration and reasoned judgment |
| "Words are like leaves; and where they most abound, / Much fruit of sense beneath is rarely found" | Verbosity obscures meaning Context: Against ornate style without substance |
| "What oft was thought, but ne'er so well expressed" | Good poetry expresses universal truths in memorable form Context: True wit = perfect expression of common sense |
| MCQ Hotspot | Most quoted lines: "little learning dangerous," "err human/forgive divine," "fools rush in" |
| Principle | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Follow Nature | "First follow Nature, and your judgment frame / By her just standard" "Nature" = universal truth, reason, natural order (NOT physical nature) |
| Nature = Rules | "Those rules of old discovered, not devised, / Are Nature still, but Nature methodized" Classical rules ARE Nature organized rationally |
| Imitate the Ancients | Ancients followed Nature perfectly; learn from them "Learn hence for ancient rules a just esteem; / To copy Nature is to copy them" |
| True Wit | "True wit is Nature to advantage dressed, / What oft was thought but ne'er so well expressed" Wit = perfect expression of universal truth |
| Unity of Whole | Judge poem as complete work, not isolated beauties "In wit, as nature, what affects our hearts / Is not th' exactness of peculiar parts" |
| Sound Echoes Sense | "The sound must seem an echo to the sense" Form should match content (famous examples: Ajax strives, whisper/murmur) |
| Avoid Extremes | Balance between too much/too little wit, ornament, learning Golden mean of classical moderation |
| Core Equation | NATURE = REASON = RULES = ANCIENTS (all equivalent for Pope) |
| Effect | Pope's Example Lines |
|---|---|
| Difficulty/Effort | "When Ajax strives some rock's vast weight to throw, / The line too labours, and the words move slow" (Heavy spondees mimic straining effort) |
| Speed | "Not so, when swift Camilla scours the plain, / Flies o'er th' unbending corn, and skims along the main" (Light dactyls create rapid movement) |
| Softness | "Soft is the strain when Zephyr gently blows" (Liquid sounds mimic gentle breeze) |
| Harshness | "And the hoarse, rough verse should like the torrent roar" (Cacophony mimics rough water) |
| Principle | Onomatopoeia + meter + rhythm should REINFORCE meaning |
| Type of Bad Critic | Fault |
|---|---|
| The Pedant | Values learning over judgment; cites authorities mindlessly |
| The Partisan | Judges by faction/fashion, not merit |
| The Caviller | Finds minor faults, ignores major beauties |
| The Flatterer | Praises indiscriminately for social gain |
| The Wit | Shows off own cleverness instead of judging fairly |
| The Proud | Arrogant, thinks himself infallible |
| Remember | Good critic needs: Learning + Judgment + Modesty + Candor + Good Breeding |
| Achievement | Impact |
|---|---|
| Quintessential Neoclassicism | Perfect expression of neoclassical values in verse |
| Heroic Couplet Mastery | Perfected closed heroic couplet; quotable epigrammatic style |
| Memorable Phrasing | Created dozens of phrases still used today |
| Critical Synthesis | Synthesized Horace, Boileau, and neoclassical doctrine |
| Prescriptive Authority | Influenced standards of taste for generations |
"The Great Cham of Literature" - Dominant critical voice of later 18th century
| Work | Date | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Preface to Shakespeare | 1765 | Most important: defense of Shakespeare against neoclassical rules |
| Lives of the English Poets | 1779-81 | 52 biographical-critical essays on English poets (Cowley to Gray) |
| Rasselas | 1759 | Philosophical tale; Chapter X on poetry contains critical theory |
| The Rambler | 1750-52 | Periodical essays; many on literature (e.g., #4 on fiction) |
| Dictionary of the English Language | 1755 | Literary quotations as usage examples; implicit canon formation |
| MCQ Key | Preface to Shakespeare (1765) = Johnson's most important critical work |
| Issue | Johnson's Argument |
|---|---|
| Greatest Praise | "Nothing can please many, and please long, but just representations of general nature" Shakespeare's universality = key to his greatness |
| Above Other Writers | "Shakespeare is above all writers, at least above all modern writers, the poet of nature" Holds "mirror up to nature" (not idealized or distorted) |
