Modern English Drama
Jan 2010 · Cosimo, Inc.
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About this eBook
Author names not noted above: Oliver Goldsmith, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Robert Browning, and Lord Byron. Originally published between 1909 and 1917 under the name "Harvard Classics," this stupendous 51-volume set-a collection of the greatest writings from literature, philosophy, history, and mythology-was assembled by American academic CHARLES WILLIAM ELIOT (1834-1926), Harvard University's longest-serving president. Also known as "Dr. Eliot's Five Foot Shelf," it represented Eliot's belief that a basic liberal education could be gleaned by reading from an anthology of works that could fit on five feet of bookshelf. Volume XVIII features six of the greatest plays of 17th-, 18th-, and 19th-century England writers: [ All for Love, the Shakespearean tragedy by JOHN DRYDEN (1631-1700) [ The School for Scandal, the comedy of manners by RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN (1751-1816) [ She Stoops to Conquer, the satire by OLIVER GOLDSMITH (1730-1774) [ The Cenci, the controversial verse drama by PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY (1792-1822) [ A Blot in the 'Scutcheon, the tragedy by ROBERT BROWNING (1812-1889) [ Manfred, the supernatural drama by LORD BYRON (1788-1824)
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About the author
Born August 9, 1631 into a wealthy Puritan family, John Dryden received an excellent education at Westminster School and Cambridge University. After a brief period in government, he turned his attention almost entirely to writing. Dryden was one of the first English writers to make his living strictly by writing, but this meant he had to cater to popular taste. His long career was astonishingly varied, and he turned his exceptional talents to almost all literary forms. Dryden dominated the entire Restoration period as a poet, playwright, and all-round man of letters. He was the third poet laureate of England. In his old age Dryden was virtually a literary "dictator" in England, with an immense influence on eighteenth-century poetry. His verse form and his brilliant satires became models for other poets, but they could rarely equal his standard. Dryden was also a master of "occasional" poetry - verse written for a specific person or special occasion. Like most poets of his time, Dryden saw poetry as a way of expressing ideas rather than emotions, which makes his poetry seem cool and impersonal to some modern readers. Dryden also wrote numerous plays that helped him make him one of the leading figures in the Restoration theatre. Today, however he is admired more for his influence on other writers than for his own works. He died on April 30, 1700 in London.
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