Annus Mirabilis (poem)

[1] The title of Dryden's poem, used without capitalisation, annus mirabilis, derives its meaning from its Latin origins and describes a year of particularly notable events.

[2] The first event of the miraculous year was the Battle of Lowestoft fought by English and Dutch ships in 1665.

Rather than write in the heroic couplets found in his earlier works, Dryden used the decasyllabic quatrain exemplified in Sir John Davies' poem Nosce Teipsum in 1599.

The style was revived by William Davenant in his poem Gondibert, which was published in 1651 and influenced Dryden's composition of Annus Mirabilis.

[3] This particular style dictates that each quatrain should contain a full stop, which A. W. Ward believes causes the verse to become "prosy".

The Great Fire of London, which took place on September 2, 1666, was one of the major events that affected England during Dryden's "year of miracles".