Absalom and Achitophel

John Dryden

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1681

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Form and Meter

“Absalom and Achitophel” is a satiric narrative poem written in heroic couplets, a meter for which Dryden is especially well-known. This formal element is deceptively simple; the poem is written in iambic pentameter (each line with five metrical feet, each foot made of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable) and follows an AABB rhyme scheme. However, the element’s full complexity emerges only in light of its literary lineage. Heroic couplets are an English imitation of the type of verse used in ancient Greek and Roman epics, revealing the literary influence of classical texts such as Virgil’s Aeneid—but, while the epics of Greece and Rome were serious and celebratory in subject matter, Dryden’s heroic couplets create a comedic effect: The elevated, “classical” metrical style forms a humorous contrast with the mocking tone of the subject matter. The heroic couplets are thereby a vehicle for Dryden’s signature wit, and the poem establishes a layered irony from the outset as the lofty couplets relay the apparently illustrious philandering of King David; the propriety of the couplets pairs with the superficial laudation (“Ere one to one was cursedly confin’d” [Line 4]) to produce an exacting and only half veiled sardonicism. King David—or King Charles II—may be Dryden’s favored sovereignty, but none of the poem’s subjects are held entirely above the poet’s teasing scrutiny.

Allegory

Dryden’s use of biblical allegory to discuss contemporary political issues was a well-used tactic in the Early Modern Era. In Dryden’s deeply religious climate, biblical stories were both a common, recognizable cultural touchstone and a convenient means of addressing sensitive topics more indirectly. Allegory means that the poem’s characters and events in the poem are merely stand-ins for real-life people and happenings during the Exclusion Crisis: The beleaguered King David is Charles II; Absalom is the Duke of Monmouth; Achitophel is the Earl of Shaftesbury. Achitophel’s and Absalom’s schemes for the disinheritance of the king’s brother and the legitimization of Absalom mirror the Earl of Shaftesbury and the Duke of Monmouth’s attempts to achieve the same in replacing James as the royal heir.

Allegory also allows Dryden to share his political views more generally. In ostensibly writing about King David, Dryden has plenty of opportunity to reflect upon the broader themes of kingship, the rule of law, civil discord, and whether rebellion against an authority is ever justified. Dryden’s allegory explores these issues on a more theoretical level, expressing the poet’s opinions as to why kingship is necessary—not just within the particular context of the Exclusion Crisis, but as a form of stability and safeguard against mob rule.

Satire

“Absalom and Achitophel” is satirical: Dryden wishes to mock the king’s enemies and diffuse the tensions of the Exclusion Crisis by undermining the legitimacy of the opponents’ aims. Dryden uses three main means of satire. First, the heroic couplets create a humorous contrast between the poem’s elevated meter and its recounted shameful happenings. Second, Dryden forgoes much subtlety by making it clear which characters deserve criticism and which deserve admiration. For example, while Absalom does have a moment of doubt before succumbing to Achitophel’s rhetoric, there is no real sense that his choice ever could have been otherwise—the depictions are never equivocal. Dryden’s biting portraits of the king’s enemies stand in marked contrast to his reverent extolment of the virtues of the king’s allies, making it clear that the poem’s foremost purpose is to argue for a political position.

Finally, in giving King David the “last word” by concluding the poem with his lengthy speech—and abruptly ending the poem afterwards—Dryden leaves the king’s opponents looking ridiculous and outmaneuvered: There is no room for response, and the concluding lines portray David’s kingship as divinely ordained and therefore irresistible. Dryden makes the Exclusion Crisis ultimately appear more as a pointless folly than a serious threat to the political order, thereby disempowering King Charles’s enemies and holding them up to ridicule.

Authorial Voice

The poem’s central political theses are known neither for their subtlety nor for being particularly innovative in their figurative expression. Rather, Dryden prefers a more straightforward approach to his subject matter; the poem leaves no doubt as to what the speaker believes and why. The characterizations are essentially direct (for example, while the poem clearly prods at Charles’s liaisons, the character’s heroism remains transparent). The speaker is harsh in his criticism of the king’s enemies and explicit in his defense of monarchy and a king’s prerogative to settle the succession as he sees fit. The poem’s ultimate bluntness reminds the reader that “Absalom and Achitophel” is not just a literary work but a piece of royalist propaganda: Dryden is directly contributing to his contemporary political discourse by taking a side in the Exclusion Crisis.