20 pages • 40 minutes read
Absalom and Achitophel
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Symbols & Motifs
The Jews
Israel and its Jewish subjects in “Absalom and Achitophel” symbolize England: The Jews are a stand-in for King Charles II’s English subjects, and Dryden’s portrait of the Jews allows him to criticize his countrymen for their disloyalty to the king. The speaker calls the Jews “a headstrong, moody, murm’ring race” (Line 45) and alludes to England’s ongoing political and religious tensions by lamenting how “No king could govern, nor no God could please” (Line 48) such a fractious people.
However, by the same tactic, Dryden alludes to the Englishmen whom he believes are “true” subjects, describing “The sober part of Israel, free from stain / [Who] Well knew the value of a peaceful reign” (Lines 69-70). The wise Jews remember “with afright” (Line 71) past civil upheaval, which in turn leads them to “curs[e] the memory of civil wars” (Line 74). It is these “moderate sort of men” (Line 75) who, together with the king’s steadiness, keep Israel from ruin—just as Dryden believes it is the loyalty of subjects such as himself who prevented the Exclusion Crisis from undermining the Stuart succession.
Rhetoric
Rhetoric—the power of persuasive speech—is a recurring motif throughout the poem, and it can be used for good or ill depending on the speaker. There are three main instances of rhetorical power in “Absalom and Achitophel”: Achitophel’s speech to Absalom urging him to rebel; Absalom’s speeches to the Jewish common people; and King David’s defensive speech towards the poem’s end.
When Achitophel approaches Absalom with his plot, he does so “with studied arts to please / And sheds his venom, in such words as these” (Lines 228-229). These “studied arts” (Line 228, italics mine) are the arts of rhetoric, and his words are a vehicle for the “venom” (Line 229) of sedition and ambition. Achitophel’s words hit their mark; his cunning speech leaves Absalom “drunk with honour, and debauch’d with praise” (Line 312), leading him to ultimately capitulate to Achitophel’s reasoning. Likewise, Absalom uses the same rhetorical techniques, flattering his audience and using bombastic speeches to win over the common Jewish people. The reader is told that “His looks, his gestures, and his words he frames” (Line 690)—just as a careful orator would be trained to do—and that he seduces his audience by telling them what they wish to hear: “[C]ommon interest always will prevail / And pity never ceases to be shown / To him, who makes the people’s wrongs his own” (Line 724-726). Both men abuse rhetorical power to advance unjust causes and to persuade others into wrongdoing through false promises.
Nevertheless, rhetoric can be a force for good in the hands of the right person, as King David demonstrates at the poem’s end with his speech. When King David speaks, he is “by Heav’n inspir’d” (Line 936), drawing directly from divine inspiration instead of his own corrupt ambition. His words inspire awe in his audience, as “awful fear / His train their Maker in their Master hear” (Lines 937-938), and his speech is so powerful that, by its end, “Th’ Almighty, nodding, gave consent / And peals of thunder shook the firmament” (Lines 1026-1027). King David’s rhetoric affirms his right to rule and sets in motion the successful reestablishment of his power, gradually bringing the crisis to an end.
Law & Custom
Dryden’s political vision is fundamentally conservative, and allusions to law and custom—or the lack thereof—become important symbols of stability versus the chaos of England’s civil unrest. Dryden represents the supporters of democratic ideals as “savages” (Line 56), claiming that their ideas lead them only “to woods and caves” (Line 55), which represent a figurative break with the civilizing forces of monarchical rule and urbanity. King David, by contrast, symbolizes the stability of monarchy and the blessings monarchical rule brings to England. Absalom concedes that his father is “Good, gracious, just, observant of the laws” (Line 319, italics mine), and he contrasts the king’s just rule with that of “a tyrant” (Line 337) who rules only “by lawless might” (Line 337, italics mine). At the poem’s end, King David’s rule mirrors the rule of God in Heaven, as King David is described as “god-like” (Line 1030), and disaster is averted when law triumphs over would-be anarchy: “For lawful pow’r is still superior found / When long driv’n back, at length it stands the ground” (Lines 1024-1025, italics mine). God himself openly shows his support for David’s rule of law (“Th’ Almighty, nodding, gave consent” [Line 1026]), and the final line acknowledges King David as a “lawful lord” (Line 1031). King David, as a stand-in for Charles II and for monarchs more generally, is thus the poem’s main symbol of the power of law and order.
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