Which John Dryden should be brought into the twentyfirst-century college classroom? The rehabilitator of the ancients? the first of the moderns? the ambivalent laureate? the sidelined convert to Rome? the literary theorist? the translator? the playwright? the poet? This volume in the MLA series Approaches to Teaching World Literature addresses the tensions, contradictions, and versatility of a writer who, in the words of Samuel Johnson, “found [English poetry] brick, and left it marble,” who was, in the words of Walter Scott, “one of the greatest of our masters.” Part 1, “Materials,” offers a guide to the teaching editions of Dryden’s work and a discussion of the background resources, from biographies and literary criticism to social, cultural, political, and art histories. In part 2, “Approaches,” twenty-one essays describe different pedagogical entries into Dryden and his time, involving subjects as various as genre, adaptation, literary rivalry, musical setting, and political and religious poetry—in classroom situations that range from the traditional survey to learning through performance.
ISBN: | 9781603291262 |
Publication date: | 30th January 2013 |
Author: | Jayne Lewis |
Publisher: | Modern Language Association of America |
Format: | Paperback |
Pagination: | 220 pages |
Series: | Approaches to Teaching World Literature S. |
Genres: |
Poetry Teaching of a specific subject Educational: Arts, general Educational: Humanities and social sciences, general Literature: history and criticism Poetry by individual poets |