| Authorised form of name | Dryden; John (1631 - 1700); poet, playwright, and critic |
| Other forms of surname | Driden |
| Dates | 1631 - 1700 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | Aldwinkle All Saints [Aldwincle], Northamptonshire, England, Europe |
| Date of birth | 9 August 1631 |
| Place of death | Gerrard Street, London, England, Europe |
| Date of death | 1 May 1700 |
| DatesAndPlaces | Burial:
1) St Anne's Church, Soho (2 May 1700); moved to Chaucer's grave, 'Poet's Corner', Westminster Abbey, London, England, Europe (13 May 1700) |
| Occupation | Playwright; Poet |
| Activity | Education:
Westminster School; Trinity College, Cambridge; MA (Lambeth 1668)
Career:
Clerk to his cousin, Sir Gilbert Pickering, Chamberlain to Cromwell; Wrote 'Astraea redux (Justice brought back)' for returning Charles II (1660); Staged first play 'The Wild Gallant' (1663); Wrote major works 'Dramatick Poesie' and 'Annus mirabilis' (1665-1667); Poet Laureate and Historiographer Royal (1670-1688); published 'Troilus and Cressida' (1679); translated parts of 'Ovid's Epistles' (1680)
|
| Membership category | Original Fellow |
| Date of election | 20/05/1663 |
| Proposer | Walter Charleton |
| Date of ejection or withdrawal | 29 October 1666 (due to non-payment of subscriptions) |
| RSActivity | Committee and panels:
Committee for collecting all the phenomena of nature hitherto observed (1664) |
| Relationships | Parents: Erasmus Dryden and Mary Pickering
Siblings: 14 overall
Married: Lady Elizabeth Howard
Children: Charles Dryden; John Dryden; Erasmus-Henry Dryden
Additional relative: by marriage connected to John Creed (FRS 1663) |
| OtherInfo | His profound influence on literature during the Restoration period led to the period being called by fellow literary people the 'Age of Dryden'. He was on occasion criticised for being opportunistic and not following deeply-rooted loyalties, in particular after his conversion to Roman Catholocism, which coincided with the accession of Catholic James II. While Dryden and his work is generally seen as being reverent of the monarchy, his work 'An Essay upon Satire' (1679) seemingly vilifies multiple members of the court and possibly even led to a physical assault on Dryden on 18 December 1679. Generally, his writing is influenced by events such as the Popish Plot and the Exclusion Crisis. and Dryden included satirical sections on politics and religion in his works. |
| Source | Sources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB; ODNB
References:
George Watson, 'Dryden and the Scientific Image' in NR 1963 vol 18 pp 25-35, plate
C C Booth, 'Sir Samuel Garth, FRS: The Dispensary Poet' in NR 1985-86 vol 40 pp 125-145
Neil Chambers, 'Letters From the President: the Correspondence of Sir Joseph Banks' in NR 1999 vol 53 pp 27-57
Notes:
The election date is Dryden's re-election date into the Society after the grant of the second charter in April 1663. All Fellows admitted in a two-month window after this charter, until 22 June 1663, are considered Original Fellows. He was previously elected on 19 November 1662 and admitted into the Society on 26 November 1662. |
| Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/68937979 |
| Code | NA8109 |