John Dryden
John Dryden (1631–1700) was an English poet, critic, and playwright who served as the first Poet Laureate. His works—including "Absalom and Achitophel," "Mac Flecknoe,"…
"The judge removed, though he's no more my lord, May plead at bar, or at the council board: So may cast poets write; there's"
"In days of old, when Arthur fill'd the throne, Whose acts and fame to foreign lands were blown; The king of elves and little"
"By Me Dryden And The Earl Of Mulgrave,[1] 1679. How dull, and how insensible a beast Is man, who yet would lord it o'er the rest!"
"As seamen, shipwreck'd on some happy shore, Discover wealth in lands unknown before; And, what their art had labour'd long in vain, By their misfortun"
"SPOKEN BY MONTEZUMA. You see what shifts we are enforced to try, To help out wit with some variety; Shows may be f"
"'Tis hard, my friend, to write in such an age, As damns, not only poets, but the stage. That sacred art, by Heaven itself in"
"A Choir of bright beauties in spring did appear, To choose a May-lady to govern the year; All the nymphs were in"
"Thou hast inspired me with thy soul, and I Who ne'er before could ken of poetry, Am grown so good proficient, I can lend"
"SPOKEN TO THE KING AND QUEEN AT THEIR COMING TO THE HOUSE. When first the ark was landed on the shore, And Heaven had vow'd to"
"UPON HIS FIRST APPEARANCE AT THE DUKE'S THEATRE, AFTER HIS RETURN FROM SCOTLAND, 1682. In those cold regions which no summers cheer, Where brooding da"
"Farewell, fair Armida, my joy and my grief, In vain I have loved you, and hope no relief; Undone by your virtue, too strict"
"Presented On New Year's Day, 1662. My Lord, While flattering crowds officiously appear To give themselves, not you, a happ"
"To you who live in chill degree, As map informs, of fifty-three, And do not much for cold atone, By bringing thithe"
"The blast of common censure could I fear, Before your play my name should not appear; For 'twill be thought, and with some c"
"As needy gallants in the scrivener's hands, Court the rich knave that gripes their mortgaged lands, The first fat buck of al"
"UPON HIS FIRST APPEARANCE AT THE DUKE'S THEATRE, AFTER HIS RETURN FROM SCOTLAND, 1682. In those cold regions which no summers cheer,"
"PROLOGUE What flocks of critics hover here to-day, As vultures wait on armies for their prey, All gaping for the carcase of a play"
"Self-love, which, never rightly understood, Makes poets still conclude their plays are good, And malice in all critics reign"
"Who ever saw a noble sight, That never view'd a brave sea-fight! Hang up your bloody colours in the air, Up with your fights, and y"
"Three Poets, in three distant ages born, Greece, Italy, and England, did adorn. The first, in loftiness of thought surpass'd"
"The unhappy man, who once has trail'd a pen, Lives not to please himself, but other men; Is always drudging, wastes his life and blood, Yet only eats"
"And now 'tis time; for their officious haste, Who would before have borne him to the sky, Like eager Romans, ere all rites were past"
"As there is music uninform'd by art In those wild notes, which, with a merry heart, The birds in unfrequented shades express"
"Most modern wits such monstrous fools have shown, They seem not of Heaven's making, but their own. Those nauseous harlequins"
"On The Memorable Victory Gained By The Duke Over The Hollanders, June 3, 1665. And On Her Journey Afterwards Into The North. Madam,"
"The Year Of Wonders, 1666. An Historical Poem. An Account Of The Ensuing Poem, In A Letter To The Honourable Sir Robert Howard. Sir,--I a"
"ACTED AT OXFORD, 1680. WRITTEN BY NATHAN LEE. Thespis,[1] the first professor of our art, At country wakes sung ballads"
"Auspicious poet, wert thou not my friend, How could I envy, what I must commend! But since 'tis nature's law, in love and wi"
"Our author, by experience, finds it true, 'Tis much more hard to please himself than you; And out of no feign'd modesty, thi"
