Mac Flecknoe the Poem Mac

Mac Flecknoe

The poem Mac Flecknoe was written by John Dryden in 1678 but was not published until 1682 (Broich, 1990). Dryden's poem is considered in the genre satire or mock-heroic poetry (Broich, 1990). Dryden's varied approach to satire demonstrates his expertise toward the mock-heroic style (Broich, 1990). Mac Flecknoe was set in 17th century London, England and is filled with historical references of the time period and to classic Greek and Roman literature. Mac Flecknoe consists of 217 lines, written in heroic couplets that are pairs of rhyming lines of iambic pentameter (Broich, 1990). Many historians, linguists, and poetry fanatics believe that Mac Flecknoe is one of the best short satiric poems in the English language (Broich, 1990).

Shagwell is portrayed as "Mac" the son of Flecknoe and is Dryden's attempt to attack Shadwell, an indifferent poet, by placing him inside a fictitious world (Cox, 2004). In the poem Mac Flecknoe, Dryden portrays Shadwell as the heir to a kingdom of poetic boredom, Shadwell is a poet who came years earlier and was disliked by Dryden (Cox, 2004). The poet Shadwell believed himself to be the heir to Ben Johnson and to the variety of comedy that he had written (Cox, 2004). Linguists and poetry experts argue that Shadwell's poetic works were not to the high quality of Jonson's. Interestingly enough, Shadwell and Dryden had differences outside of the literary arena. Politically speaking Shadwell was a Whig and Dryden was a believer in the Stuart monarchy (Cox, 2004).

Mac Flecknoe stems from a series of conflicts between Shadwell and Dryden. The battle blossomed from five differences of opinion between the two poets. First, both men were in disagreement on the genius of Ben Jonson (Dryden & Oldham, 1709). Next Dryden preferred comedy of wit and repartee and Shadwell was comfortable with humors comedy (Dryden & Oldham, 1709). Third, a shard disagreement existed between the two over the true purpose of comedy (Dryden & Oldham, 1709). Finally, Dryden and Shadwell had differences over the value of rhymed plays and also over the idea of plagiarism (Dryden & Oldham, 1709). The attack begins early on in Mac Flecknoe, Dryden's first line is "All human beings are subjects to decay, and when fate summons, monarchs must obey" (Dryden & Oldham, 1709). This portrayal encompasses the true battle between Dryden and Shagwell and how it is portrayed inside the literal work Mac Flecknoe.

Mac Flecknoe starts in the tone of an epic masterpiece, displaying Shadwell's signature characteristic as dullness (Broich, 1990). Every epic here is bestowed one defining characteristic like Odysseus cunningness and Achilles wrath (Broich, 1990). Dryden demolishes Shadwell's character by giving him a negative trait as his only virtue. Dryden puts to use the mock-heroic style by using a heightened language of the poem, and he portrays the insignificant subjects with poorly written poetry (Broich, 1990). The noun dullness is ironic and makes the satiric point of Dryden's dislike for Shadwell (Cox, 2004). This strategy works well verbally with the language experiencing the support of strong compelling rhythms and rhymes (Broich, 1990).

Flecknoe believes his departure is overdue because he has ruled over the realms of dullness similar to Augustus at a young age (Hammond, 2006). The opening two lines of the poem describe a transformation of life and how faith is a major aspect of it (Hammond, 2006). A commonality between Flecknoe and Augustus was that both took rule of their kingdoms at a tender age. Young rulers are typically inexperienced and struggle with the daily responsibilities of ruling over a kingdom. Dryden uses the historic stature of Augustus to support his mock-heroic style in the poem (Broich, 1990). Dryden painted a vivid picture of Flecknoe's dullness with his strategic uses of prose and verse (Broich, 1990). Flecknoe needs to find a successor and through his incompetency and dullness this task is difficult for him to accomplish. Dryden attacks Shadwell by calling him out for being dull as both a person and a poet. Dryden also added a biblical illusion to God, and in mock-heroic tradition compares God's greatness compared to Shadwell's stupidity (Hammond, 2006).

Shadwell is continuously exemplified as an expert in dullness throughout the poem (Broich, 1990). In other poems different poets let the lead character have some semblance of competence, but Dryden does not give Shadwell's character any hint of capability only choosing to portray him as dull (Cox, 2004). Dryden uses this platform to poke fun at Shadwell's obesity without any hint of sarcasm. Shadwell is continuously mocked for being an idiot, and Dryden portrays Shadwell's heftiness as blocking out his ability to visualize (Hammond, 2006). Shadwell is insulted as he is compared to a huge oak tree that blocks out the rays of sun and as an individual who has never had an enlightened thought (Hammond, 2006). Psychologically Dryden's demeaning portrayal of Shadwell goes deep into his personal hatred toward his rival.

Dryden indicates that Shirley and Haywood are also insignificant and often speaking out of turn while communicating words that have little or no meaning (Broich, 1990). Unfortunately for Shadwell he overshadows both Shirley and Haywood (Broich, 1990). Dryden describes Shagwell's character as one who speaks repetitiously about non-important topics (Hammond, 2006). The character Flecknoe is happy that he is more absurd than Shirley and Haywood. Another major item of hatred is when Dryden has Mac Flecknoe compare himself to St. John the Baptist that can be viewed as blasphemy.

