awthornden, on
which occasion D. preserved notes of his conversations, not always
flattering. For this he has received much blame, but it must be
remembered that he did not _pub._ them. As a poet he belonged to the
school of Spenser. His verse is sweet, flowing, and harmonious. He
excelled as a writer of sonnets, one of which, on _John the Baptist_, has
a suggestion of Milton.

_Life_ by Prof. Masson (1873), _Three Centuries of Scottish Literature_,
Walker, 1893. _Maitland Club_ ed. of _Poems_ (1832).

DRYDEN, JOHN (1631-1700).--Poet, dramatist, and satirist, was _b._ at
Aldwincle Rectory, Northamptonshire. His _f._, from whom he inherited a
small estate, was Erasmus, 3rd _s._ of Sir Erasmus Driden; his mother was
Mary Pickering, also of good family; both families belonged to the
Puritan side in politics and religion. He was _ed._ at Westminster School
and Trinity Coll., Camb., and thereafter, in 1657, came to London. While
at coll. he had written some not very successful verse. His _Heroic
Stanzas on the Death of Oliver Cromwell_ (1658) was his first
considerable poem. It was followed, in 1660, by _Astraea Redux_, in honour
of the Restoration. The interval of 18 months had been crowded with
events, and though much has been written against his apparent change of
opinion, it is fair to remember that the whole cast of his mind led him
to be a supporter of _de facto_ authority. In 1663 he _m._ Lady Elizabeth
Howard, _dau._ of the Earl of Berkshire. The Restoration introduced a
revival of the drama in its most debased form, and for many years D. was
a prolific playwright, but though his vigorous powers enabled him to work
effectively in this department, as in every other in which he engaged, it
was not his natural line, and happily his fame does not rest upon his
plays, which are deeply stained with the immorality of the age. His first
effort, _The Wild Gallant_ (1663), was a failure; his next, _The Rival
Ladies_, a tragi-comedy, established his reputation, and among his other
dramas may be mentioned _The Indian Queene_, _Amboyna_ (1673), _Tyrannic
Love_ (1669), _Almanzar and Almahide_ (ridiculed in Buckingham's
_Rehearsal_) (1670), _Arungzebe_ (1675), _All for Love_ (an adaptation of
Shakespeare's _Antony and Cleopatra_) (1678). During the great plague,
1665, D. left London, and lived with his father-in-law at Charleton. On
his return he _pub._ his first poem of real power, _Annus Mirabilis_, of
which the subjects were