John Dryden's 'The Essay of Dramatic Poetry’: Summary and Analysis

 Dr. Samuel Johnson said about John Dryden:

"The father of English criticism first taught ... 

to determine upon the principles of the merit of composition."

John Dryden (1631 - 1700), an English poet, dramatist and literary critic, is a versatile genius and is a volcano of English criticism from whom springs the valuable treatise 'The Essay of Dramatick Poesie'. (Originally published in 1668) This critical essay has become the most important monument of English criticism for the mass of readers. It is the unofficial manifesto to his critical creed and an important landmark in the history of literary criticism in England.

Wimsatt and Brooks remark:

"The Essay is the most ambitiously constructed critical document

 of his career and the most important for general literary theory." 

John Dryden is the first literary scholar who refuses to follow the rules of classicists "by brushing away all the arbitrary bans upon freedom of composition and freedom of thought." Dryden inaugurates the new era of descriptive criticism. 'The Essay of Dramatick Poesie' is a literary debate with a dramatic touch and its purpose is:

"To vindicate the honour of our English writers from the censure of those who unjustly prefer the French before them."

'THE ESSAY OF DRAMATICK POESIE':

All in all, 'The Essay' is a conversation / literary argument among four friends - Crites, Lisideius, Eugenius and Neander. The first speaker Crites argues in favour of the ancient drama and Eugenius vindicates the modern or the Restoration drama. The second discussion goes on between Lisideius who favours the French neo classical drama and Neander who defends the English drama. In the third subsequent discussion on the medium of drama, Crites defends in the use of Blank Verse while Neander glorifies rhyme in drama.

DEFINITION OF DRAMA:

In the beginning, while discussing literature in general Lisideius defines drama to which all of them agree. He says that drama should be:

"...just and lively image of human nature, representing its patience and humours, and the changes of fortune to which it is subject, for the delight and instruction of mankind."

According to Dryden, drama is the "image" (reflection) of human nature and this image is "just" as well as "lively". By using the word "just", Dryden wants to imply that literature imitates men's actions. For Dryden, poetic imitation is different from an exact survival copy. The dramatist copies but makes it more lively and beautiful. He says:

 "The poet does not leave things as he finds them, but handles them, treats them, heightens their quality and so creates something that is beautiful." 

Moreover, the human nature that the dramatist takes up as his subject matter should be depicted through "passions and humours". By using these two terms, Dryden wants to say that human life is a mixture of passions (sorrow) which are related to human heart and humours (happiness) which are related to human mind. The drama must represent both these sides of human life. In this way, Dryden favours tragicomedy.

The drama must also deal with the fluctuations in human fortunes and should aim at instruction and delight. He writes about the function of drama:

"Delight is the chief, if not the only end of Poesie" 

ANCIENT DRAMA (CRITES) VS MODERN DRAMA (EIGENIUS):

After the definition of drama, Crites proceeds on to claim the superiority of the ancients over the moderns or the Restoration dramatists. He says that the ancients invented and perfected the art of drama. They held literature to high esteem. But moderns, according to him, have no such honour because they disparage one another efforts. He further defends ancients on the grounds that they

"... have been faithful imitators and wise observer of that nature which is so torn and ill represented in our plays."

Further, he argues that the ancient wrote superbly well and all the rules of drama where discovered by them which are rationally neglected and disfigured by the English dramatists.

Eigenius defends the modern drama by pointing at the superior construction of the modern play with its divisions into 5 Acts which the ancient dramatists did not consume.  Eigenius also finds fault with the plots of the ancient drama because they are based on a few hackneyed tales of Thebes and Troy which were very well known to the people. They "were cloyed with the same dish and the novelty being gone, the pleasure vanished."

Eigenius also says that the ancients failed not only in the technique of the play but also in their moral teaching for their morals where unsound and they often showed wickedness rewarded and virtue punished. And according to him, there is no such decorum in any of the modern plays. Moreover, the moderns can turn their hands well on tragedy as well as comedy which the ancient could not.  He cites examples of the great comedy writers like Aristophanes, Plautus and Tereneu who never wrote tragedy and great masters of tragedy like Aeschylus, Euripides, Sophocles and Seneca who never attempted comedy. Though they were successfully strong in scenes of terror, horror, lust, cruelty and revenge, they were quite weak in real pathos and in depicting soft passions of life which moderns could do better.

FRENCH DRAMA (LICIDEIUS) VS ENGLISH DRAMA (NEANDER):

Then, the discussion of the representative merits of French and English plays between Lisideius and Neander is presented. Lisideius claims the superiority of the French neo classical drama over the English drama.  His claims are - their artistic construction, honest adherence to the three unities, no employment of under plots, no indulgence in tragicomedy, excellent judgment of narration and no violent actions.  Finally, he also prefers the rhymed verse of the French dramatists.

Now the main object of 'The Essay' "the vindication of the English drama" is attempted by Neander who is Dryden himself.  Dryden, like a very tactful rhetorician, first agrees to disagree later. He agrees to the claims of regularity of the French drama, their perfect observance of the classical rules of comedy and decorum. But Dryden says that the way they followed the classical rules their liveliness is killed and they become mechanical or monotonous. The beauties of French plays are "the beauties of a statue but not of a man." 

The real liveliness of the play lies in the natural exposition which can be found in the Elizabethan dramatists like Shakespeare. Dryden further says that the mixture of tragic which comic is not unjust. This mixture adds to the liveliness of the play. He says that the English 

"...have invented, increased and perfected a more pleasant way of writing for the stage ... which is tragicomedy."

According to Neander (Dryden), in French drama, long speeches are incapable of affecting passions; but even the brief dialogues of the English drama are more likely to arouse the emotions of the reader. So, according to Dryden, Fletcher's plays attain a "much higher degree of perfection than the French poets can reasonably hope to reach."

Giving more examples from Shakespeare, Beaumont and Fletcher and giving illuminating appreciation of Ben Jonson, Neander concludes his arguments in favour of the moderns in the following glorious words:

"We have borrowed nothing from them, our plots are weaved in English looms. We endeavour therein to follow the variety and greatness of characters which are derived to us from Shakespeare and Fletcher."

RHYMED VERSE VS BLANK VERSE (NEANDER):

Crites attacks the use of Rhyme in drama. He argues that rhyme is not used in day today conversation. But Neander affirms the use of blank verse in plays and considers it suitable for all kinds of plays. Crites says that rhyme or blank verse is too artificial to express the greatest thoughts naturally and too majestic for trivial speeches. But Neander protests and gives examples from Shakespeare who employed blank verse with excellent results. According to Dryden, blanks is the only way

"...to present the most free way of speaking in that which is the most constrained."

CONCLUSION:

To sum up, Atkins was right when he said that 'An Essay of Dramatic Poesie' is:

"…the most elaborate and one of the most attractive and lively of Dryden's critical works." 

The essay is both "elaborate" and "attractive" because Dryden, here, for the first time introduces the concept of comparative and historical criticism. He compares ancient with modern drama, French neo classical drama with modern English drama. He even introduces the logical definition of drama. Dryden has liberal approach towards literature and he himself admired and accepted the classical rules, but never imitated them blindly. Dryden opened up the new horizon of descriptive criticism. The greatest contribution of Dryden in criticism according to T. S. Eliot is that at the right moment he became conscious and affirmed the native elements in literature.

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