| Universal Characters | Characters are species, not individuals Represent universal human types across time/place |
| Practical Knowledge | Shakespeare's wisdom from observation, not books "Shakespeare approximates the remote, and familiarizes the wonderful" |
| Core Principle | Shakespeare's UNIVERSALITY + NATURE = basis of lasting appeal |
| Charge | Johnson's Defense |
|---|---|
| 1. Violates Unities of Time & Place | UNITIES ARE ARTIFICIAL "The objection arising from the impossibility of passing the first hour at Alexandria, and the next at Rome, supposes... that the spectator really imagines himself at Alexandria" Audience KNOWS it's illusion; can accept time/place changes If we accept drama at all, we accept all its conventions |
| 2. Mixes Tragic and Comic | MIXING IS NATURAL "Shakespeare's plays are not in the rigorous and critical sense either tragedies or comedies, but compositions of a distinct kind" Life itself mixes joy and sorrow "Mingled drama" closer to reality than pure genres |
| 3. Lacks Poetic Justice | LIFE LACKS POETIC JUSTICE Shakespeare shows life as it is Wicked sometimes prosper, good sometimes suffer More realistic than moral fables |
| 4. Anachronisms & Historical Errors | Minor faults; don't harm overall truth to human nature Shakespeare cares about psychological truth, not factual accuracy |
| Revolutionary | Johnson REJECTS neoclassical unities - audiences accept theatrical illusion flexibly |
| Fault | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Sacrifices Virtue to Convenience | "He seems to write without any moral purpose" More concerned with entertainment than didacticism |
| Careless Endings | Rushes through conclusions; "When he found himself near the end of his work... he shortened the labour" |
| Quibbles (Puns) | "A quibble is to Shakespeare what luminous vapours are to the traveller" Fatal Cleopatra (puns seduce Shakespeare into weak passages) Puns distract from serious matter |
| Bombast | Sometimes inflated, inappropriate language |
| Obscurity | Difficult passages; archaic expressions |
| Famous Criticism | QUIBBLE = Shakespeare's "fatal Cleopatra" (seductive weakness) |
| Poet | Johnson's View |
|---|---|
| John Donne & Metaphysicals | NEGATIVE - Dismisses "metaphysical poets" "The most heterogeneous ideas are yoked by violence together" Lacks feeling; displays learning ostentatiously Coined term "metaphysical poets" pejoratively |
| John Milton | MIXED - Paradise Lost = sublime but lacks human interest Grand style sometimes becomes "pedantick" Blank verse can be monotonous "Lycidas" - "The diction is harsh, the rhymes uncertain, and the numbers unpleasing" |
| Abraham Cowley | Represents metaphysical wit; excessive ingenuity |
| Alexander Pope | POSITIVE - Greatest English poet after Shakespeare/Milton Perfect versification; clear sense; moral wisdom |
| John Dryden | POSITIVE - "The father of English criticism" Refined English versification |
| Thomas Gray | MIXED - Elegy praised but finds some works obscure |
| Famous Dismissal | Metaphysical poetry = "heterogeneous ideas yoked by violence" (mostly negative) |
| Characteristic | Johnson's Criticism |
|---|---|
| Definition | "The metaphysical poets were men of learning, and to show their learning was their whole endeavour" |
| Wit | "A kind of discordia concors; a combination of dissimilar images, or discovery of occult resemblances in things apparently unlike" Farfetched comparisons |
| Method | "The most heterogeneous ideas are yoked by violence together" Forced, unnatural connections |
| Effect | Produce surprise, not pleasure Display learning, not feeling "Their attempts were always analytic; they broke every image into fragments" |
| Verdict | More ingenious than poetical; intellectual exercise, not genuine poetry |
| Key Term | "Discordia concors" = discordant harmony (Johnson's phrase for metaphysical wit) |
| Principle | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Common Sense & Experience | Empirical approach; test poetry against real human experience "Nothing can please many, and please long, but just representations of general nature" |
| General Nature | Poetry should represent universal truths, not minute particulars "The business of a poet is to examine, not the individual, but the species" |
| Moral Utility | Poetry should improve readers morally "The end of writing is to instruct; the end of poetry is to instruct by pleasing" |
