Critical appreciation of the poem ‘Absalom and Achitophel’

 

        Dryden wrote Absalom and Achitophel in 1681. This long poem consists of more than two thousand lines in two parts. The work is an allegorical satire in heroic couplets. There are many more inspired writers but there appeared no English writer who succeeded so well in so many different branches of writing. His Absalom is his greatest achievement that finds hardly any parallel in the whole range of English literature. It has various literary qualities.

            Dryden’s poetry has the representative character. In Absalom and Achitophel, historical facts have been depicted in literary manners. David Nichol says, “When we read the works of Dryden, we make a study of his Age.” The occasion of the poem was Charles II’s suppression of a rebellion headed by Shaftesbury. Charles II was restored to the throne in 1660. He had no child from his queen Catherine though had many illegitimate children. He had many mistresses. Absalom’s mother was also a mistress. But Absalom was a bastard, he was not entitled of succession. There were two political parties Tory and Whig. The Tories favoured the King but the Whig was opposite party. Its leader was Shaftesbury who supported Absalom for the succession Tories were in favour of James II, the younger brother of Charles II. Shaftesbury was arrested but acquitted by the Grand Jury. After the death of Charles II, James II became the King of England. These historical facts have been elaborated in the poem. It produces the true picture of the age. It bears not only political background but also social and religious position of the Restoration age.

            Allegory, fable, classical imitation, mock-heroic, parody and burlesque are the usual forms for satires as a satire cannot be depicted in a direct narrative form. In direct narration an another may be put into trouble. Dryden adopted the form of a Biblical allegory. It comes out from Jewish history. The analogy between Jewish history in the reign of David and the conditions of England in 1681 has given Dryden the incentive to employ the form of allegory. The parallel between David and Absalom and Charles II and Monmouth had already been described by other writers before Dryden took it up. Dryden found a similarity in the political situations of both regimes. Having adopted the same method of depiction, Dryden took it up in his own style.

            Dryden was over fifty when he wrote his great satires-Absalom and Achitophel-in two parts in 1681 and 1682. The poem succeeds in creating an impression of the inmate goodness of an indulgent King, and of his beneficent majesty, and arousing the reader’s sympathy. This great satire contained in ‘Absalom and Achitophel’ was motivated by the political events of the time. Dryden assailed the political figures of his time-Shaftesbury, Monmouth, and others who were opposing Charles II. For this satire, he used the Biblical story of ‘Absalom and Achitophel’. Through the allegorical method, he condemned the evil designs of the enemies of Charles II. As a political satire ‘Absalom and Achitophel’ has no rival. The poet has been able to maintain artistic excellence in his political satire. He has roused the tone of the satire by different devices.

            The supreme excellence of Absalom and Achitophel lies in its sketches of character. Sir Walter Scott has said that there is a gallery of portraits. The portraits with which this poem abounds especially reveal the art of Dryden. We can watch there a fine sense of delicate touch and the felicity of picturesque characterization. There is living truth of organic wholes. Dryden’s characterization is the variety of treatment.

            Dryden has maintained the epical quality in his poem. It is a heroic-poem the subject of which is lofty-the futile plot against a legal king. A critic says, “Dryden uses the highlighting that is required for epic poetry, as for tragedy, there is plot, the characters, the wit, the passions, the descriptions are all exalted above the level of common converse as high as the imagination of the poet can carry them with proportion to verisimilitude.

            Some critics have thrown light on some faults in the poem. According to them its end is defective. The end has no poetic justice and no conclusion, no plot and from the beginning to the end no action. Some characters only speak but do nothing. The descriptions of Jave nods, Olympus tramples, and the cloudy scenes have no significance.

Absolam and Achitophel: A Political Satire

 

        Satire is a literary attack on the follies and vices of an individual or society to correct them through laughter and ridicule. It has some characteristics. These are:

Ø  Literary form of expression.

Ø  Disgust at the ugly and foolishness.

Ø  Humour.

Ø  A sincere desire to correct or reform.

            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 a supporter of Tory. He was called Staunch Tory. He used satire very strictly for people who were against King Charles II and made plan to dethrone him.

