Question By contemporary standards is Dryden's Mac Flecknoe Satire or Libel? Justify your response with critical arguments. Answer Dryden in the preface to Absalom and Achitophel says, those who wrongly "imagine I have done my Worst, may be Convinc'd at their own Cost, that I can write Severely, with more ease, than I can Gently." He successfully proves this when he writes Mac Flecknoe. As an author he maintained the unity of the plot and the community of response between him and his audience. Satire was not a defined genre before the reformation period. It was thought that the word satire was...

• Word Count: 2125
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... the early imperialism of Rome. Here greatness, power and (so they thought) moderation had been combined to create a golden age. Dryden's most famous works are MackFlecknoe (published 1682) and Absalom and Achitophel. MackFlecknoe, arguably one of the best embodiments of the mock-heroic poem, is an undisguised attack ... "Age of Reason" was being created. With these contradictions in mind, poetry wanted to be authorative and still protect its creator. John Dryden and Alexander Pope are the most distinguished and influential poets from this time and it is through them and their work that t...

• Word Count: 1687
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School