00059--Wordsworth lays down the basic tenets of his poetry in the preface to the Lyrical Ballads. Discuss.

            When the first edition of Wordworth's Lyrical Ballads was published, it was discovered that Wordsworth's poems were diametrically opposite to the standard poetical norms as preached and practiced by the Neo-classical poets like Ben Jonson, Dryden, Pope, Gray and Dr. Johnson.  There was a sort of uproar in literary circles.  Thereupon some of Wordsworth's friends advised him to publish a detailed preface to the second Edition of his Lyrical ballads explaining the basic tenets of his poetry.  Wordsworth says, "they have  advised me to prefix a systematic defence of the theory upon which the poems were written".  Here he published a detailed preface to the second edition of his Lyrical Ballads. 

            In the preface Wordsworth begins with the precept that poetry should be a 'spontaneous overflow' of powerful feelings, not a laboured exercise.  Secondly, the subject matter of poetry should be the life of the common men, because poets do not write their poetry for poets only, but for the common public to read and enjoy.  For the same reason, poetry should be written, as far as possible, in the language of the common men, and not in the highly artificial and stilted poetic diction.  There should be no difference between the language of prose and that of poetry.  These are the basic tenets of Wordsworth's theory of poetry.

01727--city comedy or citizen comedy

City comedy or citizen comedy is a kind of comic drama produced in the London theatres of the early 17th century, characterized by its contemporary urban subject-matter and its portrayal, often satirical, of middle-class life and manners. The principal examples are John Marston's The Dutch Courtezan, Ben Jonson's Bartholomew Fair, and Thomas Middleton's A Chaste Maid in Cheapside.

01653--bardolatry

Bardolatry means excessive veneration of Shakespeare. Ben Jonson said of Shakespeare, 'I loved the man, and do honour his memory, on this side idolatry, as much as any.' A bardolater is one who goes even further in revering 'the Bard'. Adjective: bardolatrous.

00030— Why is Dryden called “the Father of English Criticism?”

                      Dr.Johnson called Dryden “the father of English Criticism who first taught us to determine upon principles the merit of composition.”  Dr.Johnson was very correct in giving Dryden this honour because before him there was no consistent critic in England.  Sidney and Ben Jonson were, of course, there but they only made occassional observations without producing any consistent critical work or establishing any critical theory. 

Dryden’s principal critic work is his Essay of Dramatic Poesy, though his critical observations are also found in the prefaces to several of his works, specially in the Preface to the Fables.  The Essay of Dramatic Poesy establishes him as the first historical critic, first comparative critic, first descriptive critic, and the Independent English critic.

The Essay of Dramatic Poesy is developed in the form of dialogues amongst  four interlocuters representing four different literatures or literary ages. They are:

·          
1.  CRITES  speaks for the ancient Greek and      Roman authors.  
     
2.  LISIDEIUS speaks for the French.

     
3.  EUGENIUS speaks for the English literature of the ‘last age.’ 
    
4.  NEANDER speaks for England and liberty. 

In this way he (Dryden) develops historical, comparative, and descriptive forms of criticism, and finally gives his own independent views through the replies of Neander.  He respects the ancient Greek and Roman principles but he refuses to adhere to them slavishly, specially in respect of Tragi-comedy and observance of the three Dramatic Unities.  Thus Dryden began a great regular era of criticism, and showed the way to his countrymen how to be great as creative authors as well as critical evaluators and what makes great literature.  Thus he is indeed the “Father of English Criticism.”

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