HENRY FROWDE, M.A. PUBLISHER TO THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD DOM MINA ILLV MEA LONDON, EDINBURGH, AND NEW YORK OF JOHN DRYDEN SELECTED AND EDITED BY W. P. KER, M.A. FELLOW OF ALL SOULS COLLEGE; HON. LL.D. GLASGOW VOLUME I Oxford AT THE CLARENDON PRESS 1900 B Oxford PRINTED AT THE CLARENDON PRESS BY HORACE HART, M.A. PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY HARVARD UNIVERSITY. LIBRARY DEC 05 1985 81*264 PREFACE THE present work is a collection of Dryden's principal Essays on literary subjects, with a short commentary, and an introduction intended to explain his position as a critic. It is not a complete edition of Dryden's prose. The more ponderous works have been left out, and those not concerned with literature, such as the History of the League; also some of the lighter Prefaces and Dedications, chiefly complimentary in their substance. This selection is not meant to take the place of Scott or of Malone, but may serve as a convenient book for reference, to be used especially by such readers as are interested in criticism and the history of criticism, and who may be glad to have Dryden's critical opinions put before them in a form adapted for ready consultation and comparison. The text has been throughout collated with the original editions except in one case, the Trans |