Great wits are sure to madness near allied, and thin partitions do their bounds divide. – John Dryden
Book Excerpt
Three types of comedy appeared in England in the time of Dryden— the comedy
of humors, the comedy of intrigue, and the comedy of manners—and in all he
did work that classed him with the ablest of his contemporaries. He developed
the somewhat bombastic type of drama known as the heroic play, and brought it
to its height in his “Conquest of Granada”; then, becoming dissatisfied with this
form, he cultivated the French classic tragedy on the model of Racine. This he
modified by combining with the regularity of the French treatment of dramatic
action a richness of characterization in which he showed himself a disciple of
Shakespeare, and of this mixed type his best example is “All for Love.” Here he
has the daring to challenge comparison with his master, and the greatest
testimony to his achievement is the fact that, as Professor Noyes has said, “fresh
from Shakespeare’s ‘Antony and Cleopatra,’ we can still read with intense
pleasure Dryden’s version of the story.”
All For Love
or, The World Well Lost
By – John Dryden
- PUBLISHED: 1677
- PAGES: 95