John Dryden

The leading English literary figure of the latter half of the 17th century, John Dryden (1631-1700) wrote dramas and critical works, but his reputation stands on his mastery of verse, in particular the heroic couplet. Encompassing political, religious, philosophic, and artistic issues, Dryden's poetry offers rich evidence of his social consciousness. "Annus Mirabilis," a celebration of the tumultuous events of 1666, casts the catastrophic effects...

These forty-eight biographies by the ancient Greek scholar demonstrate the parallel lives of famous rulers such as Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar. A Greek priest of Delphi who acquired Roman citizenship later in life, Plutarch undertook his Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans to demonstrate the influence of character on the fates of famous men. He also wished to show that the legacy and achievements of his native Greece were no less impressive...

Whether for love or ambition, for parental approval or reasons of state, marriage has complicated the lives of all who enter into it. First performed in 1671, Dryden's Marriage ̉ la Mode portrays the motives high and low that make marriage the pivotal institution of a nation. Like Dryden's best tragicomedies, Marriage a la Mode has a double plot. The hopes that marriage excites and the regrets it suffers, the possibilities it opens and the opportunities...