Forgiveness

“Forgiveness to the injured doth belong, but he ne’er pardons who has done the wrong.”[1]

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[1] This line is by John Dryden, in Conquest of Grenada, Part ii, Act I.2. Dryden was born in 1631 in Aldwinkle, Northamptonshire, England. He studied at Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge, then moved to London in 1657 to become a professional writer. His first play was a failure, but he found more success with The Indian Queen (1664) which he co-authored with Sir Robert Howard. This was his first attempt to found a new theatrical genre, the heroic tragedy. Although George Villiers’ The Rehearsal, a vicious satire of heroic tragedy, brought a quick end to the form, Dryden still managed to produce a number of successful works in this genre.

The young playwright’s reputation grew quickly, and in 1668, only ten years after his move to London, John was appointed Poet Laureate of England. (He was later stripped of the title because of religious differences when William and Mary came into power.) That same year, he agreed to write exclusively for Thomas Killigrew’s theatrical company and became a shareholder. His relationship with this company continued until 1678, at which point he broke with the theatre (which was floundering in debt) and offered his latest play, Oedipus, a drama he had co-authored with Nathaniel Lee, to another company.

In his later years, John turned to poetry and solidified his reputation as the leading writer of the day with such masterpieces as Absalom and Achitophel. However, he continued to write for the theatre, producing such plays as Don Sebastian (1689) and Amphitryon (1690). He also adapted a number of Shakespeare’s plays and wrote the libretto for several operas. Dryden died in London in 1700, and was buried in Westminster Abbey next to Chaucer.