What is the main theme of Absalom and Achitophel?
His “Absalom and Achitophel” is regarded as not simply a satire, but a poem as Dryden himself calls it “a poem.” The central theme is : Temptation, sin, fall and punishment.
What is the purpose of Dryden’s Absalom and Achitophel?
The purpose of Absalom and Achitophel is explicitly political. To be more precise, Dryden sets out to exalt the reign of Charles II and damn his most implacable enemies.
Who does Absalom represent in Absalom and Achitophel?
Absalom metaphorically represents Charles II’s illegitimate son James Scott, the 1st Duke of Monmouth, who rebelled against Charles and the throne in Dryden’s time.
Is Absalom and Achitophel an allegory?
Absalom and Achitophel is “generally acknowledged as the finest political satire in the English language”. It is also described as an allegory regarding contemporary political events, and a mock heroic narrative. On the title page, Dryden himself describes it simply as “a poem”.
How is Absalom and Achitophel ended?
that the poem is accidentally inconclusive because it projects its ending into the future: “shoud . . . conclude . . . with the Reconcilement of Absalom to David.” These propositions together constitute the legend of the unsuccessful ending of Absalom and Achitophel.
What can you say about the form of Absalom and Achitophel?
The poem “Absalom and Achitophel” uses an aa, bb, cc, etc. rhyme scheme and is set in iambic pentameter. After all, Shakespeare wrote parts of his plays in iambic pentameter (but did not always use rhyme). Much later in poetic history, Robert Frost used a loose form of iambic pentameter in his long poem “Birches.”
What is the plot of Absalom and Achitophel?
These chapters relate the story of King David’s favourite son Absalom and his false friend Achitophel (Ahithophel), who persuades Absalom to revolt against his father. In his poem, Dryden assigns each figure in the crisis a biblical name; e.g., Absalom is Monmouth, Achitophel is Shaftesbury, and David is Charles II.
What is the story of Absalom and Achitophel?
John Dryden: Verse satires of John Dryden …of the king with his Absalom and Achitophel, so drawing upon himself the wrath of the Whigs….…
What does achitophel represent?
ä-hit′ō-fel, n. an able but unprincipled counsellor, from the name of David’s sage counsellor who treacherously abetted the rebellion of Absalom.