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An Analysis of the Political Approach of John Dryden's Plays and Their Appraisal Through the Ideas of Edmund Burke a Thesis Su

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An Analysis of the Political Approach of John Dryden's Plays and Their Appraisal Through the Ideas of Edmund Burke a Thesis Su AN ANALYSIS OF THE POLITICAL APPROACH OF JOHN DRYDEN’S PLAYS AND THEIR APPRAISAL THROUGH THE IDEAS OF EDMUND BURKE A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY PETER JEREMY DORE IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN ENGLISH LITERATURE JULY 2014 Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences ____________________ Prof. Dr. Meliha Altunışık Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts. _______________________ Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nurten Birlik Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts. _______________________ Asst. Prof. Dr. Margaret J-M Sönmez Supervisor Examining Committee Members Asst. Prof. Dr. Nil Korkut Naykı (METU, ELIT) ___________________________ Asst. Prof. Dr. Margaret J-M Sönmez (METU, ELIT) _______________________ Asst. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kırca (ÇANKAYA,TINS)__________________________ I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last name : Signature : iii ABSTRACT AN ANALYSIS OF THE POLITICAL APPROACH OF JOHN DRYDEN’S PLAYS AND THEIR APPRAISAL THROUGH THE IDEAS OF EDMUND BURKE Dore, Peter Jeremy M.A., in English Literature Supervisor: Asst. Prof. Dr. Margaret J-M Sönmez July 2014, 248 pages This thesis is an analysis of the political approach of the plays of John Dryden and an analysis of it through the ideas of Edmund Burke. This work establishes that Dryden had a political program, it being the use of his literary work to promote the concept of monarchical legitimacy so as to support Charles II and the legitimate succession to his rule. Dryden engages in this program in his dramas by depicting the legitimate rulers within them as exceptionally virtuous. He additionally uses his plays to make further political points within the framework of his program. In order to explain the relevance of the political concerns of Dryden, this thesis relates the historical and theoretical context in which Dryden wrote about kingship. It also provides an examination of his political program within his poetry and playwriting during the reign of Charles II before making a more detailed analysis of four specific plays. After this analysis, this thesis then analyses the political approach of Dryden through the ideas of the conservative political thinker Edmund Burke. By using the ideas of Burke, it is revealed that whilst he would concur in the main with Dryden on his political program, there is in fact a flaw within it. Burke shows that by coupling the idea of legitimacy with another concept, it weakens the concept of legitimacy itself. Hence Dryden, by linking virtue and legitimacy, actually undermines his whole political program. Keywords: Dryden, Burke, Drama, Renaissance, Divine Right of Kings iv ÖZ JOHN DRYDEN OYUNLARINDAKİ SİYASAL YAKLAŞIMIN BİR ANALİZİ VE EDMUND BURKE’ÜN FİKİRLERİ ARACILIĞIYLA DEĞERLENDİRİLMESİ Dore, Peter Jeremy Yüksek Lisans, İngiliz Edebiyatı Tez Yöneticisi: Yrd. Doç. Dr. Margaret J-M Sönmez Temmuz 2014, 248 Sayfa Bu tez, Edmund Burke’ün fikirleri aracılığıyla John Dryden oyunlarındaki siyasal anlayışın bir analizidir. Çalışmada, eserlerini kralı II. Charles ve haleflerinin meşru iktidarını desteklemek, dolayısıyla monarşik meşruiyet düşüncesini teşvik etmek için kullanan Dryden’ın siyasi bir tasarısı olduğu gösterilir. Dryden, planını gerçekleştirmek için oyunlarında meşru hükümdarları benzersiz bir erdeme sahip şahsiyetler biçiminde vasıflandırır. Tezde oyunlarını öteki birçok siyasi noktaya değinmek için de kullanan Dryden'ın, siyasi kaygılarının anlaşılması için, hakkında yazdığı krallığın tarihsel ve teorik bağlam ile ilişkisi kurulur. Ayrıca, dört oyununun analizine geçilmeden önce, II. Charles dönemindeki şiiri ve oyun yazarlığı çerçevesinde Dryden'ın siyaset planıyla ilgili bir inceleme ortaya konur. Oyunların incelenmesinin ardından, muhafazakar siyasi düşünür Edmund Burke’ün düşünceleri aracılığıyla Dryden'ın politik yaklaşımı değerlendirilir. Bu yoldan Burke'ün görüşlerinde, ekseriyetle Dryden’ın siyasi düşünceleriyle çakışmasa da, uyuşmazlık gösterdiği bir noktaya dikkat çekilir. Burke’e göre meşruiyet fikri başka bir kavram ile birleştirildiğinde zayıflatılmış olur. Bu bakış açısından Dryden’ın, fazilet ve meşruiyeti birleştirmekle, aslında tüm siyasi tasarısını temelden sarsmış olduğunun altı çizilir. Anahtar Sözcükler: Dryden, Burke, Drama, Restorasyon, Kralların Tanrısal Hakkı v To Jeremy Frank Dore vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My particular gratitude is first and foremost to be directed at my supervisor Asst. Prof. Dr. Margaret J-M Sönmez, who I feel went far above and beyond the strict requirements of her position and was a constant source of assistance and invaluable criticism throughout the writing of this work. I am also grateful to the jury members, Asst. Prof. Dr. Nil Korkut Naykı and Asst. