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The Cambridge Companion to John Dryden

Hardback

Main Details

Title The Cambridge Companion to John Dryden
Authors and Contributors      Edited by Steven N. Zwicker
SeriesCambridge Companions to Literature
Physical Properties
Format:Hardback
Pages:320
Dimensions(mm): Height 229,Width 152
Category/GenreLiterary studies - c 1500 to c 1800
Literary studies - poetry and poets
ISBN/Barcode 9780521824279
ClassificationsDewey:821.4 821.4
Audience
Tertiary Education (US: College)
Professional & Vocational

Publishing Details

Publisher Cambridge University Press
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publication Date 20 May 2004
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

John Dryden, Poet Laureate to Charles II and James II, was one of the great literary figures of the late seventeenth century. This Companion provides a fresh look at Dryden's tactics and triumphs in negotiating the extraordinary political and cultural revolutions of his time. The newly commissioned essays introduce readers to the full range of his work as a poet, as a writer of innovative plays and operas, as a purveyor of contemporary notions of empire, and most of all as a man intimate with the opportunities of aristocratic patronage as well as the emerging market for literary gossip, slander and polemic. Dryden's works are examined in the context of seventeenth-century politics, publishing and ideas of authorship. A valuable resource for students and scholars, the Companion includes a full chronology of Dryden's life and times and a detailed guide to further reading.

Author Biography

Steven N. Zwicker is Stanley Elkin Professor of Humanities at Washington University, St. Louis and Professor of English and Adjunct Professor of History. He is the editor of The Cambridge Companion to English Literature, 1650-1740 (Cambridge, 1998), Reading, Society, and Politics in Early Modern England, ed. with Kevin Sharpe (Cambridge, 2003), John Dryden: Selected Poems (2001), Refiguring Revolutions, ed. with Kevin Sharpe (1998), Lines of Authority (1993), Politics of Discourse, ed. with Kevin Sharpe (1987) and Politics and Language in Dryden's Poetry (1984).

Reviews

'... a more formidable and important volume, at once authoritative and innovative, than its modest dress would suggest ...'. Times Literary Supplement 'The contributions in this collection are learned, generally well written and diverse and give readers the latest thinking on Dryden and his works ... prove invaluable to students ... This collection of seventeen essays gives readers the latest thinking on him and his works.' Contemporary Review