Dryden's use of form contributed to which eighteenth-century trend in poetry?

• A. Prominence of free verse
• B. Emphasis on formal, crafted verse
• C. Decline of rhyme
• D. Purity of blank verse

Answer: (B)

Dryden’s form shows how verse can be crafted with precision to achieve wit, balance, and clarity. He popularized rhymed heroic couplets in regular iambic pentameter, giving poetry a measured, polished sound that rewards careful construction. In the eighteenth century, this emphasis on formal, crafted verse—where the shape and order of the lines matter as much as the language—became the prevailing aesthetic of neoclassical poetry. By showcasing disciplined form, Dryden helped set a trend toward verse that is meticulously formed and artistically controlled. The other options don't fit that shift: free verse lacks the metrical and rhyming discipline central to the era; a decline of rhyme runs counter to the era’s affection for orderly, crafted verse; and blank verse, while used, wasn’t the defining move of the period in the same way that structured, rhymed form was.