Comment upon Dryden’s definition of play

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Paper -3 Assignment
Paper- 3. Literary Theory & Criticism
Name – Gohil Dipti Ajaybhai
SEM – 1
Roll no- 6
Entrollment no – 206910820190018
Department of English
Maharaja KrishnaKumarsihji Bhavnagar University
Topic – Comment upon Dryden’s definition of play

Introduction : -
       John Dryden (1631-1700) was a prominent English poet, critic, translator, and playwright. He was a neo classical poet and his age come after the Elizabeth age. Dryden was father of English literature , who dominated the literary life of the Restoration age. Dryden mature thought of literary criticism on ancient, modern and English literature, especially on drama are presented in dialogues from in “An Essay on Dramatic poesy”. His some  works here I note down – The wild Gallant, The Indian Queen, The Tempest, All for love , An Evening's Love, Sir Martin Mar-all, The Assignation, Limberham, or the King Keeper.

        His “ An Essay on Dramatic poesy” presents a brief discussion on Neo-classical theory of literature. As Essay on Dramatic poesy is written in the form of dialogues among four gentlemen : Eugenics, Crites, Lisideius and Neander. Neander speaks for Dryden himself. Eugenius favours modern English dramatists by attacking the classical playwrights. Crites opposes rhyme in plays and argues that though the moderns excel  in Science, the ancient age was the true age of poetry. Lisideius defends the French playwrights and attacks the English tendency to mix genres. Neander speaks in favors the modern English plays , but does not disparage the ancient. He argues that tragic – comedy is the best form for a play. Neander give his palm to the violation of the three unities because is it leads to variety in the English plays. He supports the use of blank verse in drama and say that the use of rhyme in serious plays is justifiable in place of the blank verse.
   He defends the classical theory of drama saying that it is an imitation of life and reflects human nature clearly.
His definition of the play :
      “ A play ought to be a just and lively image of human nature, representing its passion and humours, and the change of fortune to which it is subject, for the delight and instruction of mankind”.
       Throughout, 'The Essay of Dramatic poesy' Dryden treats drama as a form of imagination literature and hence his remarks on drama apply to poetry as well.
His definition first line word :
    A play ought to be a just and lively image
      According to this definition of drama is an 'image' of ‘human nature', and the image as is’ ‘just’ and 'lively'. By using the word 'just' Dryden seems to imply that literature imitates human action. For Dryden, poetic imitation is different from an exact, servile copy of reality for the imitation is not only 'just’, it is also ‘lively'. He insist on the words ' just' and 'lively’ image of human nature. In support of the word, it must be admitted that material of all topics is drawn from a society. The society is made of mankind or living things, and without them, society is nothing. Dryden implies word image as imitation of human nature just but he say different he doesn’t like copy of reality but it must be lively. His famous quotes to this definition releted
       “A lively faith will bear aloft the mind, and leave the luggage of good works behind”.
     . David Daiches expresses his view of these words in detail. His view that the image of human nature is implies that drama or imagination literature as well as imaginative literature in general, shows people acting in such a way as to reveal what they are like Dryden seems to be view 'the appearance of human actions' , quite untroubled by Plato’s notion that to do so is simply to imitate an imitation. Dryden makes not clear distinction in fact, between an image or appearance of human nature and the truth about human nature, the former if it is 'just’ gives the latter. For example if the image is just it gives truth about human nature. Further the image is not only to be just it must also be lively.
       David Daiches gives means 'lively’ to mean interesting while R.A.Scot-James gives means of the word 'lively’ mean beautiful and also delightful. The poet is maker or a creator and his aims at making something more beautiful so that any work like delightful otherwise it is not like effective of the spectators mind. He says “the poet does not leave things as he finds them, but handles them 'heightens' their quality, and so creates something that is beautiful, and his own.
• What is role of imagination in the play?
     Many writers give us their view on imagination, as like Plato says imagination is copy of imitate , imagination as like something less than reality. Otherthing it is not slavish imagination , but imagination creation that Dryden means by 'just’ and 'lively’ image of human nature. Because it is also 'lively’ for it is more 'heightens’ and beautiful reproduction. Dryden’s essay makes it quite clear that he, lays more emphasis on the liveliness of the image then of its 'justness'. Thus, the irregular plays of Shakespeare are praised for their 'lineliness'. For example Shakespeare’s play like Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth this type his plays like nowadays it is like liveliness , so his plays are not only liveliness in his time but now his plays also effect on spector mind , so it is quality of liveliness.
   Dryden turned to the stage and agreed to furnish three plays yearly for the actors of the king's theatre. For nearly twenty years, the best of his life. Dryden gave himself up to this unfortunate work. Both by nature and habit he seems to have been clean his personal life, but the stage demanded unclean plays, and Dryden followed his audience. That he deplored this is evident from some of his later work, and we have his statement that he wrote only one play, his best , to please himself, This was All for love which was written in blank verse, most of others being in rimed couplets.
     
Definition other word :
Representing its passions and humours and the change of fortune to which it is subject
      Representation of human nature is also important in play. Representation means not only the copy or imitation. It present and represent so it should be liveliness in lively manners. Then imitation and humours that are also there. These are also parts of that. Passion and humour's ,(humour’s meaning, state of mind ) and by presenting the change of fortune to which men are subject. It is only when we see a character's reaction to change of fortune that we get real view of his 'passions and humours.
              It is the testing circumstances that illuminate 'character'. The function of poetry would thus be to inform the reader, in a lively and agreeable way, of what human nature is like. Literature would be a form of knowledge, and it would bear the same relation to psychology as in Sidney it does to ethics.

Definition this line explanation:
The delight and instruction of mankind.
      This last line one word is most important delight. He use delight word, he doesn’t use pleasure word because pleasure may be sensual while delight means divinely after delight one may be feeling peace.
          According to David Daiches the 'instruction' which poetry gives is psychological, it is a better understanding of human nature, a keener insight into the working of the human mind and heart that we get from poetry. However, Scott James seems to be nearer the truth when he emphasizes that it is aesthetic delight at which the poet aims. He says, “But the pleasure which a work of art possess is of certain kind , it is which that we arises from a sense of the beautiful”.
        Dryden does not for a moment consider the possibility that the end of art can be dissociated from beauty. For him, as for Aristotle, it goes without saying that when you are speaking of beauty, and if you speak of the pleasure of poetry, you mean a pleasure arising out of the beautiful. It is only such an aesthetic delight that has the power, in Dryden's word, “To affect the soul, and excite the passion and above all to move admiration” to the appreciation of the beautiful- a beautiful in human action and passions. They are also 'the noble' , 'the noble’ and 'the moral'. Hence, an appreciation of the good, the moral and the noble is achieved through literature ( play).
Dryden's one quote related to word delight his view on delight word here  I write this quote:
       “ Criticism, as it was first instituted by Aristotle, was meant as a standard of judging well; the chiefest part of which is to observe those excellencies which delight a reasonable reader”.
      Conclusion :
                This full description of definition few words highlight like 'Just and lively' , human nature and last line word delight is resulting word of this definition of play. Thus imagination enable a poet to give a lively pictures of human nature, while his judgement keeps the picture 'Just'.

References –
http://wikieducator.org/Dryden_Dramatic_Poesy

Total Word - 1538