Mac Flecknoe: Analysis of Setting
"Mac Flecknoe," a satirical poem by John Dryden, centers around the fictional character Mac Flecknoe, who serves as a mock king of dullness and ineptitude in the literary world. The analysis of the setting reveals significant locations that enhance the poem’s themes and critique. Key locales include the River Thames, where Flecknoe first observes Shadwell, his literary heir, symbolizing the unimportance of Shadwell’s contributions to literature. The poem draws a parallel between the grandeur of ancient Augusta, representing London, and the vulgar reality surrounding Shadwell, highlighting the disparity between perception and truth.
The Barbican, an ancient watchtower, is chosen as the site for Shadwell's coronation, which ironically reflects a fall from vigilance to a chaotic environment filled with vice. Furthermore, Ireland and Barbados are mentioned as potential realms over which Shadwell could reign, both regions embodying a sense of savagery that aligns with Shadwell's perceived lack of talent. Overall, the settings in "Mac Flecknoe" play a crucial role in reinforcing the poem’s critical stance on literary mediocrity and the cultural milieu of Dryden's time.
Mac Flecknoe: Analysis of Setting
First published: 1682; revised in Miscellany Poems, 1684
Type of work: Poetry
Type of plot: Mock-heroic
Time of work: Late 1670’s
Asterisk denotes entries on real places.
Places Discussed
*River Thames
*River Thames (tehmz). River running through London where the fictional poet, Mac Flecknoe, first catches sight of Shadwell, his true heir in literary ineptitude. Flecknoe beholds the ample form of Shadwell rowing a small boat in the river that reflects his relative unimportance in the currents of literary history.
Augusta
Augusta. Alternative name for London that stresses its connection to the cultural flowering of ancient Augustan Rome. A part of the inflated description of Shadwell’s surroundings that contrasts sharply with their vulgar reality.
*Barbican
*Barbican. Ancient watchtower, near the Roman wall surrounding the old City of London, that has deteriorated into nonexistence by the seventeenth century. Only the name remains to describe a neighborhood full of brothels and frequented by fledgling actors and prostitutes. Ironically, the vigilance and security symbolized by the tall fortification has lapsed into a world of lowlife. Flecknoe chooses this site for the coronation of his successor, Shadwell.
*Ireland
*Ireland. Island in the British Isles that fell under English rule several decades before Dryden wrote Mac Flecknoe. Dryden cites it as one of two places over which Shadwell might reign. Both Ireland and Barbados had reputations for savagery, which make them appropriate for Shadwell’s lack of civilized talent.
*Barbados
*Barbados. Island in the West Indies whose seventeenth century sugar industry was based on slave labor. The poet adds that Irish lawbreakers might be “barbadoe’d”—transported to the New World to serve as slave labor. Shadwell, the poem implies, has transgressed against the rules of writing and churns out his hack work like one condemned to a fate of drudgery.
Bibliography
Dryden, John. Poems 1681-1684. Edited by H. T. Swendenberg and Vinton A. Dearing. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1972. The standard edition of Dryden. Traces the background and origin of the poem, identifies allusions, references, and ambiguities with thoroughness and accuracy.
Jack, Ian. Augustan Satire: Intention and Idiom in English Poetry, 1660-1750. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1952. Devotes a chapter to Mac Flecknoe, analyzing the satire as a mock epic. Emphasizes the personal elements in the attack on Shadwell.
Miner, Earl. Dryden’s Poetry. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1967. Explores theatrical elements in the poem and its fundamental metaphors. Identifies the monarchical, religious, and aesthetic metaphors as central to the meaning and poetic effect.
Swedenberg, H. T., Jr., ed. Essential Articles for the Study of John Dryden. London: Frank Cass, 1966. Includes three articles on Mac Flecknoe. Two explore dating and authorship; one traces Dryden’s debt to Abraham Cowley’s Davideis.
Winn, James Anderson. John Dryden and His World. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1987. In his critical biography of Dryden, Winn provides an extended account of Dryden’s controversy with Shadwell. Includes a brief analysis of the satire.