| Clarity & Perspicuity | Good poetry is clear, not obscure Against excessive ornament or learned allusions |
| Test of Time | Duration of fame proves merit "What mankind have long possessed they have often examined and compared" |
| Rules as Guidelines | Rules derived from experience, not absolute Genius can transcend rules if it pleases |
| Johnson's Motto | GENERAL NATURE + COMMON SENSE + MORAL UTILITY + CLARITY |
| Concept | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Poet's Knowledge | Poet must be "a comprehensive mind" understanding all human nature Must know "modes of life and nature of things" |
| Not Particulars | "The business of a poet is to examine, not the individual, but the species; to remark general properties and large appearances" |
| Universal Truths | "He does not number the streaks of the tulip" Focus on essences, not minute details |
| Difficulty | Being a great poet requires vast knowledge and wisdom Few can achieve it |
| Famous Line | "Not number the streaks of the tulip" = avoid excessive particularity |
| Achievement | Impact |
|---|---|
| Empirical Criticism | Shifted criticism from rules to actual reader experience |
| Shakespeare Vindication | Defended Shakespeare's violations of neoclassical rules successfully |
| Biographical Criticism | Lives integrated biography with literary judgment |
| Common Sense Authority | Moralistic but grounded in real human nature |
| Canon Formation | His judgments shaped English literary canon for century+ |
| Transition Figure | Bridge between strict neoclassicism and coming Romanticism |
| Theme | Dryden | Pope | Johnson |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rules vs. Genius | Flexible; genius can transcend | Rules = Nature methodized | Rules as guidelines; experience matters |
| Imitation | Learn from Ancients, don't copy | Follow Ancients = follow Nature | Test by common human experience |
| Shakespeare | "Largest, most comprehensive soul" | N/A (editing work only) | "Poet of nature" - universal truths |
| Nature | Truth to life | Universal reason/order | General human nature |
| Purpose | Delight and instruction | Teach through pleasing | Instruct by pleasing |
| Wit | Propriety of thought/words | Nature well expressed | Avoid forced ingenuity (vs. metaphysicals) |
| Evolution | Early: flexible rules | Mid: strict neoclassicism | Late: empirical, toward Romanticism |
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Father of English Criticism | John Dryden |
| Dryden's most famous critical work | An Essay of Dramatic Poesy (1668) |
| Form of Essay of Dramatic Poesy | Dialogue (4 speakers on barge) |
| Neander in the dialogue | Dryden himself; defends English drama |
| Dryden's definition of a play | "Just and lively image of human nature" for delight & instruction |
| Dryden on Shakespeare | "Largest and most comprehensive soul" |
| Dryden on Jonson | "I admire him, but I love Shakespeare" |
| Dryden's preferred translation type | Paraphrase (sense-for-sense) |
| Pope's Essay on Criticism date & form | 1711; heroic couplets; age 23 |
| "A little learning is dangerous" | Pope, Essay on Criticism |
| "To err is human, to forgive divine" | Pope, Essay on Criticism |
| "Fools rush in where angels fear" | Pope, Essay on Criticism |
| "Sound must echo sense" | Pope, Essay on Criticism |
| Pope's true wit definition | "What oft was thought but ne'er so well expressed" |
| Pope's Nature = ? | Rules = Ancients = Reason (all equivalent) |
| Johnson's most important critical work | Preface to Shakespeare (1765) |
| Johnson's biographical criticism | Lives of the English Poets (1779-81) |
| Johnson on Shakespeare's greatness | "Nothing can please many, and please long, but just representations of general nature" |
| Johnson on unities | Rejects strict unities; audience accepts theatrical illusion |
| Johnson on Shakespeare mixing genres | Defends "mingled drama" as closer to life |
| Johnson on Shakespeare's weakness | "A quibble is to Shakespeare what luminous vapours are to traveller" - fatal Cleopatra |
| Johnson on Metaphysical poets | "Heterogeneous ideas yoked by violence together" |
| Johnson's "discordia concors" | Discordant harmony - metaphysical wit |
| "Not number streaks of tulip" | Johnson, Rasselas - avoid excessive particularity |
| Poet's business per Johnson | "Examine not the individual, but the species" |