            First, Dryden attacked the Earl of Shaftesbury. With his, brilliant tricks he represented Shaftesbury as a hypocrite. We found Shaftesbury a smooth talker and with this capability, he convinced Duke of Monmouth to go against his father.

            Dryden also attacked the Protestant group. The Protestant group was in fear that if James, the brother of King Charles II, came to the throne then Roman Catholics would be beneficial and would be in power. Here, it is notable that James, the Duke of York was thought to be a follower of the Pope Roman Catholic. Instead, Protestants wanted to see the Duke of Monmouth in the throne of England. In Absalom and Achitophel, Dryden tried to show the traitorous activities of the Whigs against their king.

            In the seventeenth century England, religion played a big role in ruling the country, and politics and religion were closely related to each other. Both Protestant Christians and their rival Roman Catholic were in cock fight to grab the power of the country. To prevent Roman Catholics from getting into power in England, a clergyman, Titus Oates, in favor of Protestants, also made a plan and claimed that James and Roman Catholics had tried to kill King Charles II to make James as the king of England which was later proved wrong.

            Dryden in Absalom and Achitophel also criticized the Duke of Buckingham with whom he had personal conflict. When Dryden joined as a poet-laureate and historiographer to the government in 1670, he got both money and recognition. Being jealous of Dryden’s a prosperity, some contemporary high officials started making fun of him. Duke of Buckingham was one of those people. In his literary work, The Rehearsal, he strongly criticized Dryden. In Absalom and Achitophel, Dryden took revenge for making fun of him. In his poem, Dryden compared the Duke of Buckingham to the Biblical character Zimri, who being lured to the throne of Israel, killed his master and ascended to the throne though Zmiri could only survive for seven days as the king of Israel. In reality, the Duke of Buckingham was initially a friend of King Charles II, but when the religious chaos between Whigs and Tories started, he joined the Whigs, the rebel group of King Charles II.

            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 the 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 to the Duke of Monmouth while making satire. However, Dryden mostly attacked Shaftesbury (symbolizing Achitophel in the poem). There are some political reasons behind it. At that time in England, Shaftesbury was in the lead of the Whigs, who placed “The Exclusion Bill” in 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 thought 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.

            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 satirical poem is considered a classical work of Dryden in English literature.

English Language: A Brief History

The English language is a West Germanic language that originated in England. It is the third most spoken language in the world after Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. English has been influenced by several other languages over the centuries, including Old Norse, Latin, French, and Dutch.

The earliest forms of English were spoken by the Anglo-Saxons, who settled in England in the 5th century. The Anglo-Saxons were a mix of Germanic tribes from Scandinavia and Germany. They brought with them their own language, which was called Old English.

The English language has gone through distinct periods throughout its history. Different aspects of the language have changed throughout time, such as grammar, vocabulary, spelling, etc.

The Old English period (5th-11th centuries), Middle English period (11th-15th centuries), and Modern English period (16th century to present) are the three main divisions in the history of the English language.

The Old English period began in 449 AD with the arrival of three Germanic tribes from the Continent: the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. They settled in the south and east of Britain, which was then inhabited by the Celts. The Anglo-Saxons had their own language, called Old English, which was spoken from around the 5th century to the 11th century.

Old English was a Germanic language, and as such, it was very different from the Celtic languages spoken by the Britons. It was also a very different language from the English we speak today. It was a highly inflected language, meaning that words could change their form depending on how they were being used in a sentence. There are four known dialects of the Old English language:

Northumbrian in northern England and southeastern Scotland,

                            Mercian in central England,

                            Kentish in southeastern England,

                            West Saxon in southern and southwestern England.

Old English grammar also had a complex system, with five main cases (nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, instrumental), three genders (masculine, feminine, and neuter), and two numbers (singular and plural).

The Anglo-Saxons also had their own alphabet, which was known as the Futhorc. The futhorc consisted of 24 letters, most named after rune symbols. However, they also borrowed the Roman alphabet and eventually started using that instead.

