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by David Gelineau N the spring of 1698, Jeremy Collier published A Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage, sparking off a long and furious pamphlet controversy that involved many of England's most important contemporary literary figures. Most of those who were directly and ruthlessly attacked by Collier responded in kind. But one figure who seemed--to the contemporary scene as well as to later literary historians--largely muted in his response was John Dryden. This is certainly surprising; Dryden was more than capable of a spirited response, as his satires testify to. Furthermore, Dryden was the most sustained object of Collier's moralistic diatribe. The most common answer to this muted response has always been that Dryden felt chastened by Collier's arguments and did on occasion, with many qualifications, acknowledge their justness. But I think other reasons should be considered when assessing the nature of Dryden's response. First is the general prudence that Dryden felt he had to practice in an England where he was a political outcast, where Collier was so obviously applauded by those in power, and where even someone like Congreve, never the prop of the former political regime that Dryden had been,
Studies in Philology – University of North Carolina Press
Published: Apr 4, 2005
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