On Dryden's "Essay of Dramatic Poesy"

本书为博士论文，仅71页，论述清晰，旨在回答关于Essay的四个问题: What lies behind it? What is its organic unity? Why and how did Dryden defend it? What is its final significance? 第一章回应Essay和西、法文学的关系问题，明确指出德莱顿受到Corneille和法国批评家影响。第二章根据文中play的定义确立讨论边界，将整篇文章分解为三部分，各由一组对立观念构成: 崇古-反古、法-前一时代的英、反今-崇今。第三章强调Dryden反驳论辩对象时立足IMITATION of nature。第四章重申，Dryden的戏剧理论可总结为两个核心概念: just and lively。