Monument to John Dryden Westminster Abbey

Images of Britain: Monument to John Dryden, Westminster Abbey, London

Monument to the poet John Dryden outside St Benedict's chapel © Hiro Taniguchi. — Monument to the poet John Dryden outside St Benedict's chapel © Hiro Taniguchi

The Monument to John Dryden in Westminster Abbey in central London is a marble bust of the poet, dramatist, literary critic and translator in Poet's Corner.

It dates from 1731 and was donated to the abbey by the Duchess of Buckingham. It stands near the Chaucer monument in the abbey.

John Dryden (1631-1700) became England's first Poet Laureate. As a young man he attended the nearby Westminster School as a King's Scholar before going on to Cambridge.

Along with fellow Augustan poets Alexander Pope, Jonathan Swift and Joseph Addison, Dryden was known for his satirical verse, classical forms and inspiration.

His most famous works include the poems Absalom and Achitophel (1681) and The Hind and the Panther (1687) and the plays All for Love (1677) and Amphitryon (1690).