POEMS OLD AND NEW
tragedies, of which his best is " All for Love." He
was appointed Poet Laureate in 1670. He excelled
in satiric poetry and found scope for his talent in the
political controversies that arose round the Earl of
Shaftesbury and the Duke of Monmouth's succession
to the throne. He satirised Shaftesbury (in favour of
Charles's brother, the Duke of York) in " Absalom
and Achitophel " (1681). Perhaps with an eye to the
future of politics (James was a Catholic), Dryden
became a Catholic in the same year and wrote " The
Hind and the Panther" defending the Church of
Rome against the Church of England. Dryden's
prose imported clearness and precision from France,
and "An Essay of Dramatic Poesie " (1668), with
the Prefaces to his poems, earned him the title of
" The Father of English Prose."
Achitophel was the counsellor of Absalom, in his
rebellion against his father David. See 2 Samuel
xv-xvii.
In this poem David is Charles II, Absalom the
Duke of Monmouth, and Achitophel the Earl of
Shaftesbury. In the reign of Charles II, Shaftesbury
and his followers, who were nicknamed Whigs, wished to
exclude James (Charles's brother) from the succession,
since he was an avowed Catholic. For this purpose
they introduced, in 1679, the Exclusion Bill. Charles
saved his brother by dissolving Parliament.
The Duke of Monmouth was proposed as successor
to the throne by Shaftesbury and the Whigs, and on
Charles's death he made an unsuccessful attempt to
seize the throne, being defeated at Sedgemoor.
Epitaph on Charles II.
John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester (1647-1680), was one of
the friends of Charles II and distinguished himself
in the Dutch wars. For wit, versatility, and intellectual
vitality he stands high above the level of the age.
The Combat (from The Rape of the Lock).
Alexander Pope (1688-1744) attained early to great
perfection of rhythm and expression—he e< lisp'd in
numbers "—but his mind received an odd twist from
the facts that he was practically a cripple and that he
suffered certain disabilities through being a Catholic.
He found fittest expression in satire. He excelled in
the use of the heroic couplet, which he perfected as a
2IQ