A Background to the story of Absalom and Achitophel

The Restoration of the English monarchy began when the English, Scottish and Irish
monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the
Three Kingdoms. The term Restoration is used to describe both the actual event by which the
monarchy was restored, and the period of several years afterwards in which a new political
settlement was established.
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It is very often used to cover the whole reign of Charles II #!$$%&
!$'() and often the brief reign of his younger brother *ames II #!$'(+!$''). Charles II #,- .ay
!$/% & $ 0ebruary !$'() was monarch of the three 1ingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
Charles II2s father, King Charles I, was e3ecuted at Whitehall on /% *anuary !$4-, at the
clima3 of the English Civil War. 5lthough the 6arliament of Scotland proclaimed Charles II
King of 7reat 8ritain and Ireland in Edinburgh on $ 0ebruary !$4-, the English
6arliament instead passed a statute that made any such proclamation unlawful. England entered
the period 1nown as the English Interregnum or the English Commonwealth, and the country
was a de facto republic, led by 9liver Cromwell. Cromwell defeated Charles II at the 8attle of
Worcester on / September !$(!, and Charles fled to mainland Europe. Cromwell became virtual
dictator of England, Scotland and Ireland, and Charles spent the ne3t nine years in e3ile in
0rance, the :nited 6rovinces and the Spanish ;etherlands.
5 political crisis that followed the death of Cromwell in !$(' resulted in
the restoration of the monarchy, and Charles was invited to return to 8ritain. 9n ,- .ay !$$%,
his /%th birthday, he was received in <ondon to public acclaim. 5fter !$$%, all legal documents
were dated as if he had succeeded his father as 1ing in !$4-.
John Dryden was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who was
made 6oet <aureate in !$$'. =e is seen as dominating the literary life of >estoration England to
such a point that the period came to be 1nown in literary circles as the 5ge of ?ryden. Walter
Scott called him @7lorious *ohn.@ 5fter the >estoration, ?ryden Auic1ly established himself as
the leading poet and literary critic of his day and he transferred his allegiances to the new
government. ?ryden2s greatest achievements were in satiric verseB the moc1+heroic Mac
Flecknoe, a more personal product of his <aureate years, was a lampoon circulated in manuscript
and an attac1 on the playwright Thomas Shadwell. ?ryden2s main goal in the wor1 is to @satiriCe
Shadwell, ostensibly for his offenses against literature but more immediately we may suppose for
his habitual badgering of him on the stage and in print.@ It is not a belittling form of satire, but
rather one which ma1es his obDect great in ways which are une3pected, transferring the
ridiculous into poetry. This line of satire continued with Absalom and Achitophel #!$'!) and The
Medal #!$',
Absalom and Achitophel is a landmar1 poetic political satire by *ohn ?ryden. The poem
e3ists in two parts. The first part, of !$'!, is undoubtedly by ?ryden. The second part, of !$',,
was written by another hand, most li1ely ;ahum Tate, e3cept for a few passagesEincluding
attac1s on Thomas Shadwell and El1anah Settle, e3pressed as 9g and ?oegEthat ?ryden wrote
himself. The poem is an allegory that uses the story of the rebellion of 5bsalom against King
?avid as the basis for discussion of the bac1ground to the .onmouth >ebellion #!$'(),
the 6opish 6lot and the E3clusion Crisis. 5ccording to the 8ible, Absalom or Avshalom @0ather
of peace@) was the third son of ?avid, King of Israel. =e was the most handsome man in the
1ingdom. 5bsalom eventually rebelled against his father and was 1illed during the 8attle of
Ephraim Wood. 5 fateful battle was fought in the Wood of Ephraim and 5bsalom2s army was
completely routed. 5bsalom himself was caught by his head in the boughs of an oa1+tree as the
mule he was riding ran beneath itEan irony given that he was previously renowned for his
abundant hair and handsome head. =e was discovered hanging there still alive by one of ?avid2s
men, who reported the matter to *oab, The 1ingFs commander *oab being accustom to avenging
himself too1 this opportunity to even the score with 5bsalom. Killing 5bsalom was against
?avidFs command saying, 8eware that none touch the young man 5bsalom. Even so *oab too1
three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of 5bsalom, while he was yet alive in
the midst of the oa1G and when ?avid heard that 5bsalom was 1illed although not how he was
1illed he greatly sorrowed thus he said, 9 my son 5bsalom, my son, my son 5bsalomH would
7od I had died for thee, 9 5bsalom, my son, my sonH
Biblical background
The story of 5bsalom2s revolt is told in the Second 8oo1 of Samuel in the 9ld
Testament of the 8ible #chapters !4 to !'). 5bsalom rebels against his father King ?avid. The
beautiful 5bsalom is distinguished by e3traordinarily abundant hair, which is probably meant to
symboliCe his pride #, Sam. !4B,$). When ?avid2s renowned advisor, 5chitophel #5chitophel in
the Iulgate) Doins 5bsalom2s rebellion, another advisor, =ushai, plots with ?avid to pretend to
defect and give 5bsalom advice that plays into ?avid2s hands. The result was that 5bsalom ta1es
the advice of the double agent =ushai over the good advice of 5chitophel, who realising that the
rebellion is doomed to failure, goes home and hangs himself. 5bsalom is 1illed #against ?avid2s
e3plicit commands) after getting caught by his hair in the thic1 branches of a great oa1B @=is
head caught fast in the oa1, and he was left hanging between heaven and earth, while the mule
that was under him went on@ #;>SI , Sam. !'B-). The death of his son, 5bsalom, causes ?avid
enormous personal grief. The title of 0aul1ner2s novel Absalom, Absalom! is ta1en from ?avid2s
mourning
Historical background
In !$'! in England, Charles II was in advanced years. =e had had a number of mistresses
and produced a number of illegitimate children. 9ne of these was *ames Scott, the ?u1e of
.onmouth, who was very popular, both for his personal charisma and his fervor for
the 6rotestant cause. Charles had no legitimate heirs, and his brother, the future *ames II of
England was openly a >oman Catholic. When Charles2s health suffered, there was a panic in
the =ouse of Commons over the potential for the nation being ruled by a >oman Catholic 1ing.
In the Spring of !$'!, at the 93ford 6arliament, Shaftesbury appealed to Charles II to legitimate
.onmouth. .onmouth was caught preparing to rebel and see1 the throne, and Shaftesbury was
suspected of fostering this rebellion. The poem was written, possibly at Charles2s behest, and
published in early ;ovember !$'!. 9n ,4 ;ovember !$'!, Shaftesbury was seiCed and charged
with high treason. 5 trial before a Dury pic1ed by Whig sheriffs acAuitted him.
<ater, after the death of his father and unwilling to see his uncle *ames II become King,
the ?u1e of .onmouth e3ecuted his plans and went into full revolt. The .onmouth >ebellion
was put down, and in !$'( the ?u1e was e3ecuted. ?ryden2s poem tells the story of the first
foment by ma1ing .onmouth into 5bsalom, the beloved boy, Charles into ?avid #who also had
some philandering), and Shaftesbury into 5chitophel. It paints 8uc1ingham, an old enemy of
?ryden2s #see The Rehearsal for one e3ample), into Jimri, the unfaithful servant. The poem
places most of the blame for the rebellion on Shaftesbury and ma1es Charles a very reluctant and
loving man who has to be 1ing before father.