Much overlooked as a serious work, John Dryden's The Conquest of Granada is frequently touted as a play of absurd bombast. However, in this work I will demonstrate how it is a play that Dryden did not take lightly, and can be interpreted as a piece of social theory. As such, the play responds to rising Hobbesian thought of the day. Hobbesian social theory is based on a society uniting around an overpowering Leviathan whose power is based on fear and domination. Dryden's play, however, demonstrates a society that does away with the need for domination and, in its place, founds itself on bonds of love, just as modern psychoanalytical theorist Jessica Benjamin suggests is necessary for society today.
","abstract_html":"<p>Much overlooked as a serious work, John Dryden's The Conquest of Granada is frequently touted as a play of absurd bombast. However, in this work I will demonstrate how it is a play that Dryden did not take lightly, and can be interpreted as a piece of social theory. As such, the play responds to rising Hobbesian thought of the day. Hobbesian social theory is based on a society uniting around an overpowering Leviathan whose power is based on fear and domination. Dryden's play, however, demonstrates a society that does away with the need for domination and, in its place, founds itself on bonds of love, just as modern psychoanalytical theorist Jessica Benjamin suggests is necessary for society today.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Robins, Lydia FitzSimons"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.A.","degree_level":"Campus Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"Comparative Literature","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Andrew E Shifflett"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:37:28Z","subjects":["Arts and Humanities","Comparative Literature","domination","Dryden","Hobbes","intersubjectivity","love"],"languages":[],"rights":["© 2011, Lydia FitzSimons Robins"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/764","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Andrew E Shifflett"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Robins, Lydia FitzSimons"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Comparative Literature"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Campus Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.A."]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Arts and Humanities","Comparative Literature","domination","Dryden","Hobbes","intersubjectivity","love"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["© 2011, Lydia FitzSimons Robins"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/764"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Much overlooked as a serious work, John Dryden's The Conquest of Granada is frequently touted as a play of absurd bombast. However, in this work I will demonstrate how it is a play that Dryden did not take lightly, and can be interpreted as a piece of social theory. As such, the play responds to rising Hobbesian thought of the day. Hobbesian social theory is based on a society uniting around an overpowering Leviathan whose power is based on fear and domination. Dryden's play, however, demonstrates a society that does away with the need for domination and, in its place, founds itself on bonds of love, just as modern psychoanalytical theorist Jessica Benjamin suggests is necessary for society today.
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