Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Page Nine
... I
alw ay s encourages, a nd even urges, the use of theses, thesis materials, and
may be oral (befor e meetings or conv en tions ) or through publication (per iod -
and term papers become the property of th e Univer si ty once they are sub-
mitted , --- it is expected that the permission of the University be secured for
such oral or printed use, and a suitable credit line a rranged, T h is perrnis-
the publication of materials w hich the stud en t intends to use later in partial
such cou r tesy may be follo wed by the w it hdrawa l of the credit or degree.
A THESIS
SUBMI TTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY
I N PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE
REQUI REMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLI SH
BY
DETROIT, rn CHIGAN
OCTOBER, 1948
ii
ACKNO\VLEDGE1ffiNT
The writer is deeply gr a t ef u l to Mr . J oseph A. Luyc kx
for suggesting the subject, to Reverend Burke O' Nei ll, S.J.
for approv ing it, and to Reverend James P. Caine, S . J . for
the ki nd guidance g i ven in the development of t his t hesis.
i i i
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGMENT ·.............. ii
Chapter
I NTRODUCTION
fic ati ons of that spirit as they are shown in his political
sat i r e , Absalom and Achitophel .
The absence of any established criteria as a basis for
the study of satire is a di fficult y which mus t be recognized
and met at the very ou t s et . This pap er do es no t at tempt, by
any means, to fill t his g ap . For PIDfessor Tucker3 and
Professor Alden4 hav e qui te satisfa c torily s u c ce e de d i n estab-
lishing criteria or termin ology that migh t s erv e for the tre at-
men t of satire as a genr e . An effort is ma de t o de f i n e satire
only in gener a l terms as an int roduction an d as an aid t o t he
reader.
Any st udy of s at iric al poetry in Eng l an d is r endered
difficult by a confusion of terms. If we look i nt o -
A New
-
English Di c t i on a r y , we wi ll not e t h a t satire c omes f rom the
La t i n word "s a t i r a , l at er f or m of satura" meaning a medley .
As a spec ific application of sat ura (medle y), sa t ire was "in
ear l y use a dis cursive c omposition in ve rse t r e a t ing of a
variet y of s ub jects, in classical use a p oem in which pre va-
lent folli es or vices are assail e d with r i di cul e or with
serious denunciati on." Dr. Johns on 's Dictionary g i ves the
follow ing definition: "Satire (La t . sat ira) Poem of a mor al
character (as such oppose d to lamp oon), wher ei n v i c e or foll y
is either ridicule d, or censured with i r ony. " Th ese defini-
Bu t , un f ortunat el y , a do u b l e me ai i n g lurks
in t he fi rst and mo r e a b s t ra c t s i gn i fic a t i o n of t h e
wor d •••• Here t wo t hi n g s ar e confuse d : t h e
satirical spirit, a n i n t angi ble, a bs tract some thi n g
t h at underli es a n d insp i re s wha t we commonly c all
satire- -or ridic u l e - -or inve c t ive ; a n d s at ir e i t s e l f ,
which is me re l y t h e c o nc r e t e ~an if e s t a t i o n o f t h e
sat iric s pirit i n l i t e r ature . b
bear in mi n d that
fi n e r a i l l e r y."l O
Dryden 's di c t um for desi gning a p erfect satire is IIthat
10 . Ke r , £E. ci t . , I I, 92 .
11 . I b i d., p . 10 2 .
1 2. I b i d ., p . 104 .
IJ. I bi d.
6
role here . To und ers tand Dryde n ' s sa tir e , it i s nece ss ary
Dryden's sincerity? " Dry den ha s s ucc e ede d in making etern a lly
cast of mind, and his int ellectual e quipment rece ived scant
generally questioned.
has a capa ble expositor in ,ir . Er e dvo l d , who has found in him
I --
10
4 · Br e dvol d , 2£.cit . , p .5 .
5 . Hug h La c donal d';" Th e Attac ks on Dryde n , " ssays and
Studies , XXI (1 935) , 35 .
6. Louis Br e dvo l d , " Notes on John Dryden ' s Pen s ion,"
10der n Philolo gy , XXX (May, 1933), 26 7- 74 .
11
men t, and n o one can say t hat the c ont est is i nt ell ectually
o f tempe r .
intel lec tua l b io g rap h y is an arde nt and curi ous ex ~~i nation
15
political qu e s t i on of h is d ay . Dr y de n i s on t h e i n t e ll ectu al
clined to bestow.
In 1660 and in 1662, Charles tried to pers uade Par l ia-
men t to gr an t gen er a l reli gious libert y, but did not s ucce ed.
