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Who was John Dryden? Poet. Date and Place of Birth: 19th August 1631, Vicarage of Aldwinkle All Saints, Aldwinckle, Northamptonshire, England. Family Background: Son of a country gentleman. Education: Westminster School under Robert Busby. Trinity College, Cambridge. Chronology: 1657: After University he moved to London to begin his career as a professional writer and stayed with his cousin Sir Gilbert Pickering who was Oliver Cromwell's Chamberlain. 1658: His "heroic Stanzas" on the Death of Cromwell were published. 1660: Hoping to get on the right side of the new King Dryden produced "Astrea Redux" celebrating the Restoration in heroic couplets. 1663: His first play "The Wild Gallant" was a failure. 1664: His second play "The Indian Queen, which he wrote in conjunction with Sir Robert Howard met with much more success and was one of the first of the new heroic tragedies. 1665: "The Indian Emperor" mixed tragedy with comedy and dealt with the conquest of Mexico. 1667: Dryden produced "The Secret Love" which was also a successful tragi-comedy and "Annus Mirabilis", The Years of Wonder" which was the main work to establish his reputation. 1668: Dryden's growing fame now increased when he was created Poet Laureate in succession to Sir William D'Avenant. He now began to write exclusively for Thomas Killigrew's theatrical company. He began to write an important series of critical essays as prefaces to his plays, such as "Essay of Dramatic Poesy". 1670: Created Historiographer Royal. 1672: Dryden sensed that the public mood for full blown tragi-comedies was at an end and he produced the comedy "Marriage a La Mode". 1677: Dryden began to adapt a number of Shakespeare's plays including "The Tempest"" and "Antony and Cleopatra". He also wrote librettos for Operas such as "The State of Innocence". which was an adaptation of Milton's Paradise Lost". 1678: Dryden now broke with Kiligrew's company which was ridden with debts and offered his new work "Oedipus" to another company. 1682: Dryden produced the didactic poem "Religio Laici" which argues the case for Anglicanism. 1683: He was given post in the Customs for his political efforts in support of the Tories. 1685: He converted to Catholicism. 1688: He lost the Poet Laureateship when the English Revolution happened when King William and Mary took over the throne from James the Second. 1689: Although he had now begun to write more poetry than theatrical works with masterpieces such as "Absolom and Achitophel" he still produced items for the stage including "Don Sebastien". 1690: Produced "Amphitryon" based on the classic myth. He wrote the Libretto for "King Arthur" with music by Henry Purcell. Over his career he translated a number of other authors including Virgil. Written Works: 1649: "Upon the Death of the Lord Hastings". 1659: "Poem upon the Death of His Late Highness". "Oliver Lord Protector". 1660: "Astraea Redux". 1661: "To his Sacred Majesty". 1662: "To My Lord Chancellor". 1663: "The Wild Gallant". 1664: "The Rival Ladies". 1665: "The Indian Emperor or the Conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards". 1667: "Secret Love or the Maiden Queen". "Sir Martin Mar-All,or the Feigned Innocence". "Annus Mirabilis". 1668: "Essays of Dramatic Poesie". "A Defence of an Essay of Dramatic Poesie". "An Evening's Love or the Mock Astrologer". 1669: "Tyrannic Love or the Royal Martyr". 1670: "The Conquest of Granada Part One". 1671: "The Conquest of Granada Part 2". 1672: "Amboyna or the cruelties of the Dutch to the English Merchants". "The Assignation, or Love in a Nunnery". "Marriage a la Mode". 1675: "Aureng- Zebe". 1677: "All for Love, or the World Well Lost.". 1678: "The Kind Keeper, or Mr. Himberlam". "Oedipus". 1679: "Troilus and Cressida or the Truth Found too Late". 1680: "The Spanish Friar or the Double Discovery". "Ovid's Epistles". 1682: "The Duke of Guise". "Absolom and Architophel". "MacFlecknoe". "The Medal". "Religio Laici". 1684: "Miscellany Poems". 1685: "Albion and Albanius". "Sylvae or the Second Part of Poetical Miscellanies". "Threnodia Augustalis". 1686: "To the Memory of Mrs. Anne Killigrew". 1687: "The Hind and the Panther". "Song for Saint Cecilia's Day". 1688: "Britannia Rediviva". 1689: "Don Sebastian, King of Portugal". 1690: "Amphitryon or the Two Socias". 1691: "King Arthur or the British Worthy". 1692: "Cleomenes, The Spartan Hero". 1694: "Annual Miscellany". "To Congreve". 1695: "Du Fresnoy's De Arte Graphica". 1696: "Ode on Henry Purcell". 1607: "Alexander's Feast, or the Power of Music". 1700: "Fables, Ancient and Modern". Marriage: 1663 to Lady Elizabeth Howard, eldest daughter of the earl of Berkshire. Places of Interest: KENT: Knole House. (visited). NORTHAMPTONSHIRE: Canons Ashby, Daventry, NN11 3SD once Drydens Home (National Trust). Date and Place of Death: 12th May 1700, London, England. Age at Death: 69. Site of Grave: Poet’s Corner, Westminster Abbey, London, England, next to Geoffrey Chaucer.