Dryden, John. “Preface to Ovid’s Epistles.” In Ovid’s Epistles: With His Amours. Translated into English Verse, by the Most Eminent Hands. London: Printed for T. Davies, W. Strahan, W. Clarke and R. Collins, T. Becket, T. Cadell, G. Robinson, R. Baldwin, and S. Bladon, 1776. Preface unpaginated, sigs. A4r–A11v. First published 1680 by Jacob Tonson. Internet Archive, archive.org/details/ovidsepistleswi00drydgoog.
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Article Author Biography
John Dryden (1631–1700) was an English poet, playwright, and critic. He served as Poet Laureate from 1668 until 1688, losing the position after converting to Catholicism and refusing to swear allegiance to William and Mary. His later years were especially productive in translation, including influential versions of Virgil, Juvenal, and Ovid. Dryden’s critical prefaces and essays were foundational to English literary criticism, particularly in their treatment of translation theory and poetic practice. His work bridges the Restoration and the early eighteenth century.
This work was submitted as being in the Public Domain by Ross Belot and was sourced from Internet Archive.