Samuel Pepys

 Samuel Pepys worked for the British government and navy and lived during the 17 th Century.
 He is most famous for writing a diary between 1659 and 1669.
 Today we use his diary as a historical record of the events of the Past.
Life of Samuel Pepys

 Samuel Pepys was born on 23 February 1633, in London.

• His father was a tailor and his mother was a butcher's daughter. He went to St Paul's School in London and
later went to Cambridge University.

 After university he began working for the government and the navy. His cousin, the Earl of Sandwich,
helped him to get a good
 job. Samuel Pepys married a young French girl, named Elizabeth, in 1655.
 Samuel Pepys enjoyed music and played several instruments during his life.
 He also liked going to the theatre, wearing fine clothes and a wig! (Many rich men did this.)
Famous Works
The Plague
Another event we know lots about thanks to Samuel’s diary is an illness called the plague. People all around Europe
became very poorly, often having a fever or chills, headaches and aching bodies, being sick and lumps appearing all
over them. Them
At the time, people didn’t know how the plague was being spread. We now know it was carried through bacteria
found on fleas on rats. The plague was passed to humans if they were bitten by a flea.
In June 1665, Samuel wrote in his diary that he had seen “two or three houses marked with a red cross upon the
doors.” This was the sign used to warn people not to enter houses as the people living in them had the plague. He also
wrote about how people, including the King’s mother, were leaving London to avoid the plague.
On 22nd July, more people were getting ill. Samuel wrote that the streets were “mighty thin of people” meaning that
there weren’t many people around.
By 30th August, Samuel said that people were talking about “death, and nothing else.” Samuel’s diary helps us to
understand what a frightening time it was for people.
The Great Fire of London
Another event we know lots about because of Samuel’s diary is the Great Fire of London which happened in 1666.
On 2nd September at 1 o’clock, a fire started in a bakery in a road called Pudding Lane. As most houses in London
were made of wood and it had been a very hot summer, the fire spread quickly.
His diary entry for that day explains that Samuel met King Charles II and his brother the Duke of York. Samuel told
the King that unless he ordered “houses to be pulled down nothing could stop the fire. They seemed much troubled,
and the King commanded me to go to my Lord Mayor from him, and command him to spare no houses, but to pull
down before the fire every way.”
Samuel wrote about how people left London to escape the fire and how before doing so, they hid their belongings so
people wouldn’t steal them. On 4th September, he wrote that he dug a hole and “put our wine in it; and I my Parmesan
cheese, as well as my wine and some other things”.
His diary entry for 5th September describes travelling around London and seeing many buildings destroyed by fire.
This has helped people understand how far the fire spread.
By the 7th September, the fire was out. Samuel wrote that he got up at 5 a.m. and walked around the city seeing the
“miserable sight” of the ruined St Paul’s Cathedral and other important buildings that had been destroyed.
Literary devices
Allusions
Pepys alludes to the key behind the scenes players in the parliament of the day and also alludes to the major landmarks
relating to the rule of the king and his government.
Imagery
Pepys creates a picture of the desolate nature of the city during the plague. The streets are empty and even the sight of
a boarded-up door instills fear in people because it is probable that behind the door there are people dying from
plague.
Foreshadowing
Pepys sees everyone intent upon saving their belongings during the outbreak of the fire of London, which foreshadows
that fact that the fire is going to spread because nobody is actually trying to put it out.
Paradox
Pepys feels that he is a stoic defender of London during the fire yet he is grumbling about the lack of condiments and
dressing on his dinner that evening.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The City is used to represent all of the people who live within city walls.
Parallelism
Pepys draws a parallel between the spread of the fire and the lack of effort in putting it out.
Understatement
Pepys understates the incredible gulf between people of his social standing and the city's poor, by hopping from
something serious, like the fire of London, to describing the meal that he had that same evening as the city burned.

Major Themes
Sexual Infidelity: Personal
Although Samuel Pepys went to great lengths to record his diary in a secret code, he was anything but bashful about
using that code to go into scandalously fine detail about many his many extra-marital affairs and sexual conquests.
Pepys had a sexual appetite every bit the equal of his appetite for chronicling it. The details of his personal infidelities
—while certain fascinating and offering an unusually prurient interest in text written in the 1600’s, they really only set
the stage for the more important infidelities of state which also fall under his close scrutiny.

Sexual Infidelity in the Court of the King

Of far great historical significance are those portions of the diary of Pepys which offers a front-row seat to the
bawdiness that characterized the court of King Charles II. Of particular interest is the increasing political tension
resulting from the love triangle placing the Queen at one end, Lady Castlemaine at the other and stuck between the
King himself.

Gender Roles
Or, more specifically, the diary of Samuel Pepys offers a startling and raw glimpse at just how far women have been
liberated since the middle of the 1600’s. If one takes as a given that Pepys is expressing a conventional view toward
women’s place in society even if his predatory sexuality leans perhaps toward the less enlightened end of that
spectrum, the life of the average female in England during the reign of Charles II was anything but pleasant.

Personalizing the Grander Events of History

If the truly breathtaking misogyny and the equally overwhelming attention to all bodily functions associated with
being human can sometimes seem to overwhelm the diary thematically, it is worth noting that even the most
conservative and repressed of individuals are likely to be truly impressed with the author’s attention to historical
detail.

Conclusion
The Great fire taught people how to learn from their mistakes and how to work together in rebuilding their city. I
think that in any event where this happens again people can come together as a team. One baker’s mistake led to a
fault that was bound to occur eventually. Thankfully not that many people died that we were certain of. The event
should be prevented in the future and our society has made a turning point.

