John Dryden
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![Portrait of John Dryden by Godfrey Kneller, 1698](/Images/godic/202501/10/John_Dryden_by_Sir_Godfrey_Kneller,_Bt0221.jpg")
John Dryden (/ˈdraɪdən/; 19 August [O.S. 9 August] 1631 – 12 May [O.S. 1 May] 1700) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who was made Poet Laureate in 1668.
He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden. Walter Scott called him "Glorious John."