John Dryden was considered the father of criticism and the first to attempt extended descriptive criticism in English. Descriptive criticism analyzes a work, traces its influences, and discusses it critically item by item. In his critical prefaces and works like An Essay of Dramatic Poesy, Dryden pioneered historical, comparative, and descriptive criticism in English through dialogues representing different literary ages. He respected ancient principles but gave independent views, defending his own works from attackers and achieving a balance where he excelled where poets failed.

1. Descriptive criticismDescriptive criticism
of John Drydenof John Dryden
“The father of“The father of
criticism”criticism”byby
Sehrish NaudhaniSehrish Naudhani

2. Criticism??

3. Who is a critic?

4. Literary criticism

5. M.H. Abram
Universe
Artist Audience
Work

7. Types of literary
criticism:
•Practical criticism
•Theoretical criticism
•Descriptive criticism
•Prescriptive criticism

8. Descriptive Criticism

9. "Descriptive criticism is always about some
particular text whether of the critic’s own
or of another, and the critic, instead of
laying down general rules or theorizing in
general terms, analyses the work in hand,
traces the influences that have given rise to
it, and then discusses it critically item by
item."— (George Watson)
 Analyses
 Traces the
influences
 Discusses
critically
item by item

10. "The first
Englishman to
attempt any
extended
descriptive
criticism," says
George Watson,
"was John Dryden."

11. Descriptive Criticism is
Introspective

12. Justification
Simple critical statements;
'Paradise Lost is an epic‘.
It is long, it is in blank verse…etc
language of criticism do not permit us to describe it
without judging it.
In Dryden's examen , with his wealth of technical
terms, is unable to show us what The Silent Woman is
without making it sound like a good play.
Even if evaluative term in the entire extract,
'admirable', were deleted,
Dryden was recommending the play as well as
analyzing it.

13. Defending against
hostile attacks
 Dryden wrote some twenty-five
critical prefaces to his own works
(own plays and poems)
 Defended his plays from his
attackers.

14. Talk Writing
Descriptive criticism in English,
which is the subject of this history,
begins as talk and survives as talk
that someone has thought worth
writing down.
Example:
Dryden's The Essay of Dramatic
Poesy (1668):

15. • Form of dialogue
• First historical critic, first comparative critic, first
descriptive critic, and the Independent English
critic.
• As it is developed in the form of dialogues
amongst four interlocutors representing four
different literatures or literary ages.
• In this way he (Dryden) develops historical,
comparative, and descriptive forms of criticism, and
finally gives his own independent views through the
replies of Neander. He respects the ancient Greek
and Roman principles but he refuses to adhere to
them slavishly.

16. Dryden achieved a
balance
• the critic should excel at those
points where the poet has failed,
and feel no special need to exert
himself where the poet has
succeeded.

17. Descriptive
Criticism
, “The native element"
Of English
Literature