Dryden
Originally published in 1973, this is foremost a study of Dryden as a writer, but, the author maintains, his ideas cannot be separated from his art. Dryden’s concern with familiar 17th Century problems – the inadequacy of royalist theory in the face of power politics, the rise of philosophical materialism, make him almost as important to the historian as to the student of English Literature. William Myers’ overall picture of Dryden’s works ranges chronologically from the Restoration to the Glorious Revolution. Each play or poem is judged in its own right and as part of a strikingly honest literary life. Particular emphasis is given to the writings following The Hind and the Panther. Then at last Dryden was able to unite his total mastery of prose and verse both with a fully developed sense of what had happened to English society and with his own unyielding commitment to a traditional political philosophy and a traditional theology.
William Myers retired as Professor of English Literature in 2004, having taught for most of his life in the Universities of Nottingham and Leicester, as well as lecturing in half a dozen universities in the United States, His interests and published works extend from Milton to Waugh and reflect his interest in theology, philosophy and science as well as in literature. He was involved in Adult Education throughout his career, and deplores its current decline in the UK. After his retirement he was ordained as a Permanent Deacon in the Catholic Diocese of Nottingham, but is no longer in active ministry..