In our classroom our sir gave us a task about Absalom and Achitophel poem which is written by John Dryden .Click Here
Introduction:
Full Title: Absalom and Achitophel
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• Author: John Dryden
• Type of Work: Poem (Political Satire)
• Genre: Satirical Poetry, Allegory
• Language: English
• When Written: 1681
• Where Written: London, England
• Date of First Publication: 1681
• Literary Period: Restoration Period
• Protagonist: Absalom the Duke of Monmouth)
• Antagonist: Achitophel (a fictionalized version of the Earl of Shaftesbury)
• Point of View: Third-Person (omniscient)
• Setting (Time): 17th century (during the reign of King Charles II), — Israel, during the reign of King Davidson Davidson
• Setting (Place): England,
Absalom and Achitophel is a celebrated satirical poem by John Dryden, written in heroic couplets and first published in 1681. The poem tells the Biblical tale of the rebellion of Absalom against King David; in this context it is an allegory used to represent a story contemporary to Dryden, concerning King Charles II and the Exclusion Crisis (1679–1681). The poem also references the Popish Plot (1678) and the Monmouth Rebellion (1685)
Second Part:
second part of the poem—largely composed by Nahum Tate, playwright and poet laureate of Britain, but containing 200 lines by Dryden that were directed at his literary rivals Thomas Shadwell and Elkanah Settle—was published in 1682.
Historical and Political Context:
The Exclusion Crisis / The Exclusion Bill:
A political crisis that began in England in 1679.It was prompted by the mass anti-Catholic hysteria of the Popish Plot and involved three bills which sought to exclude Roman Catholics from royal succession. Charles II’s brother and heir presumptive, James (Duke of York), was a Roman Catholic, and the Exclusion Bill posed a serious threat to his right of succession.
The Bill was never passed, and the crisis officially ended in 1681. However, Catholics were ultimately banned from the throne in England by the Act of Settlement (1701).
Dryden’s Absalom and Achitophel allegorizes the Exclusion Crisis through the biblical story of David and his son Absalom, who rebels against his father’s authority.
In the allegory, Absalom (Duke of Monmouth), encouraged by Achitophel (Earl of Shaftesbury), tries to discredit David’s brother (James, Duke of York) and exclude him from succession.
Dryden implies that the Exclusion Crisis was engineered by anti-Catholic extremists, who sought to bar James II through deceptive and corrupt means.
The poem, therefore, serves to expose these dishonest practices and defend the principle of rightful succession to the English throne.
The Popish Plot:
A conspiracy engineered by Titus Oates between 1678 and 1681 in England, in which he maintained that a Catholic conspiracy to assassinate King Charles II was underway. The Popish Plot was a farce, and no evidence was ever found to support it, but it resulted in the execution of 22 innocent people and led directly to the Exclusion Crisis
Dryden allegorizes the Popish Plot in Absalom and Achitophel as the “plot,” advanced by Achitophel and created by Corah, to discredit David and his brother and place Absalom on the throne.
Through his poem, Dryden implies that the Popish Plot lacked “common sense,” and he implores the people of England to see it for what it is: a sham concocted to drum up anti-Catholic sentiment and unfairly keep James II from ascending the throne.
The Monmouth Rebellion (1685):
After Charles II’s death, James II became king.
The Duke of Monmouth led a rebellion claiming he was the rightful heir. It was quickly crushed, and Monmouth was executed.
Dryden’s warning in Absalom and Achitophel proved prophetic — Monmouth’s ambition led to disaster.
4. Political Motivation of Dryden:
Dryden was Poet Laureate and had loyalty to Charles II.
The poem was written as royalist propaganda to defend the king’s authority.
His message: Rebellion against the rightful monarch, no matter how appealing, leads to chaos and ruin.
He frames monarchy as divinely ordained, echoing the belief in the “Divine Right of Kings.” Monmouth Rebellion.
Biblical Foundation:
Dryden based his poem on a well-known biblical story from 2 Samuel 13–19. In this account, Absalom, the handsome and popular son of King David, becomes ambitious and rebels against his father’s rule. He is persuaded and guided by Achitophel, a cunning and treacherous counsellor, who encourages him to seize power and overthrow David. Although Absalom gathers followers and creates a powerful rebellion, the uprising eventually fails, leading to his tragic death and confirming David’s rightful kingship.
Dryden uses this biblical narrative as an allegory for contemporary English politics:
King David represents Charles II
Absalom represents the Duke of Monmouth (Charles’s illegitimate son)
Achitophel represents the Earl of Shaftesbury, the politician who tried to use Monmouth to oppose Charles and exclude James (Duke of York) from succession
This biblical parallel gave Dryden a strong moral framework. It allowed him to present loyalty to the king as divinely sanctioned while portraying rebellion as both sinful and destructive.
Character Studies:
David – The Third King of Israel = King Charles II of England:
A merciful and kind king who does not have a male heir to inherit the throne.
Several illegitimate sons, but he loves Absalom the most, and the people of Israel likewise love Absalom and herald him as a national hero.
An allegory for King Charles II of England, and like David, Dryden argues that Charles has a divine right to the throne, which Charles’s son, the Duke of Monmouth tried to usurp in Dryden’s time.
Absalom = James Scott, Duke of Monmouth:
David’s illegitimate son and the protagonist
The people of Israel love Absalom almost as much as David does, and Achitophel believes that the Jews would accept Absalom as their king.
Metaphorically represents Charles II’s illegitimate son James Scott, the 1st Duke of Monmouth, who rebelled against Charles.
Depiction of Absalom implies that Dryden does not think Monmouth a wholly terrible person, but someone who is merely tempted and blinded by power; however, Dryden also suggests that Monmouth’s common birth automatically excludes him from ascending the throne.
