Brain Snacks: Tasty Tidbits of Knowledge
John Dryden was Poet Laureate of England from 1668 to 1689, when he was replaced by none other than Thomas Shadwell. Shadwell got the last laugh then, but we think Dryden was playing the long game. (Source)
Dryden became such a towering figure in the Restoration literary scene that the entire era became known by some as "The Age of Dryden." (Source)
When Jonathan Swift published his first poem in 1692, Dryden, a distant relative, was rumored to have said: "Cousin Swift, you will never be a poet." Of course Swift turned out to be one of the greatest writers in English literature. Score one for J-Swift. (Source)