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Abstract
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Neoclassicism, particularly evident in the works of John Dryden and his contemporaries, emphasizes a return to the literary principles of classical Greece and Rome. However, non-classical Neoclassicism, occasionally observable in Dryden’s works and those of his contemporaries, tends to break strict boundaries and relax rigid formal constraints. There are notable examples indicating that Dryden was not merely a purely Neoclassical poet, but in some of his works, he incorporated emotional and imaginative Romantic tendencies. This gave rise to a kind of cross-genre literature, or "non-classical Neoclassicism," which requires careful and systematic analysis. Examining Romantic elements in Dryden’s Neoclassical works provides insight into the interplay between two distinct literary movements. This analysis shows that Neoclassical literature was not merely bound by rigid rules but, in certain cases, incorporated innovation and flexibility. This study aims to identify and analyze Romantic elements in selected poems by John Dryden and examine the relationship and interaction of these elements with Neoclassical principles. The results are expected to provide a theoretical framework for studying cross-genre literature in English and contribute to historical and theoretical literary studies of the 17th and 18th centuries. Specifically, this research seeks to uncover Romantic elements within Dryden’s Neoclassical works.
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