The vocabulary was also quite different, with many words being borrowed from other languages such as Latin, French, and Old Norse. The first account of Anglo-Saxon England ever written is from 731 AD – a document known as the Venerable Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People, which remains the single most valuable source from this period.

Another one of the most famous examples of Old English literature is the epic poem Beowulf, which was written sometime between the 8th and 11th centuries. By the end of the Old English period at the close of the 11th century, West Saxon dominated, resulting in most of the surviving documents from this period being written in the West Saxon dialect.

The Old English period was a time of great change for Britain. In 1066, the Normans invaded England and conquered the Anglo-Saxons. The Normans were originally Viking settlers from Scandinavia who had settled in France in the 10th century. They spoke a form of French, which was the language of the ruling class in England after the Norman Conquest.

The Old English period came to an end in 1066 with the Norman Conquest. However, Old English continued to be spoken in some parts of England until the 12th century. After that, it was replaced by Middle English.

The second stage of the English language is known as the Middle English period, which was spoken from around the 12th century to the late 15th century. As mentioned above, Middle English emerged after the Norman Conquest of 1066, when the Normans conquered England.

As a result of the Norman Conquest, French became the language of the ruling class, while English was spoken by the lower classes. This led to several changes in the English language, including a reduction in the number of inflexions and grammatical rules.

Middle English is often divided into two periods: Early Middle English (11th-13th centuries) and Late Middle English (14th-15th centuries).

The Early Middle English period began in 1066 with the Norman Conquest and was greatly influenced by the French, as the Normans brought with them many French words that began to replace their Old English equivalents. This process is known as Normanisation.

One of the most noticeable changes was in the vocabulary of law and government. Many Old English words related to these concepts were replaced by their French equivalents. For example, the Old English word for a king was cyning or cyng, which was replaced by the Norman word we use today, king.

The Norman Conquest also affected the grammar of Old English. The inflectional system began to break down, and words started to lose their endings. This Scandinavian influence made the English vocabulary simpler and more regular.

The Late Middle English period began in the 14th century and lasted until the 15th century. During this time, the English language was further influenced by French.

However, the Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453) between England and France meant that English was used more and more in official documents. This helped to standardise the language and make it more uniform.

One of the most famous examples of Middle English literature is The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, which was written in the late 14th century. Chaucer was the first major writer in English, and he e helped to standardize the language even further. For this reason, Middle English is also frequently referred to as Chaucerian English.

French influence can also be seen in the vocabulary, with many French loanwords being introduced into English during this time. Middle English was also influenced by the introduction of Christianity, with many religious terms being borrowed from Latin.

After Old and Middle English comes the third stage of the English language, known as Modern English, which began in the 16th century and continues to the present day.

The Early Modern English period, or Early New English, emerged after the introduction of the printing press in England in 1476, which meant that books could be mass-produced, and more people learned to read and write. As a result, the standardization of English continued.

The Renaissance (14th-17th centuries) saw a rediscovery of classical learning, which had a significant impact on English literature. During this time, the English language also borrowed many Greek and Latin words. The first English dictionary, A Table Alphabetical of Hard Words, was published in 1604.

The King James Bible, which was first published in 1611, also had a significant impact on the development of Early Modern English. The Bible was translated into English from Latin and Greek, introducing many new words into the language.

The rise of the British Empire (16th-20th centuries) also had a significant impact on the English language. English became the language of commerce, science, and politics, and was spread around the world by British colonists. This led to the development of many different varieties of English, known as dialects.

One of the most famous examples of Early Modern English literature is William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, which was first performed in 1597. To this day, William Shakespeare is considered the greatest writer in the English language.

The final stage of the English language is known as Modern English, which has been spoken from around the 19th century to the present day. Modern English has its roots in Early Modern English, but it has undergone several changes since then.

The most significant change occurred in the 20th century, with the introduction of mass media and technology. For example, new words have been created to keep up with changing technology, and old words have fallen out of use. However, the core grammar and vocabulary of the language have remained relatively stable.

Today, English is spoken by an estimated 1.5 billion people around the world, making it one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. It is the official language of many countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia. English is also the language of international communication and is used in business, education, and tourism.