Name:Gohli Poojaba SRoll no.:18Std:MA Sem 1Sub:literary theory and criticismTopic:Dryden`s concept ofAncient vs Modern tragedySubmitted to:Department ofEnglish MKBU

INTRODCTION: John Dryden is english poet,drametist and

critic of the restoration age. His most important prose work of drametic

poesy An essay,gives him the reputation as the father of english literary criticism.

Donne represents the conflicting claims of the two sides as debate among four friends.

One of the them favoures the ancient over the moderns theatre.

One modernist prefers the french drama where as dryden himself likes the lifelike drama of english theatre to french tragedy which he considered beautiful lifeless.

DRYDEN INCLUDES THE FIVE POINTS IN HIS ESSAY: 1)Ancients vs moderns 2)unities 3)french vs english drama 4)sepration of tragedy and comedy vs

tragicomedy 5)appropriatence of rhyme in drama

CONTROVERSY OF THE ANCIENTS AND MODERN: In the age of Dryden,there is the most

important raged debat on the comparative limits and qualities of the ancient and moderns.

Well known satirist Swift treated this debate on his famous work The battle the books.

Dryden gives the arguments through the mouth of Eugenians on behalf of moderns.

The case for the ancients is presented by crites.

Dryden takes no extreme position,follow the golden mean and is sensible enough to give the ancients their respects.

CRITES VIEWS ON THE ANCIENTS: According to crites,modern imitate the ancients. Moderns stand on shoulder of ancients. Every age has its own genious and inclinations

for some particular branch of knowledge. Moderns have no honored and rewards in some

fields of knowledge. Natural and faithful elements proved superior to

ancients in the drama. The rules of drametic composition even not

followed by moderns. Three unities of time and place and action only

shown in the ancients play.

EUGENIUS VIEWS ON THE MODERNS: Moderns have particular devisions of

act,scenes in compare to the ancients. Ancient plays had no novelty or

originality.it had the continued subject matter.

Repetation of some characters are there.

Narative characterisation,mixture of various functions in drama performences,too much narration of actions.

DRYDEN`S CONTRIBUTION: Dryden focuses on the modern english plays,but

does not disparages the ancients.he has some critical things to say on french drama.

French and ancient drama has smallness. English drama has sub plots,brodly

imagination,and unities. Shakespeare had the largest and most

comprehensive soul,while johnson was the most learned and judicious writer any theatre ever had.

Shakespeare had great faithfulness to life. Johnson had relatively scope and classical

tendency.

He admires Ben johnson butLoves shakespeare.

THANK YOU