John Dryden was a central figure in the literary landscape of Restoration England, distinguished for his work as a poet, critic, translator, and playwright. His appointment as the first Poet Laureate signaled the recognition of a career shaped by disciplined craftsmanship, intellectual clarity, and a sustained interest in the evolving forms of English writing. Educated at Westminster School and the University of Cambridge, he developed a strong foundation in classical learning, which later informed much of his creative and critical output. His parents, Mary Pickering and Erasmus Dryden, formed the early environment from which his scholarly inclinations emerged. Throughout his life, he produced works that demonstrated versatility across genres, ranging from dramatic adaptations to authoritative essays on poetics. His plays, including well-known works such as All for Love and The Indian Queen, reflected his ability to merge structure with emotional resonance. Dryden's influence was so widespread that his era became known as the Age of Dryden, underscoring his role in shaping the direction of English literature and establishing standards that continued to guide writers well beyond his lifetime.

John Dryden: Selected PoemsList of Illustrations
Introduction
Dryden's Career
The Text
Bibliography and Further Reading
Acknowledgements
Chronology
1749 Upon the Death of the Lord Hastings
1659 Heroic Stanzas
1660 Astræa Redux
1661 To His Sacred Majesty
1662 To Dr. Charleton
1667 Annus Mirabilis
1671 Prologues, Epilogues and Songs from The Conquest of Granada
1676 Macflecknoe
1677 Prologue and Epilogue to All For Love
1680 The Prologue at Oxford, 1680
1681 The Epilogue Spoken to the King at Oxford
Absalom and Achitophel
1682 Prologue and Epilogue to The Unhappy Favourite
The Medal
Prologues to the Duke and Duchess of York
Religio Laici
1684 To the Earl of Roscommon
To the Memory of Mr. Oldham1685 Translations from Lucretius, De Rerum Natura
From the Third Book: Against the Fear of Death
From the Fourth Book: Concerning the Nature of Love
Translations from Horace
Book 1, Ode 3
Book 1, Ode 9
Book 3, Ode 29
To the Pious Memory of Mrs. Anne Killigrew1687 The Hind and the Panther
A Song for St. Cecilia's Day, 1687
1688 Lines on Milton
1692 Eleonora
From The Satires of Juvenal and Persius
The First Satire of Juvenal
The Third Satire of Juvenal
The First Satire of Persius
1694 To My Dear Friend Mr. Congreve
To Sir Godfrey Kneller1696 An Ode, On the Death of Mr. Henry Purcell
1697 From The Works of Virgil
From Æneis 1: The Tempest
From Æneis 5: The Funeral Sports
From Æneis 12: The Combat of Turnus and Æneas
From Georgics 2: The Country
From Georgics 3: The Battle of the Bulls
From Georgics 3: The Plague
From Georgics 4: The Labour of the Bees
Alexander's Feast1698 Lines of Tonson
1700 From Fables Ancient and Modern
Preface
To the Duchess of Ormonde
To My Hounoured Kinsman, John Driden
Baucis and Philemon, out of the Eighth Book of Ovid's Metamorphoses
The First Book of Homer's Ilias
The Cock and the Fox; or, The Tale of the Nun's Priest, from Chaucer
The Wife of Bath Her Tale
The Character of a Good Person, Imitated from Chaucer and Enlarged
Cymon and Iphigenia, from Boccace
The Secular Masque
Notes