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kırca for their fairness, support and geniality. I am also particularly thankful to my beloved wife Fatma for her constant moral and material support and her seeming unlimited patience without which this thesis simply could not have come into being. I would also like to thank members of her family for backing me in this endeavour. In particular I am appreciative in this regard to Hanım Kambalı who has never ceased in her interest and support for this work. In addition to her, I would also like to thank Kübra Satılış and Ayşe Satılış for their encouragement. My gratitude is also directed at my English family, that is my sister Charlotte and my aunt Mary for the moral support they have given me. Finally, thanks are also due to some special friends of mine, in particular Tuğçe Yıldırm who has been particularly supportive and helpful, as well as Tina Tse and Yasemin Turhalı. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS PLAGIARISM ....................................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................... iv ÖZ ........................................................................................................................... v DEDICATION ........................................................................................................ vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................... vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................... viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .............................................................................. xiii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................. 1 1.1 Seventeenth Century England and Its Political Literature ........ 1 1.2 John Dryden’s Political Program .............................................. 2 1.3 The Aim and Approach of the Study ........................................ 3 1.4 The Use of Edmund Burke in the Study ................................... 6 2. THE HISTORIC AND CONCEPTUAL BACKGROUND TO DRYDEN’S POLITICAL PROJECT ........................................................ 13 2.1 Historical Background .............................................................. 13 2.1.1 The Middle Ages to the Stuart Dynasty ..................... 13 2.1.2 The Stuart Dynasty, the Civil War and the Commonwealth ............................................................. 16 2.2 Dryden as a Propagandist Writer for the Stuarts ....................... 21 2.2.1 Poetry Celebrating the Restored King ........................ 21 2.2.2 The Charge of Hypocrisy against Dryden .................. 24 viii 2.2.3 Annus Mirabilis .......................................................... 29 2.2.4 Overview of Dryden as a Playwright ......................... 36 2.2.5 The Popish Plot and Dryden’s Defence of Traditional Stuart Legitimacy through Satire ...................... 38 2.3 Forms of Monarchic Legitimacy ............................................... 46 2.3.1 Monarchic Legitimacy through Primogeniture .......... 48 2.3.2 Equal Male Hereditary Monarchic Legitimacy in the Islamic World ............................................................ 54 2.3.3 Elective and Designative Monarchic Legitimacy ...... 55 2.3.4 Monarchic Legitimacy through Marriage .................. 58 2.3.5 Usurpation .................................................................. 58 2.4 The Divine Right of Kings ........................................................ 62 2.5 Princely Virtues ......................................................................... 71 2.5.1 The Literary Sources for Understanding Princely Virtue ................................................................................... 73 2.5.2 Overview of Princely Virtue ...................................... 78 2.5.3 Wisdom ...................................................................... 81 2.5.4 Justice ......................................................................... 82 2.5.5 Courage ...................................................................... 85 2.5.6 Temperance ................................................................ 86 2.5.7
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