DRYDEN, JOHN (1631-1700).--Poet, dramatist, and satirist, was _b._ at Aldwincle Rectory, Northamptonshire. His _f._, from whom he inherited a small estate, was Erasmus, 3rd _s._ of Sir Erasmus Driden; his mother was Mary Pickering, also of good family; both families belonged to the Puritan side in politics and religion. He was _ed._ at Westminster School and Trinity Coll., Camb., and thereafter, in 1657, came to London. While at coll. he had written some not very successful verse. His _Heroic Stanzas on the Death of Oliver Cromwell_ (1658) was his first considerable poem. It was followed, in 1660, by _Astræa Redux_, in honour of the Restoration. The interval of 18 months had been crowded with events, and though much has been written against his apparent change of opinion, it is fair to remember that the whole cast of his mind led him to be a supporter of _de facto_ authority. In 1663 he _m._ Lady Elizabeth Howard, _dau._ of the Earl of Berkshire. The Restoration introduced a revival of the drama in its most debased form, and for many years D. was a prolific playwright, but though his vigorous powers enabled him to work effectively in this department, as in every other in which he engaged, it was not his natural line, and happily his fame does not rest upon his plays, which are deeply stained with the immorality of the age. His first effort, _The Wild Gallant_ (1663), was a failure; his next, _The Rival Ladies_, a tragi-comedy, established his reputation, and among his other dramas may be mentioned _The Indian Queene_, _Amboyna_ (1673), _Tyrannic Love_ (1669), _Almanzar and Almahide_ (ridiculed in Buckingham's _Rehearsal_) (1670), _Arungzebe_ (1675), _All for Love_ (an adaptation of Shakespeare's _Antony and Cleopatra_) (1678). During the great plague, 1665, D. left London, and lived with his father-in-law at Charleton. On his return he _pub._ his first poem of real power, _Annus Mirabilis_, of which the subjects were the great fire, and the Dutch War. In 1668 appeared his _Essay on Dramatic Poetry_ in the form of a dialogue, fine alike as criticism and as prose. Two years later (1670) he became Poet Laureate and Historiographer Royal with a pension of £300 a year. D. was now in prosperous circumstances, having received a portion with his wife, and besides the salaries of his appointments, and his profits from literature, holding a valuable share in the King's play-house. In 1671 G. Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, produced his _Rehearsal_, in ridicule of the overdone heroics of the prevailing drama, and satirising D. as Mr. Bayes. To this D. made no immediate reply, but bided his time. The next years were devoted to the drama. But by this time public affairs were assuming a critical aspect. A large section of the nation was becoming alarmed at the prospect of the succession of the Duke of York, and a restoration of popery, and Shaftesbury was supposed to be promoting the claims of the Duke of Monmouth. And now D. showed; his full powers. The