Dryden lived in an age of reaction against excessive religious
idealism, and both his character and his works are marked by
the somewhat unheroic traits of such a period. But he was,
on the whole, an honest man, open minded, genial, candid, and
modest; the wielder of a style, both in verse and prose,
unmatched for clearness, vigor, and sanity.

Three types of comedy appeared in England in the time of Dryden--
the comedy of humors, the comedy of intrigue, and the comedy of
manners--and in all he did work that classed him with the
ablest of his contemporaries. He developed the somewhat
bombastic type of drama known as the heroic play, and brought
it to its height in his "Conquest of Granada"; then, becoming
dissatisfied with this form, he cultivated the French classic
tragedy on the model of Racine. This he modified by combining
with the regularity of the French treatment of dramatic action
a richness of characterization in which he showed himself
a disciple of Shakespeare, and of this mixed type his best
example is "All for Love." Here he has the daring to challenge
comparison with his master, and the greatest testimony to his
achievement is the fact that, as Professor Noyes has said,
"fresh from Shakespeare's 'Antony and Cleopatra,' we can still
read with intense pleasure Dryden's version of the story."


DEDICATION

To the Right Honourable, Thomas, Earl of Danby, Viscount Latimer,
and Baron Osborne of Kiveton, in Yorkshire; Lord High Treasurer