"UPON THE UNION OF THE TWO COMPANIES IN 1686. Since faction ebbs, and rogues grow out of fashion, Their penny scribes t"
"True wit has seen its best days long ago; It ne'er look'd up, since we were dipp'd in show: When sense in doggerel rhymes an"
"A Panegyric On His Coronation. In that wild deluge where the world was drown'd, When life and sin one common tomb had found,"
"AN EPISTLE. THE PREFACE. A Poem with so bold a title, and a name prefixed from which the handling of so serious a subject wou"
"Fair, kind, and true, a treasure each alone, A wife, a mistress, and a friend in one, Rest in this tomb, raised at thy husband's cost,"
"So shipwreck'd passengers escape to land, So look they, when on the bare beach they stand, Dropping and cold, and their firs"
"'Tis much desired, you judges of the town Would pass a vote to put all prologues down: For who can show me, since they first"
"Chloe found Amyntas lying, All in tears upon the plain; Sighing to himself, and crying, Wre"
"(Set To Music By Dr Blow.) Mark how the lark and linnet sing; With rival notes They strain their warbling throats, To welcom"
"On a bank, beside a willow, Heaven her covering, earth her pillow, Sad Amynta sigh'd alone: From the cheerless dawn of morning"
"I. Wherever I am, and whatever I do, My Phyllis is still in my mind; When angry, I mean not to Phyllis to go, My"
"Once I beheld the fairest of her kind, And still the sweet idea charms my mind: True, she was dumb; for Nature gazed so long"
"So Joseph, yet a youth, expounded well The boding dream, and did the event foretell; Judged by the past, and drew the Parall"
"All human things are subject to decay, And when fate summons, monarchs must obey. This Flecknoe found, who, like Augustus, y"
"Poets, like disputants, when reasons fail, Have one sure refuge left--and that's to rail. Fop, coxcomb, fool, are thunder'd"
"FROM harmony, from heavenly harmony This universal frame began: When nature underneath a heap Of jarring atoms lay, And could"
"What Greece, when learning flourish'd, only knew, Athenian judges, you this day renew; Here too are annual rites to Pallas d"
"Where a battle is supposed to be given behind the scenes, with drums, trumpets, and military shouts and excursions; after which, the Britons, expr"
"If yet there be a few that take delight In that which reasonable men should write; To them alone we dedicate this night."
"Whether the fruitful Nile, or Tyrian shore, The seeds of arts and infant science bore, 'Tis sure the noble plant, translated"
"As seamen, shipwreck'd on some happy shore, Discover wealth in lands unknown before; And, what their art had labour'd long in vain,"
"As the music plays a soft air, the curtain rises slowly and discovers an Indian boy and girl sleeping under two plantain-trees; and, when the curt"
"A SATIRE AGAINST SEDITION. EPISTLE TO THE WHIGS. For to whom can I dedicate this poem with so much justice as to you? It is the repre"
"Sure there's a dearth of wit in this dull town, When silly plays so savourily go down; As, when clipt money passes, 'tis a s"
"There lived, as authors tell, in days of yore, A widow somewhat old, and very poor: Deep in a cell her cottage lonely stood,"
"How bless'd is he who leads a country life, Unvex'd with anxious cares, and void of strife! Who studying peace, and shunning"
"Ask not the cause, why sullen Spring So long delays her flowers to bear; Why warbling birds forget to sing,"
"A Poem On The Prince, Born June 10, 1688. Our vows are heard betimes! and Heaven takes care To grant, before we can conclude th"
"Perhaps the parson[1] stretch'd a point too far, When with our Theatres he waged a war. He tells you, that this very moral a"
"SPOKEN BY MR BETTERTON. 1690. What Nostradame, with all his art, can guess The fate of our approaching Prophetess? A"
"REVIVED FOR OUR AUTHOR'S BENEFIT, ANNO 1700. How wretched is the fate of those who write! Brought muzzled to the stage, for fe"