This blog is my response to the task assigned to us by our Prof.Dr.DilipSir about Absalom and Achitophel. So read and enjoy.
"And every hostile humour, which before
Slept quiet in its channels, bubbles over;
So several factions, from this first ferment,
Work up to foam, and threat the government." Lines 138-141
The humours are not the immediately recognizable, medical/ literary/ philosophical subject they once were, so analysis of this lines is necessary for the modern reader. The humours were, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, "part of Shakespearean Cosmology, inherited from the ancient Greek philosophers Aristotle, Hippocrates and Galen. Organized around the four elements of Earth, water, air and fire. The four qualities of cold, hot, moist, and dry; and the four humours, these physical qualities determined the behaviour of all created things including the human body." "Pshchology Today" explains, "The ancient names for these humours - melancholic (black bile), choleric (yellow bile), sanguine (blood), and phelgmatic (phlegm) - represented different temperaments, and still do. Melancholic people are despondent and gloomy. Choleric people are bad tempered. Sanguine people are courageous, hopeful, and amorous. Phelgmatic people are calm, cool, and unemotional." Thus, in suggesting that a "hostile humour" is bubbling over, Dryden is creating a metaphor suggesting that the tensions of the people are boiling and will soon erupt into rebellion.
"Few words he said; but easy those and fit,
More slow than Hybla drops, and far more sweet." Lines 696-97
"Hybla-drops", a key to the poem explains, reference honey. Hyblaean honey was exceedingly sweet, derived from the southeast mountains of Sicily. It was well known in ancient times and referenced in works like Shakespeare's 'Julius Caesar'. This reference effectively conveys the nature of Absalom's address to the people and why it was so effortlessly successful. His words are sweet, short, and easy to understand. He evokes sympathy for himself and identifies his struggles with those of the people. He does not explicitly attack David, but he allows the people to acknowledge their kings shortcomings and see him, Absalom, as a worthy successor.
It is said that beaware of sweet words, sometimes they're meant for some kind of betrayal. Sweet words can easily trap a foolish person but wise one will be alert that they are meant for some favour or some greed. This trick of uttering sweet words is sometimes used by politicians in general to get more votes. These technique of flattering words is used by many business people to sell their products, in advertisements also we find the use of sweet words that make people buy that product. So we must beaware, alert, check, verify, that how much truth is there in such sweet words, pleasing words or any simple words also, these words have to undergo the test of time, to prove that how much truth there's in it. So do all investigations, cross-verifications than only come to believe or accept any such words.
☆ 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 unfold in Dryden's time. In 1678, an alleged Catholic conspiracy to assassinate King Charles the second, known as the Popish plot, swept across England, creating mass anti Catholic hysteria and prompting the Exclusion crisis of 1679. The Exclusion crisis lasted until 1681 and consisted of three Parliamentary bills which attempted to exclude James, King Charles's brother from Royal succession because he was a Roman Catholic rather than Protestant. 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 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 argues that the Popish plot and the Exclusion crisis were devious plays to divert the rightful order of succession and prevent James the second from ascending the throne.
Through the deceit of Achitophel, a politician who sows dissention among the Jews, Dryden allegorizes the Popish plot is merely an attempt to breed strife between David and the government, or figuratively between Parliament and Charles the second of England, the "Good Old Cause revive(s) a plot" to "raise up commonwealths and ruin kings." The "Good Old Cause" is a reference to the Puritan Rebellions of the English Civil War (1642-1651), which pitted King Charles the first, who was supported by Catholics, against Parliament, which was supported by the Puritans, a form of Protestantism. The war was a victory for Parliament; Charles the 1st was executed and the commonwealth of England was created. The monarchy was restored in 1660, and Charles the 2nd ascended the throne. With this reference, Dryden implies that the Popish plot is little more than a revival of the Good Old Cause and an attempt to dethrone a king. In the poem, rumor begins to spread that King David's life is
"Endangered by a brother and wife
Thus in a pageant show, a plot is made,
And peace itself is war in masquerade."
Titus Oates, a priest of the Church of England and the master mind of the Popish plot, accused Charles's brother James and Charles's wife, Queen Catherine, of involvement in the plot against Charles. Dryden suggests that Oates's claims are nonsense - the plot is a "pageant show", a charade - and such claims amount to a "war in masquerade", as the desired outcome, to remove a man who is destined to be king out of royal succession, is similar to that of the English Civil War. Ultimately, the plot fails "for want of common sense", but it has a "deep and dangerous consequence". The Popish plot, Dryden implies was destined to fail because it completely lacked wisdom. However, the paranoia and anti-catholic sentiments the plot churned up led directly to the Exclusion Crisis, which again pitted Parliament against the king. Members of Parliament pushed for James to be removed from royal succession, and Charles adamantly supported his brother.
In the poem, Dryden discusses many of the men who support Achitophel and his plan to strip David of his power. In this way, Dryden also satirizes the politicians who supported the Exclusion Bill, portraying them as despicable men "who think too little and who talk too much". Thus, Dryden implies that their proposed law, - to keep Roman Catholics from the throne -is likewise foolish and dangerous. Achitophel, who encourages Absalom to rebel against his father, is a contemptable man who resolves "to ruin or to rule the state". Achitophel is a representation of Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, a Member of Parliament and founder of the Whig Party, who opposed absolute monarchy in favour of a more democratic approach. Cooper was a major proponent of the Exclusion Bill, and Dryden implies Cooper intended to use the bill to either take the government over, or completely take it down. Achitophel has several supporters, "whom kings no titles gave, and God no grace", including the "well-hung Balaam and cold Caleb free". Balaam and Caleb represent Theophilus Hastings and Arthur Capel respectively, both politicians and members of the Whig party who supported the Exclusion Bill. Dryden therefore implies these men are low level politicians who have little sense and no influence. While Balaam and Caleb may have little sense, "not bull-faced Jonas", Dryden says, "who could statutes draw/ To mean rebellion and make treason law." Jonas represents Sir William Jones, a Member of Parliament who supported the Exclusion Bill. As Attorney General, Jones prosecuted several Catholics who were falsely accused and executed during the Popish plot. In this way Dryden implies that Jones, especially teamed with Cooper, can do real and lasting damage to the country and to the monarchy.
Achitophel and his supporters begin to stoke "the mal contents of all the Israelites" and sway public opinion, and the Sanhedrins, the Jewish high council becomes "infected with this public lunacy" as well. The Sanhedrins, of course, are a metaphor for the English Parliament, and the "public lunacy" is the Exclusion crisis. Through his satirical poem, Dryden had hoped the people of England and Parliament would see the Popish plot and Exclusion crisis for what they really were - plot devised to keep James the second, a Roman Catholic, out of royal succession.