Dryden even picks on Shadwell for his preference in poetry and music. According to Dryden any standard musical sound is better than anything that was created by Shadwell (Dryden & Oldham, 1709). Although some poetry experts and linguists would state Shadwell's work was competent and even successful (Cox, 2004), if someone just listened to Dryden he or she may believe that Shadwell was totally an incompetent in every aspect of his life. There may be some truth to Dryden's statements about Shagwell, but most of the statements are born from Dryden's hatred toward Shagwell's personal beliefs and values such as his adoration for Ben Jonson.

Dryden has quipped that Shadwell had better timing than St. Andre a famous French master. St. Andre's troop performed for Shadwell's opera "The Psyche" and Dryden believes the troops performance was out of rhythm because of Shadwell's poor line writing (Hammond, 2006). Dryden believed that Shadwell's conducting of the famous choir was pathetic and the reason they were out of tune (Hammond, 2006). In Dryden's poem Mac Flecknoe he points out that Shagwell has extra-feet and is an incompetent playwright, conductor, and poet (Dryden & Oldham, 1709).

In Dryden's work Mac Flecknoe the coronation of Flecknoe was illustrated as a negative portrayal and assassination on Shadwell's character (Broich, 1990). Dryden discusses a theatre in Golden Home that is known as the nursery, and this was a training facility in which poor plays had been performed (Cox, 2004). The nursery was perceived as a commonplace for untalented playwrights. The language used to describe the coronation was offensive and filled with puns (Hammond, 2006). In a total sign of disrespect, the coronation process the city of London welcomed Shadwell's character on worthless works strewn to the pathway instead of a red carpet to honor him (Cox, 2004).

In Book V of the Aeneid Dryden lampoons a scene in which Aeneas declares to his subjects that upon his death Ascanius would become his successor (Cox, 2004). Dryden describes Shadwell's naming of a successor as a period of dark ignorance that formed a "halo" around his head (Black, Conolly, & Flint, 2011). Shadwell's kingdom is filled by a fog of idiocy and an utter lack of incompetence (Black, Conolly, & Flint, 2011). Flecknoe asks his son to swear allegiance to him putting him in position to succeed him. In history, kings hold a prestigious ball and scepter as a symbol of sovereignty, but Dryden replaces Shagwell's ball and scepter with an insulting mug of ale and his play Loves Kingdom (Hammond, 2006). Dryden takes superior joy in poking fun at Shagwell alcoholic behavior and his sexual actions. The character Flecknoe is mockingly made celibate with an illegitimate son and has issues with over consumption of ale (Black, Conolly, & Flint, 2011). The portrayal of Flecknoe as a king is insulting and insinuates that his actions bestowed upon the kingdom are not fitting for a leader. Shadwell's character Flecknoe is also deemed to have female like features, and lacking the great qualities of man that most historical kings possessed (Black, Conolly, & Flint, 2011).

The character Flecknoe loves poppies, a clear indication that Dryden is making a connection to Shadwell's addiction toward opium (Broich, 1990). Dryden takes time to mention that Shadwell's works are a great tool to help people having troubles falling asleep. Continuing with his mock-heroic traditions, Dryden describes the process when Rome was named by Remus and Romulus (Broich, 1990). Historically the situation involving the 12 vulture sightings gave Romulus naming rights of the prestigious Roman Empire, and Dryden signifies this event by having Flecknoe sight 12 owls, which in retrospect is a symbol of an ill-omen (Broich, 1990).

As the poem progresses Flecknoe blesses his son, which may make some wonder why the church did not perform the blessing. This slight against Flecknoe's character demonstrates that Dryden has no respect for Shadwell's virtues. Any individual, especially a king, who cannot have his son blessed by a priest, would be viewed in a negative light by the masses. Dryden illustrates that Flecknoe's failures are similar to Shadwell, insinuating that Shadwell's future work will be clouted by his personal issues with drugs and alcohol and thus continue to be garbage. Many playwrights like to introduce jokesters or fools into his or her plays to demonstrate the author's superior intellect. In the poem Mac Flecknoe the character resembling Shadwell is a bumbling idiot and constantly demeaned by Dryden (Cox, 2004).

According to dictonary.com plagiarism is "the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work, as by not crediting the author (2011)." Plagiarism was often a critique of Shadwell's works. One form of plagiarism of particular interest was that Shadwell is believed to have borrowed from Sedley's plays (Black, Conolly, & Flint, 2011). Many scholars and intellectuals believe that Shadwell's noted plagiarism is a sign of his inadequacies as a writer, poet, and playwright. Dryden incorporates this "stupidity" from plagiarism into the character Flecknoe (Broich, 1990). This "stupidity" is a trait that Dryden believes make Shadwell and Flecknoe reliant upon others for any intellectual thought (Black, Conolly, & Flint, 2011). Dryden's reflections also demonstrate his belief that the only ideal shared by Shadwell and Ben Jonson is rotundity. Dryden was instrumental in his belief that Shadwell should never try and emulate Jonson. The workings of Dryden affirm that his belief is that both Flecknoe and Shadwell are lamebrains.