Dryden, JOHN

1631-1700. English poet and dramatist, called "Glorious John"; poet-laureate 1668; translator of Virgil 1696. His 27 plays, 1662-1694, are too often gro , after the manner of the time. His best work is in Annus Mirabilis, 1667; Absalom and Achitophel, a political satire, 1681; Religio Laici; The Hind and the Panther, 1687, defending the R. C. Ch.; and the odes for St. Cecilia's Day. His prose E ay on Dramatic Poesy, 1660, is of value.