Instead, Parli ament reflected the temper of dev ot ion to t he
English Church and dest estation of th e Cath olics a nd Non c on -
formists by banishing many clergymen. To pu t an end t o the
in justice i mposed by penal laws, Charles II, i n 1672, under
the power which he claimed, iss ued a Declaration of Indul-
gence, s uspending th e execution of all penal laws in ma t ter s
ecclesi astical. Although the Decl arati on gr an t e d to Cathol ics
only liberty of private worship while all Pr ot es t an t s ects
were to be allowed public worship, men s us pect ed it was iss ued
ma i nl y in the Catholic interest. ~~ e n Parliament me t i n 1673 ,
the oppositi on was intense, an d Charl es tried to be ar it down.
The Commons, however, refus ing to g i v e way , carried a resol uti on:
"That penal statues in ma t t er s ec cle sias t ical cannot b e s us -
pended but by act of Parliament," and res pectfull y pe t i t i on e d
that the laws be once more enforc ed. In face of s uch op position
and in ret krn for mone y which he sorely needed, Charles II
recalled the Declaration. 6
To clinch their victcry, Parliament passed a
Test Act (1673) requiring all holding civil or
military office to recei ve the sacraments ac cor di ng
to the Church of England, and to take an oath de-
claring their disbelief in trans s ubstantiati on. That
6. Arthur Lyon Cr oss, ! Hist ory of England an d Greater
Br i t ain , p. 551.
20
that the aid of Louis could al one r ealiz e his aims, and h e was
willing to pay the price whic h Louis demanded f or his aid, the
· . 10
price of concurrence in h i s d es i gn s on S p a~n I n or d er t 0
the plan.
These external po l icies h a d a s trong re percus sion on
friendl y rel ati o n s with Louis incr ea sed Engl i sh suspic ion ,
parliamentary s y st e m.
11. John Chu rt on Col l ins , The Sat ires of Dryden, p . xxx i i i .
12 . Collins, ££. cit., pp . XiXi ii , xx iv .
13. ~., p. xx x iv .
23
into lerant An glicanis m a nd a wide r oyal pr ero a tiv e . Oppose d
Th e othe r par ty , the Abho rrers (la ter nic kn amed To r ie s ) wer e
i lle gitimacy.
success.
This was the state of affairs in 1681 when Absalom an d
Achitophel first appeared. No doubt, Dryden wi t h his master-
ly pen had helped to revert pub l i c opinion. For t he tide had
changed and the facts ar e t hat two parliaments wer e called in
turn, but twice the Exclusion Bill had been r ejected. Charles
saved the cause for h i s brother by dissolving Pa rliament before
i t granted the s upply• . The Wh ig ' s gr ea t e s t blunder was the
November.
At t his cr itical p eriod , just a we ek be for e t h e tri al
on which so mu ch depended, app eared Absa lom ~ Ach it oph el.
Sir Wa l t er Sc ot t said that " t h e t i me of i t s app earan ce wa s
chosen with a s mu ch a rt as t h e p oem dis pla ys g en i u s . "19 Th e
co untry ha d to be s aved f r om strif e. At this moment ou s
crisis, Dr yden launche d his gre a t e s t efforts to work upon
publ i c opinion. His p oem, as he c alls it , had f or i ts theme
a definite p ol i t i cal p r o j ec t . Ac c ording t o a no t e by Jacob
Tons on, Dryden un der t ook the poem on t h e re quest of Char les II.
The plan of the sa t i r e e vi dent ly was no t or i g ina l. Un -
doubt edly, t h e fourth s atir e of J uvenal s ugg e sted the i dea
of c a st i ng s atire i n t h e epic mou l d ; Hor ac e and Lu c a n s upplied
models f or t h e elab orate p ortra i ts and "Lu c an 's de s cript ion
of the p ol i t i ca l conditions of Rome at t h e t ime of the g r e a t
civil conflic t is, unm i st akab ly, Dryden's a rche t yp e for h i s
pictur e of t h e state pa rt i e s in Lon don ".20 Nor wa s th e device
of disguis i ng li vi ng p ersons a nd curr en t i nc i de nt s and analo-
g i e s un der the vei l of s cri ptur al n ames new . Be er s ay s that
"The parallel be t we en Da vi d a nd Absa l om and Char les I I
and Monmou t h ha d a l r e a dy been exp l oi t e d b y other writ e r s b efor e
Dryden took it up . " 2l Professor Ri ch ar d F. J on e s i n
gene rally the Bi b l i ca l ter minol ogy was c onsi dere d t h e t h ing
of di gn ity. Sanhedrin and Abbe t hdin wou l d b ear a t reat ment
which Parliament and Lord Chancel lor c oul d not . The a ct ual
parallel is slight. Th ere is no Sanhedrin i n the story of
David, nor does Dryden att empt to press the para l le l .
Verrall claims that "the t rea t ment of con temporary ev ents
the mob , the p r ince ' s p osit ion becomes a na tio n a l dang er .
spe eches; the s ucc umb in8 and campai gning ; t h e Ki ng ' s f ri end s ;
gr o u p s o~ pe opl e in the S t a t e , t ho s e:
and aid in supp ress i n g Pr otes t a ntis m. The French are referred
to as Egyptians:
who had been g rea t i n c o u r t and favored by the king; men who :
have b e c ome c l a s si c :
A darling P il o t i n e xt r emi ty ;
Ple as'd wi th t h e dan g er whe n the waves we re h igh
He s ought t h e S torms ; bu t f o r t h e Ca lm u n f i t ,
Wo u l d ste e r to ni gh the Sand s t o boast his Wi t .
