author
John Dryden
1631–1700
A towering voice of Restoration England, this poet, playwright, critic, and translator helped shape the style and sound of English literature for decades. His sharp satires, stage works, and major translations made him one of the defining writers of the late 17th century.
23 Audiobooks
Discourses on Satire and on Epic Poetry
by John Dryden
Dryden's Palamon and Arcite
by John Dryden, Geoffrey Chaucer
The Poetical Works of John Dryden, Volume 1 With Life, Critical Dissertation, and Explanatory Notes
by John Dryden
All for Love; Or, The World Well Lost: A Tragedy
by John Dryden
The Poetical Works of John Dryden, Volume 2 With Life, Critical Dissertation, and Explanatory Notes
by John Dryden
His Majesties Declaration Defended
by John Dryden
About the author
Born in 1631 in Northamptonshire, he was educated at Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge. He built an unusually wide-ranging career as a poet, dramatist, literary critic, and translator, and his influence on Restoration literature was so strong that the period is often linked with his name.
In 1668, he became England's first Poet Laureate. Over the years he wrote plays, important works of criticism such as An Essay of Dramatic Poesy, powerful political satires including Absalom and Achitophel, and later acclaimed translations of classical authors such as Virgil.
His career also reflected the upheavals of his time. After converting to Roman Catholicism, he lost his laureateship following the Glorious Revolution, but he continued to write. He died in 1700, leaving behind work that helped define English poetry, drama, and criticism.