Dryden's "Absalom and Achitophel" as a political satire raised to epic grandeur/Dryden's "Absalom and Achitophel" as an epic in miniature/Dryden's "Absalom and Achitophel" as a representative heroic poem/ Dryden's "Absalom and Achitophel" as a blend of wit with a heroic base/ epical grandeur in Dryden's "Absalom and Achitophel"/ Dryden's "Absalom and Achitophel" is a mock epic

Question: "Dryden's Absalom and Achitophel has epical grandeur." -- Discuss / Do you agree with the view that John Dryden's Absalom and Achitophel is a political satire raised to epic grandeur? / Absalom and Achitophel is an epic in miniature. -- Discuss. / Absalom and Achitophel is a blend of wit with a heroic base. -- Discuss / Absalom and Achitophel is a representative heroic poem. -- Discuss.

Answer: At the very outset of our discussion, we must have a clear idea of what an epic is. An epic is generally a long, narrative poem in elevated style. It is marked by seriousness, solemnity and grandeur, the characters of which are larger than life. An epic deals with lofty characters portrayed in an excelled way. Further, compactness is a notable feature of this genre. An epic poem is episodic in structure. That is to say, one episode after another frequently takes place in this kind of poem with digressions. Moreover, we find a social picture in an epic.

Now let us evaluate how far Absalom and Achitophel has epical grandeur. Dryden's poem delineates a compact picture of the political scenario of his time in England. As we know, King Charles II desired his brother, James, the Duke of York, to be the next king of England. Again, we notice that the illegitimate son of the king, the Duke of Monmouth, was being constantly instigated by the Earl of Shaftesbury. The king was a Tory loyalist, whereas the Earl of Shaftesbury was a Whig supporter. In the meantime, the English Parliament passed the Exclusion Bill, being pressurised by the Whigs, resulting in, the king, Charles II, fell in utmost distress. He requested John Dryden to appease the opponents somehow. Therefore, the latter, who was actually a lukewarm admirer of the king, wrote Absalom and Achitophel by sitting on the fence. However, the political battle regarding the right claim for kingship after Charles II has been elevated to a grand scale in this poem. It is definitely a feature of an epic, and this is called epic grandeur. The small issue has been magnified here. Even the Bible has been referred to in order to make the subject matter more focused. This kind of amplification can be traced in an epic poem.

Here the characters, both major and minor, have different power equation and different allegiance, and so, the political battle becomes eventful. This is what we may call epical vastness. On the one hand, the major characters are -- the king, Charles II (King David), Duke of Monmouth (Absalom) and Earl of Shaftesbury (Achitophel). On the other hand, the minor characters are -- Duke of Buckingham (Zimri), Titus Oates (Corah), Slingsby Bethel (Shimei), Lord Howard (Nadab), Lord Gray (Caleb) and so on and so forth. Such multiplicity of characters is an epic convention.

Further to note, there was a political battle or a war between the two parties, namely, the Whig and the Tory. There was also rigorous religious conflicts between the Roman Catholics and the Protestants in Dryden's time in England. Such war can be found in the epics like Homer's The Iliad and The Odyssey and Virgil's The Aeneid. Moreover, we find such battle in the Indian epics like The Ramayana and The Mahabharata.

However, some critics do not agree to call it a pure epic. They rather prefer to call Absalom and Achitophel to be an epic in miniature, which is a blend of wit with a heroic base. Some say that it is a political satire raised to "epical grandeur". Dryden himself called it "A Poem", but many critics have concluded that this poem is an allegorical satire wrapped in Biblical myth. It perhaps has some deficiencies of an epic poem.

Last but not the least, most of us agree with the view that Dryden's poem Absalom and Achitophel is a political satire. However, at the same time, we must note that it is not merely a satire; it is a 'poem', an art, full of grace, suffused with beauty and so on. This work of art has transcended the mere term 'satire'. It is a 'gallery of portraits" according to Sir Walter Scott.

This poem cannot be called an unadulterated epic; still, we must remark that it has "epical grandeur".

To sum up, we must observe that Dryden has been successful in portraying the society and the events of the seventeenth century England. The poem has been written in couplets with a texture of the Bible. It has been given a heroic texture and it is more than an ordinary satire, since it is elevated to artistic height. Here we come to notice Dryden's master-craftsmanship in all respects -- in characterisation, in depicting the battle, in sketching man's inner conflict between filial duty and inordinate aspiration, reminding us of Shakespeare's Goneril, Regan and Edmund in King Lear. Such insatiable ambition reminds us of Marlowe's Faustus in Doctor Faustus and Shakespeare's Macbeth in Macbeth. Indeed, Absalom and Achitophel is an immortal creation in the hands of John Dryden.