John Dryden was an English poet and translator. He was appointed as England’s first Poet Laureate in 1668 and was crucial to the literary world during the Restoration period in England. His work was factual in nature, and he attempted to express himself in a clear manner.
‘Religio Laici’ by John Dryden is a reflective discourse in unadorned verse that explores faith, reason, and the complexities of religious beliefs.
Dim, as the borrow'd beams of moon and stars
To lonely, weary, wand'ring travellers,
Is reason to the soul; and as on high,
Those rolling fires discover but the sky
‘Portrait of Zimri’ by John Dryden is a political satire that showcases how people in power can be consumed by hollow and pretentious self interest.
Some of their chiefs were princes of the land:
In the first rank of these did Zimri stand:
A man so various, that he seem'd to be
Not one, but all Mankind's Epitome.
‘Dreams’ by John Henry Dryden presents a vivid illustration of the ways in which dreams are steeped in paradox and irrationality.
Dreams are but interludes which Fancy makes;
When monarch Reason sleeps, this mimic wakes:
Compounds a medley of disjointed things,
A mob of cobblers, and a court of kings:
‘Farewell, Ungrateful Traitor!’ by John Dryden swears off men and relationships. The speaker asserts that men are incapable of being truthful or loving as much as women.
Farewell ungrateful traitor,
Farewell my perjured swain,
Let never injured creature
Believe a man again.
‘Can life be a blessing’ by John Henry Dryden is a poem devoted to arguing the necessity of love despite the inevitable pain it might cause.
Can life be a blessing,
Or worth the possessing,
Can life be a blessing if love were away?
Ah no! though our love all night keep us waking,
John Dryden mourns the premature death of Mr. Oldham, celebrating his talent and reflecting on the fleeting nature of life.
Farewell, too little and too lately known,
Whom I began to think and call my own;
For sure our souls were near ally'd; and thine
Cast in the same poetic mould with mine.
‘A Song for St. Cecilia’s Day’ is a well-known poem of John Dryden, written on the occasion of Saint Cecilia’s Day (22nd November 1687). It praises the power of music and the patron St. Cecilia in an awe-inspiring tone.
From harmony, from Heav'nly harmony
This universal frame began.
When Nature underneath a heap
Of jarring atoms lay,
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