Mac Flecknoe

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1682

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Background

Cultural Context

When “Mac Flecknoe” was written, there were two parallel literary scenes in London. The first, the public literary scene, consisted of works intended for general consumption. Generally, in the era, the most prominent vehicle for public literature was the theaters, where Shadwell and his contemporaries made most of their income.

The second, the court scene, was a closed-off, largely homosocial group of writers and aristocrats centered around Charles II’s court. The court scene sustained itself on poetry, primarily satirical and bawdy verse, that circulated in hand-written manuscripts. Works from this scene were copied and openly shared with other members, but they were rarely published for a wider audience. Occasionally, as in the case of “Mac Flecknoe,” works from this scene would leak (sometimes intentionally and sometimes not) to a publisher.

Dryden styled himself as opposed to Charles II’s courtiers and directly attacked them in poems such as “An Essay upon Satire.” However, Dryden was, as Poet Laureate, intimately connected with the court. “Mac Flecknoe” shares many of the elitist, aristocratic concerns with other works from the court scene, and Dryden is careful, in the poem, to distance himself from working poets. Ironically, when Dryden’s laureateship was given to Shadwell, Dryden turned to writing plays for public consumption to earn a living.

Literary Context

Perhaps the most obvious predecessor to Dryden’s poem is Andrew Marvell’s “Flecknoe, an English Priest at Rome,” written around 1646 and circulated privately. Marvell’s earlier satire of Flecknoe possibly laid the foundation for Dryden’s work by establishing Flecknoe as a bad poet and as a subject of satire. Because of the small, private court scene in London, Dryden would have known that whomever he shared “Mac Flecknoe” with would be familiar with both Flecknoe and Marvell’s satire of him. This shared association of Flecknoe and poetic ineptitude allows Dryden to use Flecknoe as metonymy—a rhetorical device wherein something refers to, or represents, something else with which it is closely associated. In Dryden’s poem, Flecknoe represents bad poetry rather than the genuine historical figure of Flecknoe. The poem treats Jonson similarly—as an exemplar of strong verse.

While the subject and satire of Dryden’s poem is informed by his place in Charles II’s court, “Mac Flecknoe” has roots that run wide and deep in English literary culture. In addition to the classical references in the coronation scene, Dryden calls upon many of his contemporaries and near-contemporaries to ground his satire in a larger culture. “Herringman” (Line 105) refers to Henry Herringman, both Dryden and Shadwell’s publisher, while “George” (Line 151) and “Sedley” (Line 163) refer to George Etherege and Charles Sedley, two playwrights contemporary to Shadwell. “Heywood and Shirley” (Lines 29, 102) are Thomas Heywood and James Shirley, popular dramatists of the previous generation who have since become unknown. “ancient Decker” (Line 87) refers to Thomas Dekker, a prolific playwright whom Jonson satirized in The Poetaster. Finally, “Ogleby” (Lines 102, 174) is John Ogilby, a poet and translator of ancient Greek. Though these characters play various roles in Dryden’s satire, their very presence solidifies a connection between Flecknoe’s kingdom of dullness and their contemporary London.