John Dryden’s “Mac Flecknoe”

John Dryden

He was an English Poet, literary critic and playwright who was born in 1631 in
England and died in 1700. He was known as the founder of English literary criticism
and the formulator of a new style of poetic expression which is called heroic couplet.
Satire was his new style of poetic forms. One of the famous satiric poems of Dryden
is “Mac Flecknoe”. This poem treats its subject, Thomas Shadwell, with irony and
ridicule.

Summary of the poem

Richard Flecknoe was an English dramatist and poet. His work was ridiculed by
Dryden. In this poem, Flecknoe has role of the “King of Nonsense”. He is getting
older and decides that he must appoint a successor for his kingdom. He chooses his
son Thomas Shadwell as his successor. Shadwell is the worst writer in all the land,
and thus, the perfect man for the job.

Why does Dryden criticize Thomas Shadwell in his poem “Mac Flecknoe”?

Shadwell elected himself to be the heir of Ben Jonson and the writing of comedy.
Shadwell’s poetry was certainly not of the same standard as Jonson’s. Shadwell and
Dryden were separated not only by literary grounds but also by political ones as
Shadwell was a protestant who dislike the monarchy, while Dryden was a supporter
to it. So, Dryden, in his poem, makes Shadwell as the heir to a kingdom of poetic
dullness, represented by his association with Richard Flecknoe, an earlier poet who
is already satirized by Marvell and disliked by Dryden.

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Accordingly, the poem begins with the tone of an epic masterpiece, displaying
Shadwell's hallmark as dullness, just as each epic hero has a distinct characteristic.

Thus, Dryden ruins the good qualities of the epic hero by giving Shadwell a negative
characteristic as his only virtue. Dryden uses the mock-heroic to deal with the trivial
subjects such as poorly written and largely dismissible poetry.

Q/Identify and comment on the following:

1. Lines 1-6

All human things are subject to decay,

And, when Fate summons, monarchs must obey:
This Flecknoe found, who, like Augustus, young
Was call'd to Empire, and had govern'd long:
In Prose and Verse, was own'd, without dispute
Through all the Realms of Non-sense, absolute.

In these lines, there reference to Augustus recalls Julius Caesar’s choice of Octavius,
later called Augustus, as his successor. Dryden thus shapes his poem as a mock-
heroic. Flecknoe is compared to emperor Augustus, who has power in the realms
of nonsense. The ability of the poet in creating satire is on his giving value on any
element that he considers valueless. Dryden praises Richard Flecknoe for his
ignorance in poetic world. In this condition he decides to settle the question of
succession. While looking for a successor, Flecknoe has decided on Shadwell to be
his successor, because Shadwell is the only one who can imitate the bad poetry
Richard Flecknoe had written.

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2. Lines 14-17

Sh…..alone my perfect image bears,

Mature in dullness from his tender years.
Sh…..alone of all my sons, is he
Who stands confirm’d n full stupidity

In these lines, Dryden abbreviates the complete name of Shadwell as “Sh…..”.

Dryden mocks Shadwell for he had got Flecknoe’s crown of dullness. He compares
“Sh…..” to the contemporary dramatists Thomas Heywood and James Shirley, again
puzzling critics, because neither of them has proven to deserve such a degrading
characterization. Flecknoe continues considering the fact that he has prepared the
way for his son, alluding to John the Baptist, who prepared the way for the arrival
of Christ. Then, Dryden compares Shadwell to an oak tree to satirize him. He is as
huge as the oak tree that he covers everything with darkness. He spreads his
ignorance everywhere like the oak tree that spreads its shadow. This is because that
his useless writing would affect the readers negatively.

3. lines 94-101
Now Empress Fame had publisht the renown,
Of Sh——'s coronation through the town.
Rous'd by report of fame, the nations meet,
From near Bun-Hill, and distant Watling-street.
No Persian Carpets spread th'imperial way,
But scatter'd limbs of mangled poets lay:
From dusty shops neglected authors come,
Martyrs of Pies, and Reliques of the Bum

These lines are full of irony. The "Empress Fame" proclaims Shadwell's coronation,
and the nations meet together to rejoice, which of course is a ridiculous thing to

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imagine given what we know of the fat and stupid Shadwell. Dryden contrasts this
image with a reference to the image of the "martyrs of pies". The latter refers to
bakers' use of book pages underneath pies, and "reliques of the bum" refers to book
pages being used as toilet paper. Thus, Shadwell's writings are preferably used for
nothing better than wiping one's back and lining the bottom of a street food.

4. lines 108-117

At his right hand our young Ascanius sat

Rome's other hope, and pillar of the State.
His Brows thick fogs, instead of glories, grace,
And lambent dullness plaid arround his face.
As Hannibal did to the Altars come,
Sworn by his Syre a mortal Foe to Rome;
So Sh—— swore, nor should his Vow bee vain,
That he till Death true dullness would maintain;
And in his father's Right, and Realms defence,
Ne'er to have peace with Wit, nor truce with Sense.

One of Dryden's favored techniques to lampoon Shadwell is to place him in the

historical shadow of Rome and its heroes, which, of course, highlights just how far
removed from these luminaries Shadwell truly is. Here, he suggests that Shadwell is
like Ascansius, the son of Aeneas and the founder of the city of Alba Longa. Clearly,
Flecknoe is not Aeneas and Shadwell is not Ascansius. When one imagines a Roman
hero, one thinks of an aquiline nose, a strong brow and set chin, and intelligent eyes.
Here, Shadwell has "thick fogs" about his brow, and his face is filled with "lambent
dullness". Thus, his stupidity is like a fog that covers his life. And, when someone
wants to see him, he would only see the big body of Shadwell, as he is so fat. This
is a direct satire against his physical appearance.