Absalom and Achitophel : Key info

 

Writer: John Dryden (1631-1700)

Published date: 1681

Genre: Mock-heroic poem/ Allegorical Poem.

Form: Heroic Couplet 

Themes: Political satire, Biblical allegory, Erosion of value and power of poetry, Desire for power, Paternity, Fitness of Charles II.

 

Political party: Tories & Whigs.

Tories

• Present name: Now British Conservative Party
• The motto of Tories: God, King and Country- It means that God elected the king, and the king will reign over the country.

 

Whigs 

• Present name: British Liberal Party.

• Motto: Liberalism. They believe in Democracy and freedom.

 

Symbolic characters and Symbols

 

David: Charles II

Absalom: James Scott

Achitophel: Anthony Ashley Cooper 

Hebron: Scotland

Israel: England

Jew: English people and Protestant.

Jebusites: Roman Catholic 

Saul: Oliver Cromwell 

Jonah: Sir William Jones

Corah: Titus Oates.

 

Biblical Characters

David (originally Charles II) : King of Israel in accordance with the Bible.

Absalom (James Scott): Illegitimate son of King David.

Achitophel (Anthony Ashley Cooper): Councilor of David.

Corah (Titus Oates): Priest.

Zimri: Men of Achitophel

The Pharaoh: Friend of David. But actually his enemy.

 

Allegorical Characters: 

1. David/ Charles II: King of the British Empire.
2. Absalom/ James Scott: Duke of Monmouth. Worthy son of Charles II.
3. James II: Brother of Charles II. He was a Catholic Christian.Duke of York.
4. Achitophel/ Anthony Ashley Cooper: Most intelligent councilor of Charles II. Earl of Shaftesbury.

 

Background: “Absalom and Achitophel” is a poem written by John Dryden, published in 1681. It echoes the story of the rebellion against King David in the Old Testament of the Bible. John Dryden in his poem, uses this biblical story as an allegory to comment on the political situation in England during the reign of King Charles II. To understand this poem you need to know about these three things.

• The Exclusion Bill

• Popish Plot and

• Monmouth rebellion

 

Because the purpose of writing this poem was centered on these three events.

• The Exclusion Bill (1679-81)

The Caroline era was named after King Charles I. The duration of this era was from 1625-1649. That is, during this time King Charles I ruled England. He had two sons. The elder child was named Charles II and the younger child was named James II. During this time Puritan leaders began to agitate to oust Charles I from power and seek to establish democracy. And under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell, Charles I was publicly beheaded in 1649. And Charles II was exiled to Scotland. However, it had the support of the people of England. Then Oliver Cromwell ruled England from 1649 to 1660. But he failed to establish democracy, so the people of England want to establish monarchy again. So in 1660, Charles II, the eldest son of Charles I, was again installed on the throne. England then made great progress in all fields including economics, science, technology, and literature. Then in 1679 Charles II became very ill. When Charles II died, a question arose in the public mind as to who would be the next King of England. Because Charles II had no legitimate children. As he had no legitimate children, he wanted his younger brother James II to be king. But some people in England could not accept it. Because James II was Roman Catholic, on the other hand, the people of England were Protestant. In order to prevent James II from being installed in power, they politically introduced a bill in the late 1670s and early 1680s, called The Exclusion Bill. Its aim was to exclude the Roman Catholic James, Duke of York, from the line of succession to the English throne.

 

James II was actually a Roman Catholic. English Protestants, therefore, feared that if he became king, he would use his power to re-establish Roman Catholicism as the dominant religion in England. These fears were fueled by a number of factors, including James’s public support for Catholicism, his marriage to a Catholic woman, and his close relationship with the Catholic monarchs of Europe.

 

The Exclusion Bill was first proposed by the Whig Party in 1679. It was a political party that opposed the policies of the ruling Tories and supported Protestantism. The bill aimed to remove James from the line of succession and replace him with the king’s illegitimate son, James Scott, Duke of Monmouth, who was a Protestant. The bill was passed by the House of Commons but repeatedly blocked by the House of Lords until 1681. This was because the House of Lords was dominated by James II’s Tory supporters. And John Dryden wrote this poem with Biblical reference based on this political upheaval. This bill ultimately contributed to the overthrow of James II in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. And established Protestantism as the dominant religion in England.

• Popish Plot – 1678

Titus Oates swears by God to spread the word that the Catholics are plotting to kill Charles II. But later it was proved false. So Titus Oates was later punished.

• Monmouth Rebellion

The Monmouth Rebellion took place in 1685 when James II came to power after the death of Charles II due to James Scott. James Scott led this rebellion with the help of Anthony Ashley Cooper.