Annus Mirabilis (poem) - Definition and Overview

Annus Mirabilis is a poem written by John Dryden and published in 1667. It commemorated 1665-1666, the "year of miracles" of London. In fact, the time had been one of great tragedy. Dryden wrote the poem while at Charlton in Wiltshire, where he went to escape one of the great events of the year: the Great Plague.

The poem is written in quatrains. The first event of the miraculous year was the Battle of Lowestoft fought by English and Dutch ships in 1665. The second is the Four Days Battle of June 1666, and finally the victory of the St. James's Day Battle a month later. The second part of the poem deals with the Great Fire of London that ran from September 2 - 7th of 1666. The miracle of the Fire was that London was saved, that the fire was stopped, and that the great king (Charles II) would rebuild (for he already announced his plans to improve the streets of London and to begin great projects). Dryden's view is that these disasters were all averted, that God had saved England from destruction, and that God had performed miracles for England.

Inasmuch as the poem's primary interest for contemporary readers is its discussion of the Great Fire, when Queen Elizabeth II called the fire of Windsor Castle part of her annus horribilis, she was knowingly evoking Dryden's poem.

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