Absolom and Achitophel

Absalom and Achitophel (543)

Absalom and Achitophel is a political satire; it is the first poem of Dryden as poet laureate. The object of poem is not merely to attack men who plotted against the king but to present the whole constitutional position in a certain way. The poet presents different political personalities of his time in Biblical characters.

Absalom of the poem is Duke of Monmouth, son of the king Charles II, Achitophel is Earl of Shaftsbury, Zimri is duke of Buckingham and David is Charles II. Dryden correlates the event of rebellion against the king to the story of old testament where Absalom, because of the ill--advice of his friend Achitophel revolted against his father King David.

In the poem Dryden bitterly criticizes Achitophel and his party; he believes that Absalom is innocent, the only sin Absalom committed is that he listens to the advice of Achitophel. To Dryden Achitophel is the serpent and main cause for the rebellion against the king. Though the object of the poem is political, the greatness of Dryden is that he maintains the artistic and poetic beauty of the poem. As George sampon says

"Absalom and Achitophel remains the greatest political satire of our literature."

Dryden in the poem makes good use of satiric devices; there is no dearth of wit in the poem but at times the wit gets harsh and personal especially in the case of Achitophel. Dryden describes Achitophel's character in these harsh words:

A fiery soul, which working out its way,

'fretted the pigny body to decay'

He makes the characters of Achitophel as the very embodiment of evil and even attacks his short height. This is where perhaps he is personal. The power of Dryden's satiric technique is remarkable. A reader can enjoy the satire even without the knowledge of political situation which gives rise to the poem.