3. Literary Onomastics
“A more specialized literary criticism in which scholars are concerned with levels of significance
of names, in drama, poetry, fiction, and folklore.”- Grace Alvarez Altman [Literary Onomastics
Typology]
She also states, in the same paper, that literary names can be studied within three general
focuses:
1) Families and classes of names
2) Techniques used by authors in naming
3) Typologies or functions of names
4. Dryden’s Essay on Dramatic Poetry
John Dryden’s essay justifies
why he is called the Father of
English Criticism. Through 4
fictional characters not only
does he point out the major
accusations made against the
English dramatic style but also
defends it at the end.
Why did Dryden use only
these names for his
characters?
Onomastics provides an
answer.
5. Neander, Eugenius, Crites And Lisideius
There are two meanings of the name Neander. The word has its origin in Greek where it means “new
man”. Whereas the modern meaning is also associated with a behavior which is primitive like the
Neanderthals. Given the context, Dryden would have chosen the word for its first meaning. In the
essay Neander does appear as a “new man” since he is defending the new English drama of his time.
To what extent does the character justify the name is left for the reader to guess.
Eugenius is a Latin form of the original Greek name Eugenios, which in turn comes from the Greek
word Eugenes which means “well born”.
Crites is basically a surname with various possible origins. This type of surname generally arose when
an individual moved from one settlement to another, and was then referred to by the name of his
place of origin. Interesting reason for using this name for the character!
Based on Numerology, the name Lisideius means something which is good and graceful in nature. It is
also used for a captain. Unfortunately, the information about the origin of this name ends here. No
further explanation is available.
