John Dryden (1631-1700) was a poet, literary critic, translator and playwright. He wrote his first poems when working in the civil service under Oliver Cromwell. However, it was after the Restoration that Dryden really established himself as a poet and playwright, with odes addressed to the returned King Charles II. He was appointed the first official Poet Laureate in 1668, serving King Charles II and then King James II. Dryden held the post until after the revolution of 1688, at which point it was taken from him and given to his rival and antagonist Thomas Shadwell. Although Dryden is best known today as a poet, he was also a prolific and popular playwright, and worked closely with the King's Company in the 1670s.