Prefaces, Biographical and Critical, to the Works of the English Poets: DrydenJ. Nichols, 1779 - English poetry |
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Page 87
... attempted any vigorous defence ; for , though he was perhaps fometimes injurioufly cen fured , he would by denying part of the charge have confeffed the reft ; and as his adverfaries had the proof in their own hands , he , who knew that ...
... attempted any vigorous defence ; for , though he was perhaps fometimes injurioufly cen fured , he would by denying part of the charge have confeffed the reft ; and as his adverfaries had the proof in their own hands , he , who knew that ...
Page 92
... it equalled but by Sacheverel's trial . The reafon of this general perufal Addison has attempted to derive from the delight which the mind feels in the invefti- investigation of fecrets ; and thinks that curiofity to decypher 92 DRY DE N.
... it equalled but by Sacheverel's trial . The reafon of this general perufal Addison has attempted to derive from the delight which the mind feels in the invefti- investigation of fecrets ; and thinks that curiofity to decypher 92 DRY DE N.
Page 178
... attempted the Iliad , fome years afterwards , he departed from his own decifion , and again tranflated into rhyme . When he has any objection to ob- viate , or any licenfe to defend , he is not very fcrupulous about what he af- ferts ...
... attempted the Iliad , fome years afterwards , he departed from his own decifion , and again tranflated into rhyme . When he has any objection to ob- viate , or any licenfe to defend , he is not very fcrupulous about what he af- ferts ...
Page 192
... attempted ; we had few elegancies or flowers of speech , the rofes had not yet been plucked from the bramble , or different colours had not been joined to enliven one another . It may be doubted whether Waller and Denham could have over ...
... attempted ; we had few elegancies or flowers of speech , the rofes had not yet been plucked from the bramble , or different colours had not been joined to enliven one another . It may be doubted whether Waller and Denham could have over ...
Page 211
... attempted it ; and fo fuccefsfully laboured , that though at laft it gives the mind more perplexity than pleasure , and feems hardly worth the study that it cofts , yet it must be valued as a proof of a mind at once fubtle and ...
... attempted it ; and fo fuccefsfully laboured , that though at laft it gives the mind more perplexity than pleasure , and feems hardly worth the study that it cofts , yet it must be valued as a proof of a mind at once fubtle and ...
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Common terms and phrases
Abfalom againſt Almanzor anſwer becauſe cenfure character Charles Dryden compofition confidered criticiſm criticks defcription defign defire dramatick Dryden Duke of Lerma eafily elegant Elkanah Settle Engliſh excellence Fables fafe faid fame fatire fays fecond feems feldom fenfe fentiments feven fhall fhew fhould fince firft firſt fome fomething fometimes fouls ftudy fubject fuccefs fuch fuffer fufficient fuppofed fure genius heroick himſelf inftruction itſelf John Dryden juft Juvenal labour laft laſt lefs likewife lines lord meaſure mind moft moſt muft muſt neceffary never numbers obferved occafion paffages paffions pafs perhaps play pleafing pleaſe pleaſure poem poet poetical poetry praife praiſe preface profe publick publiſhed purpoſe racter raiſe reaſon refentment reft reprefented rhyme ſays ſeems Shakeſpeare Sir Robert Howard Sophocles ſtage thefe theſe thofe thoſe thought thouſand tion Tonfon tragedy tranflated Tyrannick Love uſe verfe verfification verfion verſes Virgil whofe whoſe writing written
Popular passages
Page 243 - From harmony, from heavenly harmony, This universal frame began : When Nature underneath a heap of jarring atoms lay, And could not heave her head, The tuneful voice was heard from high. Arise ye more than dead. Then cold and hot, and moist and dry, In order to their stations leap, And music's power obey. From harmony, from heavenly harmony, This universal frame began : From harmony to harmony Through all the compass of the notes it ran, The diapason closing full in man.
Page 310 - What was said of Rome, adorned by Augustus, may be applied by an easy metaphor to English poetry, embellished by Dryden, "lateritiam invenit, marmoream reliquit." He found it brick, and he left it marble.
Page 168 - Learning once made popular is no longer learning ; it has the appearance of something which we have bestowed upon ourselves, as the dew appears to rise from the field which it refreshes.
Page 185 - Criticism, either didactic or defensive, occupies almost all his prose, except those pages which he has devoted to his patrons; but none of his prefaces were ever thought tedious.
Page 185 - They have not the formality of a settled style, in which the first half of the sentence betrays the other. The clauses are never balanced, nor the periods modelled: every word seems to drop by chance, though it falls into its proper place. Nothing is cold or languid; the whole is airy, animated, and vigorous; what is little, is gay; what is great, is splendid.
Page 253 - A milk-white Hind, immortal and unchang'd, Fed on the lawns, and in the forest rang'd : Without unspotted, innocent within, She fear'd no danger, for she knew no sin. Yet had she oft been .chas'd with horns and hounds. And Scythian shafts, and many winged wounds Aim'd at her heart ; was often forc'd to fly, And doom'd to death, though fated not to die.
Page 189 - There was therefore before the time of Dryden no poetical diction, no system of words at once refined from the grossness of domestic use, and free from the harshness of terms appropriated to particular arts. Words too familiar, or too remote, defeat the purpose of a poet.
Page 295 - There is surely reason to suspect that he pleased himself as well as his audience ; and that these, like the harlots of other men, had his love, though not his approbation. He had sometimes faults of a less generous and splendid kind.
Page 207 - Behold th' approaching cliffs of Albion : It is no longer motion cheats your view, As you meet it, the land approacheth you. The land returns, and, in the white it wears, The marks of penitence and sorrow bears.
Page 168 - To judge rightly of an author, we must transport ourselves to his time, and examine what were the wants of his contemporaries, and what were his means of supplying them.