Dryden doesn’t entirely denounce Absalom’s ambition (he even celebrates his exploits at war), but he does argue that usurping the throne is completely unethical.
Achitophel = Anthony Ashley Cooper, the 1st Earl of Shaftesbury:
A deceitful counselor to King David and the antagonist.
He is smart, ambitious, and morally flexible. He pretends to be David’s friend, but in actuality, he either wants to rule Israel or completely destroy it.
Represents Anthony Ashley Cooper, the 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, a Member of Parliament during Dryden’s time and the main supporter of the Exclusion Bill. Shaftesbury was the founder of the Whig party, which sought to exclude Charles II’s brother James from the throne, and he was a major opponent of Charles throughout his reign.
Saul = Oliver Cromwell:
The first king of Israel. According to Dryden, God was the first king of Israel, but the Jews, who are “moody” and frequently unhappy with their king, oust God and make Saul their king.
In the Bible, Saul favors David over his son Ishbosheth, and David is forced to go into exile.
After Saul dies and Ishbosheth is made king, the Jews are again unhappy with their king and choose David.
Saul represents Oliver Cromwell, who ruled the Commonwealth of England after Charles I was executed.
David’s Brother = James II:
David’s brother never actually makes it into the poem, but Achitophel and Absalom refer to him multiple times.
David’s brother represents James II, the brother of King Charles II and the next heir to the throne of England. James was a Roman Catholic, and the Exclusion Bill before Parliament in Dryden’s time sought to exclude James from the throne.
Corah = Titus Oates:
◉ The most important of Achitophel’ s men. Corah is a priest, although he lies about his rabbinical degree, and he hatches the plot that helps Achitophel discredit David’s brother
◉ In the Bible, Corah leads a rebellion against Moses, and in Dryden’s poem he represents Titus Oates, the Englishman who engineered the Popish Plot
Themes:
Politics, Allegory, and Satire:
On the surface, John Dryden's poem "Absalom and Achitophel" is a rehashing of the story of David, the third king of Israel, and his illegitimate son Absalom, who rebels against his father and tries to usurp his throne. However, this biblical story is merely an allegory, a form of extended metaphor, for the political events that unfolded in Dryden's time.
Dryden's poem is a thinly veiled satirical roast of the political drama that pervaded English society in the late 1670s and early 1680s, and no one is spared from his wit. According to Dryden, "the true end of satire is the amendment of vices by correction," and "Absalom and Achitophel" is an attempt to that end.
Through the use of satire and allegory in “Absalom and Achitophel," Dryden ultimately makes a political argument that the Popish Plot and the Exclusion Crisis were devious ploys to divert the rightful order of succession and prevent James II from ascending the throne.
God, Religion, and the Divine Right of Kings:
At the center of John Dryden's poem "Absalom and Achitophel" is God and religion. The poem is a satirical critique of contemporary politics, but Dryden couches his argument in a biblical story from the Book of Samuel. Instead of the happenings of 17th century England, "Absalom and Achitophel" focuses on David, the third king of Israel, and his illegitimate son Absalom, who, under the direction and influence of Achitophel, attempts to ascend the throne despite his common birth.
Through his rehashing of the biblical story of King David and Absalom, Dryden effectively argues that King Charles II, and his successor his brother and collateral heir to the throne, James both have a divine right to occupy the throne, bestowed upon them by God, and that right is not to be infringed upon by the people or Parliament.
At the end of the poem, David publicly addresses Israel about Absalom's ambition for the crown. "Had God ordained his fate for empire born," David says, "He would have given his soul another turn." Plainly put, if God had wanted Absalom to be king, he would have made him king. Ultimately, the rebellion of Absalom is quelled, and peace returns to Israel. "Once more the godlike David was restored," Dryden concludes, "And willing nations knew their lawful lord."
Power and Ambition:
Power and ambition drive the plot of John Dryden's poem "Absalom and Achitophel."
King David of Israel has all the power in theory, but in practice, he has little ambition.
According to Achitophel, the King's deceitful counselor, David is lacking "manly force," and he gives in too easily to the people. The King is “mild” and hesitant to draw blood, and Achitophel, in his own ambition for increasing power, sees David as weak. "But when should people strive their bonds to break," Achitophel says to David's son Absalom, "If not when kings are negligent or weak?" The Jews of Israel "well know their power," Achitophel maintains, and it is the perfect time to assert that power and overthrow David's rule.
Absalom, too, is ambitious and gains power through war, and, after Achitophel's influence, Absalom has ambition to ascend his father's throne.
With the portrayal of power and ambition in "Absalom and Achitophel," Dryden ultimately argues that while some ambition of power is good and even admirable, attempting to take power that rightfully belongs to the King is a deadly sin.
The Erosion of the Value and Power of Poetry:
One of the unintended themes of Dryden's poem is how it has become one of the supreme illustrations of how much the perceived value of poetry has decreased in contemporary times. When the published poem hit the streets, Dryden created a bull market for poetry's value.
Samuel Johnson, who would go on to become one of England's literary legends alongside Dryden, would not be born for almost three decades after this period in British history, during which time his father was a bookseller. Johnson would later recount how his father told him that he could not keep copies of Dryden's poem on his shelves. Everyone in London was familiar with the actual political crisis taking place, and half of them were eager to read Dryden's satirical allegory. The storied reaction to Dryden's poem about a current political scandal, couched as a biblical parody, seems utterly inconceivable for modern society.
Today, a gossipy non-fiction bestseller weaved from anonymous sources can impact political scandals just as easily, but very few of those books will also go on to become an established highlight of the literary history of an entire language.
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