The Augustan Ideal: Rhyme and Refinement

This chapter argues that the refinement of English poetry which Dr. Johnson attributes to Dryden, and which Dryden achieved by emulating ideals best represented in Virgil, is the result of a long dialogue between classical example and vernacular practice stretching back to acts of translation by the...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Augustan Art of Poetry
Main Author Sowerby, Robin
Format Book Chapter
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford Oxford University Press 26.01.2006
Subjects
Waller
imitation
refinement
Denham
Ovidian elegaic couplet
Dryden's Virgil
heroic couplet
Milton
rhyme
Augustanism
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:This chapter argues that the refinement of English poetry which Dr. Johnson attributes to Dryden, and which Dryden achieved by emulating ideals best represented in Virgil, is the result of a long dialogue between classical example and vernacular practice stretching back to acts of translation by the early Tudors and their debates about imitation and the propriety of rhyme. The influence of the Ovidian elegaic couplet on the development of the English heroic couplet, and the early Augustanism of Ben Jonson are highlighted. The Virgil translations by Denham and Waller are used to illustrate early attempts at Augustan refinement. The mature Augustan aesthetic is represented in Dryden's Virgil. It is argued that refinement in Dryden is not achieved at the expense of energy; quite the contrary is the case. The chapter concludes by comparing Dryden with Milton and discusses Milton's influence on the continuing debate about the propriety of rhyme.
ISBN:0199286124
9780199286126
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199286126.003.0003