The character who discusses the relative merits of French drama and English drama in Essay of Dramatic…

In Dryden's An Essay of Dramatic Poesy (1668) the four speakers debate in pairs: Crites defends the ancients against Eugenius, who speaks for the moderns, and Lisideius then opens the comparison of French and English drama, arguing that French plays are better for their regularity and observance of the unities. Neander, Dryden's own voice, replies in defence of English drama and of rhyme. Lisideius is the speaker who sets the merits of the French stage against the English.