Absalom And Achistophel by John Dryden
Absalom And Achistophel
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∆ Overview of the Poem :
Absalom and Achitophel written by John Dryden is a political satire. Since Dryden was belong to Restoration period so we can easily say Dryden’s this work is mirror of that period. We have found several historical stories through this poem.
Before describing Absalom and Achitophel as a political satire, we need to know the definition of the widely used literary technique, satire :
→ What is satire ?
"Satire is a literary attack on the follies and vices of individual or society in order to correct them through laughter and ridicule."
The entire poem, which tells the story of Absalom and Achitophel's rebellion against King David of Israel, is an allegory of the events that occurred in England in the late 17th century. Dryden uses biblical characters and events to comment upon the Exclusion Crisis and its major players, ultimately supporting King Charles II in his right to the throne.
The only intention of Dryden to write this poem was to support King Charles II. The King himself asked Dryden to write a poem satirizing the Whig party and particularly its leader Shaftesbury. Dryden was also supporter of Tory. He was called Staunch Tory. He used satire very strictly for that people who were against the King Charles II and made plan to dethrone him.
In Absalom and Achitophel, Dryden did not focus much on the Duke of Monmouth who in the poem is compared to Absalom. Instead, he criticized much about Shaftesbury who is compared to Achitophel. According to Bible, Achitophel was a counselor to the court of King David, father of Absalom. When Absalom set to fight against his father, King David, Achitophel joined Absalom’s side. So, Dryden’s Absalom and Achitophel would be much more related to the Biblical incident of Absalom and Achitophel, if he gave much importance on the Duke of Monmouth while making satire. However, Dryden mostly attacked Shaftesbury. There are some political reasons behind it. At that time in England, Shaftesbury was in lead of the Whig, who placed “The Exclusion Bill” to the House of Commons. So, Dryden wanted to save King Charles II from any volatile situation due to the continuing rebellion. That is why; Dryden gave much importance while making satire. Another reason is that Dryden might have though that if he criticized Duke of Monmouth much then he would be more furious and as the Duke of Monmouth was an illegitimate child of King Charles II, Dryden tried to make a compromise between the King and Duke of Monmouth so that the movement over the religion and power could be stopped.
The allegory begins by representing England as the Biblical land of Israel, and the Englishmen as the Jews. The group of antagonists in the poem are working against King David, whose modern representation is Charles II. The First Earl of Shaftesbury takes on the role of Achitophel, the leader of this group.Absalom is the best candidate to take the throne instead.
Achitophel begins a very long speech, during which he attempts to convince Absalom to join his rebellion. He tells Absalom that the country cries for him to take the throne in secret.He not only has the royal blood that is necessary to gain support of the people, but would be a much better King than anyone who would inherit the throne by means of succession.
Absalom defends his father, saying David is a good King and has always treated him with kindness. But Absalom is also ambitious, and is fighting against the constant flattery that Achitophel is giving him. Absalom refuses to turn against his father. He says the crown should go to the person who rightfully deserves it, David's brother, who has all the royal virtues. He admits his illegitimate birth makes him unsuited for the job, and wishes he had been born higher.
∆ Absalom And Achistophel : as a Political Satire :
In Dryden’s time, satire became popular, especially among the political parties. In that time, Dryden wrote this poem. It is his best work. Now, this satire poem is considered as a classical work of Dryden in English literature.
In this period, there were several political parties in England. Among them Whig and Tory were common.As the relation between these two parties was not good so when they expressed anything through their writing they used satire form in their writing for opposite party. In this way, satire became popular form among the parties, but as a poet or writer, Dryden used satire as a literary form in his poem in a good way.
Dryden explains the many political issues throughout the poem in great detail. He makes a number of political arguments, all the while employing the use of the poetic verse.
The poem finally ends with King David's speech, during which he upholds his traditional rights, offers conciliation to all the rebels, but also demonstrates firmness in his decisions.
In conclusion, it may be said that Absalom and Achitophel has no rival in the field of political satire. The poem is certainly a political satire, but t is a blend f dignity with incisive and effective satire.
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