1 5 9- 62
In Fri e nds hi p f als e, i mplaca bl e in Hat e ,
Resolv'd t o Ru i n e or t o Ru l e the S ta te ; }
To Compass t h i s the Triple Bond he b roke ;
The Pi l lar s of t he Pu blick Sa fet y s h o o k,
And f it t ed Israel for a Fo rei gn yoke ••••
1 '73-77
The a bove tr i pl et identifies the Triple Al l i a n c e of 1 6 6 8,
Fran ce . " 7
So e as i e stil l i t pro v es in Fa c t i o u s Ti me s
Wi t h p u blic k Ze a l to canc e l pr i va te Cr ime s :
How sa fe is Trea son and how s a c r e d i l l,
h e r e n one can s in a ga i n s t t he p e op l e s \'J i l l
..h e r e Crouds c a n wink ; a n d n o o ffe nce be k nown ,
S i n c e i n ano thers gui l t t he y find t h e i r own .
1 8 0- 85
7. No y e s , £E. cit., p . 95 1
8. Ra l e igh , £E. £li., p. 1 71 .
37
9. Br e d vo l d , Ee s t o f Dry d en , p . 540 .
10. Ralei gh , £E. cit . , p . 1 71 .
38
of poeti c al o r n ament :
masterly sp e ec h be g ins :
his pride.
reveals i n h is s p e e c h:
• • •• And wha t Pr e t e n c e h av e I
To tak e up Arms for Publick Li berty?
My Fathe r Go ve r n s wi t h unquesti on'd Righ t ;
The Fa iths De f e n d e r and Ma n k i n d s Deli ght ,
Goo d, Gr a c i ous , J u s t, Observant of t h e Laws;
And Heav 'n by Wo n d e r s ha s e spous 'd his Cause .
mom h a s he Wr on g ' d i n all his Peaceful
Rei gn?
~bo s u es f or J u s t i c e to his Throne in Vain?
315- 22
Absalom cont inues,' p r ai sing his father and pointin g out t h at
......................
Ha d r a i s ' d by Bi r t h , or h a d d e bas'd my Mi n d ;
Des ire of Gr e a t n e ss is a Go d- l i k e S in .
372
The transitional lin es, lin es 373- 75, ar e v e r y r e al i stic.
speech :
ge t a s u pp l y of mon ey .
hi s :
mer ciful even a mid his severity . The follies are expos ed t o
r idi c ule, but the foul crimes are lef t in the shade .
a s heriff :
Ch as t e were his Cellars ; and h is Shrieval
Boa r d
Th e Gr o s sness of a 0ity Feast abhor'd ••••
619 , 20
Thi s c ou pl e t is typical of all the other couplets of Dryden .
Sa intsbury says :
call ed the Sa viour o f 'nis country , was one of the most infamous
-
.
50
raised up in the wilderne ss b y Mos e s , wh i c h brou ght salva-
21. ~.
58
tenan c e t o t he tradi t ion . This s p e e c h was the t a l i s ma n
p ara ll el passages:
of most continuations.
c ont rolled . " mora l indignation was not part o f Dr yde n ' s
Shaftes bury and Buck ingham are conside red the greatest
and the idle grand s e i gn eur who dabs at pol itics and at
his traits.
in Engl i s h satire.
in the wo r l d . "
68
CONCLUSION
i t in particular .
studied to-day not for its theories, f or times hav e c han ged,
Bibl iographies
Editions
71 .
72
Books
Al den , Raymond Ma c don a l d . The Ri s e of Formal S a t i r e in En gl a n d
und e r Classi cal I nfl u ence. Philadelphia : Pu blications of
the Univers i ty of Penns ylvania, 1899 . pp . v ii I 264.
Boa s , Guy . Dryden , Pope and Byron : Compared and Contr as t ed .
(The Teaching of hngl i s h Seri es .> London: --Thomas Nel s on
& ~ons , 1926 .
Eredvold , Louis I gnatius. The Int ell ectual ~ i l i e u of John
Dryden. Ann Arbor: University of hii ch iga n Press~34 .
Pp . vii i I 189 .
Courthope, W. J. His to ry of En gl i s h Poetr y . Vols . III, IV.
New York : The Ma cmi l l a n & Co . , 1924 .
Cross, Art hur Lyon . ! History of ~ngland and Gre a ter Br i t a i n .
New Yor k : The Ma cmi l l an & Co ., 1914. Pp. xiii I 1165 .
Dobree , Bon amy . Variety of ~ . Oxf or d : The Cl a r endon
Pre s s , 1932 . Pp . vi~ 118 .
Ar ti cl es