Hello and welcome to the Discourse. John Dryden and Thomas Shadwell were close friends with some political and artistic differences. While John Dryden was a fan of Shakespeare, Thomas Shadwell considered himself the heir of Ben Jonson. Dryden preferred comedy of wit and repartee. On the other hand, Shadwell preferred humor comedy. They also disagreed over the importance of rhymed plays. However, the main contention between the two was their political alignments. John Dryden belonged to the Tory group supporting the Stuart royalty while Shadwell, being a Protestant, supported the Whigs against the possibility of a Catholic monarch. In 1681, Dryden published Absalom and Achitophel. After the acquittal of the Earl of Shaftesbury, he published The Medal (1682). Both of these were a strong satirical attack on the Whigs' supporters. In addition, John Dryden also contributed to Nahum Tait’s Absalom and Achitophel Part II in which he indirectly satirized Thomas Shadwell as the character Og.
In response, Thomas Shadwell published The Medal of John Bayes; a Satire against Folly and Knavery (1682), another political satirical poem that directly attacked the Tories and Dryden’s political satire. As a response, John Dryden published Mac Flecknoe, which became the classic mock Heroic satirical poem. The subtitle and the subject of this poem is “the True-blue Protestant Poet T.S.” This poem carved out a new poetic genre known as mock-epic, or mock-heroic poetry. This poem is a strong hilarious criticism of Thomas Shadwell in which Dryden completely skewers Shadwell, exposing him for what he was: a bad writer with bad taste, who would do anything for the cheap laugh. John Dryden created an incredibly rich, expertly crafted work of satire, layered in so much irony, sarcasm, and wit that at many times, the poem appears to be a genuine epic. The poem has the same grandiose as that of The Illiad or Paradise Lost, however, it is just a satirical joke.
During the Restoration period, Shadwell was a reputed author and playwright, so much so that he replaced John Dryden as England's poet laureate in 1689. But Dryden believed Shadwell was a subpar poet and dramatist who believed much too highly of himself. Dryden uses Mac Flacknoe to point this out, highlighting throughout the satire the ridiculousness of Shadwell’s self-indulgence. Regarding the dueling poets’ thoughts on humor, the satire serves as a defense of wit against humor, which Dryden believed to be a much more noble and intelligent form of co“the True-blue Protestant Poet T.S.”
Characters:
Richard Flecknoe was a lesser-known English dramatist during the Milton age. Andrew Marvel derided and made a mockery of his works and John Milton also made a similar mockery of him in this poem. He is represented as the titular character Mac Flecknoe who is the monarch of the realm of Nonsense. He is getting older and decides he must appoint a successor to one of his sons. He chooses Shadwell because he is the most like him; he is dull and devoid of wit and sense. Thomas Shadwell is the main target of Dryden’s satire and derision and he is represented as T.S., or Sh--, or Shadwell. He is the heir of the fictional "Kingdom of Nonsense," which is presided over by Flecknoe. Shadwell is a large, proud man who revels in the bombast of his coronation. He has no sense, is dull, and runs roughshod over the work of other, better poets. Dryden has mentioned Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, John Fletcher, Thomas Dekker, Thomas Heywood, and James Shirley in this satire. Apart from them, Roman author Virgil, Roman king Augustus, Ancient Greek poet Arion, Troy’s leader Ascanius, British monarch Charles II, and Oliver Cromwell have also been mentioned in the poem. Sir Formal Trifle, Bruce, and Longvil are characters from Thomas Shadwell’s play Virtuoso. Dryden also mentions St. Andre, a French dancing master who choreographed Shadwell’s drama Psyche.
Summary of Mac Flecknoe:
The poem has 217 lines written in rhyming couplets in iambic pentameter. It starts with
All humane things are subject to decay,
And, when Fate summons, Monarchs must obey;
The poet then introduces Mac Flecknoe, the Protagonist of the poem. He is the poet-king of the realm of nonsense. Like the roman ruler Augustus, he was called to rule when he was young and like Augustus, he proved to be a successful ruler. But now, he is getting old and it is time for him to step down. He thinks over which of his sons should succeed him in the eternal war against wit. Ultimately, he chooses his son Shadwell, a poet of unparalleled dreadfulness, as his successor. Shadwell is the worst writer in all the land, and thus, the perfect man for the job. He is the one who resembles Mac Flecknoe most. Shadwell, who even while young in years is mature in the dullness. He is “confirm’d in full stupidity”, and while some of his brothers occasionally grasp the meaning, he never has any sense at all. Other people are illuminated by beams of wit, but Shadwell’s “genuine night admits no ray.” The monarch is very proud of his son and believes Shadwell is “the last great prophet of tautology” The poet then compares Shadwell with James Shirley and Thomas Heywood while admitting that Flecknoe himself is no comparison to his son Shadwell. As Shadwell approaches London (city Augusta in the poem) while sailing down the river Thames, Flecknoe feels as if a new Arion is sailing to claim his state. Mac Flecknoe weeps for the joy of his son, knowing that Shadwell’s plays persuade “that for anointed dullness he was made.
Near the walls of the city of Augusta, there is a pile of ruins that once used to be a mighty watch tower. Flecknoe rejects this place for the coronation of Shadwell. Rather, he chooses a place where a long time ago, Decker prophesied that a mighty prince shall rule this pile, a prince “born for a scourge of wit, and flail of sense” (line 89). The prince’s pen will create misers, humorists, and hypocrites, as well as whole families of Raymond and the tribes of Bruce.
The prince finally appears in all his majesty, sitting atop a throne of his labors. Flecknoe compares Shadwell to Ascanius, son of Aeneas, who famously sat at his father’s right hand and inherited the kingdom. Shadwell’s brows are like thick fogs, and dullness swirls about his visage.
Shadwell swears he will maintain dullness until his death. He will never make peace with wit and never sign a truce with sense.
Then the old monarch offers his son some words of advice. He says that Shadwell should always trust his dull nature and should not let any false friend seduce him by using Ben Jonson’s name and turning him towards wit. Flecknoe says that when Shadwell will fully embraces his nature, Sir Formal Trife’s oratory skills will become his. Flecknoe urges Shadwell that he should remember that he is Flecknoe’s blood and Jonson has no part in it. Flecknoe exhorts his son to remember that this is his place, his way; he gets to add new humor to his plays and indulge in the dullness. Shadwell may be a large, bulky man with a huge belly, but his plays never bite or offend. Even though his heart may have venom, it dies the moment it touches his Irish pen.
Shadwell’s genius does not lie in iambics but rather in simple anagrams. He should not, Flecknoe counsels, worry about plays; instead, he should focus on acrostics. In those, he can be famous and torture words in thousands of ways. If not those, then perhaps songs set to a lute.
The father continues to offer his advice to Shadwell as his words start fading away as Bruce and Longwil captures him in their trap and he sinks down and perishes. He leaves his robe on the ground which rises upward by flatulence, the mantle settles on the son who possesses a “double portion of his father’s art”
Mac Flecknoe is a typical personal satire that has for its target Thomas Shadwell, another poet who had offended Dryden with his aesthetic and political leanings. It is also literary satire and is considered one of the most famous mock-heroic verses in the English tradition. It is 218 lines of rhyming couplets in iambic pentameter. Like Dante’s Inferno, the poem has numerous references to Dryden’s contemporaries. Dryden not only criticizes Shadwell, but he also attacks Shadwell’s literary works and mentions that Shadwell himself by nature is exactly similar to the characters of his plays like Psyche, and has abilities like those of Sir Formal Trifle from The Virtuoso.
So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards.
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