Mac Flecknoe by John Dryden Detailed explanation with critical analysis

 

Mac Flecknoe is a typical mock heroic epic as the tone of mockery is discernible at the outset itself .

     All human things are subject to decay,

    And, when Fate summons, monarchs must obey:

    This Flecknoe found, who, like Augustus, young

    Was call'd to empire, and had govern'd long:

    In prose and verse, was own'd, without dispute

    Through all the realms of Non-sense, absolute.

 

Dryden satirically compares Richard flecknoe with Augustus Caesar (Augustus was the nephew and the adopted son of Julius Caesar. After the assassination of Julius Caesar, Augustus was forced to skip his studies and ascended to throne in his very young age.)

Similarly, Flecknoe started his career in the very young age as a writer. Who had done his duties exceptionally well, without any dispute he was a popular figure in the realm of nonsense.

Flecknoe who had ruled long in the realm of nonsense became old and seeks peaceful life. He was very much lucky enough having many children. Being fed up with his business, he made a deep discussion regarding who should succeed him to the throne of nonsense. Flecknoe was thinking the fact that who among his sons is fit to follow his path. Literally, he was struggling to fix an apt person as his heir. Finally, he resolved it. According to the laws of nature, Shadwell alone can do it properly. He perfectly resembles Flecknoe. [Shadwell was the contemporary of Dryden. He ridiculed Dryden in his poem The Medal of John Bayes, as a reply to the poem The Medal by Dryden. Hence, in order to take revenge on Shadwell, Dryden depicts him as the son of Richard Flecknoe, the dullest poet of the time.]

 

This aged prince now flourishing in peace,

And blest with issue of a large increase,

Worn out with business, did at length debate

To settle the succession of the State:

And pond'ring which of all his sons was fit

To reign, and wage immortal war with wit;

Cry'd, 'tis resolv'd; for nature pleads that he

Should only rule, who most resembles me:

Shadwell alone my perfect image bears,

Mature in dullness from his tender years.

Shadwell alone, of all my sons, is he

Who stands confirm'd in full stupidity.

The rest to some faint meaning make pretence,

But Shadwell never deviates into sense.

Some beams of wit on other souls may fall,

Strike through and make a lucid interval;

But Shadwell's genuine night admits no ray,

His rising fogs prevail upon the day:

Besides his goodly fabric fills the eye,

And seems design'd for thoughtless majesty:

Thoughtless as monarch oaks, that shade the plain,

And, spread in solemn state, supinely reign.

Heywood and Shirley were but types of thee,

Thou last great prophet of tautology:

He lacks wit and well known for his stupidity even his early age. Shadwell is an absolute fool, rest of his sons sometimes convey a slight kind of senses accidentally. But, Shadwell never deviates into sense. Shadwell was the only son of Flecknoe who never deviated from the path of nonsense and dullness. The other sons of Flecknoe except Shadwell expose some flashes of wisdom or some rays of intelligence. Sometimes their dark soul brightens and produces some sense. But, Shadwell’s solid and eternal foolishness admits not even a single moment of sense. No light of wisdom ever penetrates into the darkness of his mind. 

His mind is always filled with boring and monotonous thoughts. His ignorance overpowers his reason and senses. Dryden highlights the fact that Shadwell’s stupidity is so dense that he can never have a single point of sensible thought. Moreover, his enormous size fills the eyes of the onlookers. He is specially made for nonsense and stupidity.

 

He resembles a gigantic oak first by his huge size secondly by his indolence and stupidity. The giant oak trees are the kings in the dark forest. Which prevents the light and keeps the ground dark always. Hence, the oak trees resemble Shadwell who does not permit any ray of intelligence and completely turned blind eye on wisdom.

Dryden mentions the seventeenth century dramatists such as Thomas Heywood and James Shirley, who were well known for their insignificance. Their ideas are superfluous and devoid of qualities. They have only paved a proper way for Shadwell. He was the last great master of tautology (needless repetition). Flecknoe was indeed, more famous than Thomas Heywood and James Shirley.

