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.