Significance
The Great Fire of London was important because it showed city officials the need for proper city planning, sanitation,
and safety measures. The fire destroyed nearly 80% of the city, which gave officials the rare opportunity to rebuild
and plan the city to be a safer place. Buildings were constructed under more strict codes and out of non-flammable
materials such as brick and stone after the fire.
John Dryden

 John Dryden, England’s first Poet Laureate, is considered the archetypal literary figure of the English
Restoration.
 Born in the East Midlands, Dryden was educated at London’s Westminster School and Cambridge University.

Famous Work

Absalom and Achitophel

SUMMARY

On the surface, “Absalom and Achitophel” appears to be a retelling of a story from the Bible. David, the King of
Israel, has many sons from many wives and concubines, but his favorite son is Absalom. The poem’s speaker implies
that Absalom’s character contains certain flaws, all of which are either excused or overlooked by his doting father.
Meanwhile, King David’s subjects grow restless and dissatisfied, even though King David is a competent and merciful
monarch. Plots soon arise that threaten the stability of David’s rule, and a man named Achitophel soon takes the lead.
In the past, Achitophel distinguished himself in royal service, but he has now grown corrupted by ambition and seeks
to stir up popular resentment for his own gain. Achitophel turns to Absalom, using his rhetorical powers to persuade
the young man that he should join the plot against the king and seize power for himself over the rightful heir. At first
Absalom resists, praising his father’s rule, but he is soon overcome by his dissatisfaction with his illegitimate status
and his own desire for power. He eventually agrees to join Achitophel’s schemes. The plan is that Absalom will take
up arms against his father’s supposed enemies, claiming to safeguard the throne while in actuality pressuring King
David into declaring him the heir.
Other disreputable people soon join the plot, with the poem’s speaker describing and mocking their faults. Absalom
sets out to woo the public and is enthusiastically received by many. In comparison, King David’s allies are few, but
the poem’s speaker names and praises the most prominent of them. Throughout the poem, the speaker offers a defense
of the legitimacy of monarchy, denouncing mob rule and the civil unrest threatened by the plotters. King David, now
aware of the plot against him, delivers an impassioned speech denouncing his enemies and asserting his right to rule.
The poem ends abruptly after King David’s speech, with the speaker assuring the reader that God was on David’s side
and that David’s kingship was soon restored and strengthened against the would-be plotters.

ANALYSIS “ Absalom and Achitophel”

“Absalom and Achitophel” opens with the speaker offering some supposedly solemn praise for ancient “pious times”
(Line 1) during which polygamy was still freely practiced (Line 2), recounting how King David of Israel has fathered
many sons by many different wives and concubines. From the beginning of the poem, the reader is introduced to the
form of Dryden’s famous heroic couplets—rhyming line pairings that imitate the style of classical Greek and Roman
epics like “The Aeneid”. These heroic couplets remain the meter for the entire poem and are a crucial formal element
in the satiric voice; the couplets create humor through the contrast between their apparent solemnity paired with the
sarcastic irreverence of the content. Dryden’s opening praise for polygamy and King David’s lusty ways also signals
that this poem is, at its core, satirical, despite its important political points.

Absalom and Achitophel Theme

John Dryden was brilliant Satirist in the Neo-Classical period. His “Absalom and Achitophel” is regarded as not
simply a satire, but a poem as Dryden himself calls it “a poem. The Central theme

 Temptation
 Sin
 Fall
 Punishment
Absalom and Achitophel Characters
Major Characters

 Absalom  The Pharaoh

 Achitophel  Ishbosheth
 David  Jonas
 Saul  Barzillai's Eldest Son
 David’s brother  Barzillai
 Corah  Jotham
 Shimei  Amiel
 Zimri

Symbol
Crown - In “Absalom and Achitophel,” the crown is symbolic of David’s power as the third king of Israel, but beyond
that, it also represents David’s divine right, bestowed upon him by God, to reign over the Jews.
Literary devices

 Metaphor and simile

 Alliteration and assonance
 Irony
 Foreshadowing
 Allusion
 Personification
 Onomatopoeia
Significance
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”. This inspires a great deal of discussion regarding satire: how satire
was defined when Dryden wrote, and how this poem contrasts with the ancient models of Horace, Virgil, and Juvenal.
Dryden himself is considered a father of the modern essay, and one of literature's most important critics of the literary
form, particularly in his essay "A Discourse Concerning the Original and Progress of Satire", where he writes a history
of satire "from its first rudiments of barbarity, to its last polishing and perfection".
Conclusion
Dryden is correctly regarded as the most vigorous and polished of English satirists combining refinement with
fervour. Dryden is unequalled at debating in rhyme and Absalom and Achitophel displays his power of arguing in
verse. It may be said that Absalom and Achitophel has no rival in the field of political satire. Apart from the
contemporary interest of the poem and its historical value, it appeal to the modern reader lies in its observations on
English character and on the, weaknesses of man in general. His generalizations on human nature have a perennial
interest. Dryden triumphed over the peculiar difficulties of his chosen theme. He had to give, not abuse or politics, but
the poetry of abuse and politics. He had to criticise a son whom the father still liked; he had to make Shaftesbury
denounce the King but he had to see to it that the King’s susceptibilities were not wounded. He had to praise without
sounding servile and he had to criticise artistically. Dryden achieves all this cleverly and skillfully. Achitophel’s
denunciation of the king assumes the shades of a eulogy in Charles’ eyes. Absalom is a misguided instrument in
Achitophel’s hands. The poem is certainly a political satire, but it is a blend of dignity with incisive and effective
satire.