Flecknoe delivers a speech in praise of Shadwell, the heir to his throne of Nonsense. He compares Shadwell to Arion, the musician of Greek legend. Arion threw himself out of a ship to escape being murdered. The music he played on his lyrics charmed the dolphins, one of which rescued him by carrying him on its back. Shadwell is compared to Arion because of his supreme musical skill and the fact that he took part in some royal procession along the river Thames, and rode on a boat. Flecknoe recalls Shadwell's playing on the lute with shaking fingers and producing unpleasant sounds.

 
The comparison of Shadwell with Arion is obviously ironic. Here, the writer used the device of false elevation which leads to the sudden deflation.  The musical skill of Shadwell  is effectively ridiculed through the description of his playing on the lute.

 
Dryden describes the coronation of Shadwell. The setting "Nursery " refers to a theatre, where actors practice. Here the boys and girls make artificial tears and laughter. Even prostitutes of tender age practice their soft voices. These expressions are obviously satirical not only with reference to Shadwell and the place chosen for his coronation. Here, Dryden satirises the training centres for young actors and actresses also. The range of Dryden's satire is not confined to Shadwell and his works only; it includes the artistic standards and tastes of the day.

Dryden explains the site of coronation in detailed manner in a tone of mockery. The great tragedies or comedies had no place. Buskins or socks never appeared on stage. Buskins refer to tragedy, and socks to comedy. The comedies or tragedies of distinguished dramatists like John Flectcher or Ben Jonson were never attempted. Since great or good art was not appreciated, cheap and wretched interludes and mere puns got a fitting welcome. Clowns like Simkin and bad writers like Panton delighed the audience. The people who gathered to see the plays which do not have any literary merits. They, too, found delight in rotten stuff and appreciated it. Here Dryden severely criticises the deterioration of artistic tastes and values .  By selecting the degraded and vulgar place for Shadwell's coronation,  Dryden represents him as third rate writer.

 

Dryden elaborates that the site chosen for the coronation of Shadwell as the king of Nonsense absolute was appropriately in the low and vulgar quarters of London, amidst broken down walls and beside a theatre of dubious merit. The throne is set up here for Dekker, an Elizabethan comic dramatist, had foretold long ago that a great emperor would one day reign there as a king of the realm of Nonsense. He would be a born enemy of wit and would punish all men of sense. He would produce plays like The Miser, The Humorists and Psyche with dull and stupid charcters like Raymond and Bruce.

 
Dryden attacks literary stupidity in general, through the particular means of Shadwell. The style illustrates Dryden's skill for combining the dignified with the ludicrous, and to evoke laughter.

 
Dryden continues with his description of the site where Shadwell is to be crowned as king of the realm of Nonsense. There were no Persian carpets laid on the way but the path was covered by loose, torn and tattered pages of some worthless poets and dramatists. Dull poetic and dramatic compositions which had gathered dust in the shops, could be found scattered everywhere. The books of Heywood, Shirley and Ogleby were in plentiful display. But the most distinctly perceptible stuff was of Shadwell's own creation and it simply choked the way.

 
The whole description is in the manner of mock-heroic. Dryden shows his disapproval of the play-wrights such as Heywood, Shirley and Ogleby. The particular, personal satire is generalised to include other bad writers. Thus, Dryden here attacks all bad literature through a particular bad writer.

Shadwell has been crowned as king of the realm of Nonsense. Just as the ceremony of the coronation was going to end, a strange sight was seen. Twelve aged, solemn looking owls were seen on the left hand side of Shadwell. Owls are ominous birds and are associated with evil and darkness. Dryden implies the beginning of a dark and ominous reign of the dullard, Shadwell. But in the empire of Nonsense absolute, this was thought to be an auspicious omen.

The mock-heroic vein continues and the comparison of Shadwell  to Romulus the founder the great Roman empire, once again illustrates Dryden's stylistic device of comparing small men to great in order to reduce them to even a lower level.

After the coronation ceremony was over, Flecknoe prayed for Shadwell's success in the future. He advised him to advance in the direction of greater ignorance and never to care for success or reputation. He himself had the experience of writing for a long period but had produced nothing worthwhile. Shadwell should learn from him the art of labouring hard to produce nothing.  The process of composition may be slow but the most important thing was that his works should never possess the slightest element of wit and sense.

Flecknoe further advised him to write according to the inclinations of his stupid brain.  Shadwell's characters would fully display the stupidity of their author. Shadwell undoubtedly surpasses all others in his stupidity.