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Archaic use of the word; as used here it implies bombast and inflation, with real emptiness. 202. Irish pen. Shadwell replied with indignation that he was not Irish. 204-208. Such devices as the anagram and acrostic had been favourites among the verse-writers of the metaphysical type, in the Caroline period. Another device was the arranging of lines of a poem in such lengths that the printed composition would take the form of a design of some kind, such as a pair of wings, an altar, a cross, and so on. See Wither's so-called Sonnets, and Herbert's Easter Wings and The Altar. 212. Bruce and Longvil are gentlemen in The Virtuoso, who during a speech of Sir Formal Trifle's let fall a trap-door on which he is standing, and thus dispose of him.

ACHITOPHEL

From Absalom and Achitophel, Part I., Dryden's first essay in satire. It was produced in November, 1681, during the period of agitation over the question of the succession to the throne. In these years of turmoil over the Continental wars, the suspicion of French influence at court, and the more and more open inclination of Charles toward Catholic interest, Dryden put himself entirely on the royal side. At the time of the production of this satire, Shaftesbury was in the Tower on the charge of high treason, his overt acts having been using the revelation of the Popish Plot for his own purpose, and scheming to secure the succession to the Duke of Monmouth, the illegitimate son of Charles, — James, then Duke of York, having declared himself a Catholic. Popular feeling was on the side of Shaftesbury, unscrupulous though his methods had been. The adherents of the court, however, as well as those who were favouring the succession of William of Orange, were against him. This poem is said, though not proved, to have been written at the direct instigation of the king. Another satire printed in 1680, also based on Scriptural narrative, had preceded it, Absalom's Conspiracy, or the Tragedy of Treason. The correspondence of situation makes the use of David's story very apt, and Dryden was too well-seasoned a borrower to hesitate in this case. In the poem the narrative really tells itself, and Dryden allows it to do so and gives his attention chiefly to the character sketches. The outline of the poem easily gives a place to many of these, almost every one of them a brilliant piece of work. In the extracts below, three of the most striking are given.

The character of Shaftesbury is one of the finest pieces of personal satire in English literature. Whether Shaftesbury deserved the charges made against him or not, the genius shown in Dryden's effort was worthy of him as a subject. The character of Shaftesbury has always been left an undetermined matter; what he did was evident enough, but his motive for the doing has been hard to discover. He lent himself to the machinations of Charles, though not knowing fully the intrigues of the king, or his secret treaties with France; he encouraged the defamations of the accusers in the Popish Plot, in order to stir up popular feeling against the Catholics; he conceived and encouraged the scheme of making the Duke of Monmouth heir to the throne. But his purpose in it all seems to have been a public one, and he was apparently following no interests of his own. His theories were broader than those of any one party in his time, and looked toward a desirable freedom of policy. But unfortunately he had schemers to work with and against, and his methods were indirect and false. For years he had led the "country party" in Parliament, in organized opposition to the king. Dryden's attack represents the vindictiveness, not of himself, but of the king and of those that wished the Duke of York to succeed to the throne. 154. unfixed in principles and place. It was a misfortune of Shaftesbury that he had to deal with and work against those who were scheming and fickle above all things, and he was himself forced into methods that were of a kind to meet theirs. So he did seem fickle and unfixed whether really so or not is a question. 156-158. Shaftesbury suffered all his life from the effects of an accident in his youth, but he led a life of constant and eager activity. See Green's History of the English People, Bk. VII. Chap. I. 170-174. The second earl of Shaftesbury was far inferior to his father in general ability; he was, in fact, very mediocre. 175-177. In 1668 the Triple Alliance between the Protestant countries, England, Holland, and Sweden, was formed. It was negotiated by Temple, and the consummation of it gave great satisfaction to the English Protestants. Charles was meantime in secret treaty with Louis XIV., and in 1672 broke the alliance and went to war with Holland. Shaftesbury was a party to the affair for purposes of his own, and eventually bore a share of blame for the whole transaction. 186-197. Johnson speaks of the "acrimony of censure, elegance of praise" in the work of Dryden. He artfully secures credit to his censure by the apparent ingenuous

ness of his praise. These lines are merited; Shaftesbury as Chancellor, in a corrupt age, is credited even by his detractors with being incorruptible. 188. Abbethdin. Ab bet din, father of the court of justice. The spiritual authority in the Jewish court of justice, as distinguished from the nasi who had state affairs in charge. See Jewish Encyclopedia. 208–215. Shaftesbury made unjustifiable use of the Popish Plot to stir up the people and arouse fears of James as a Catholic and even of Charles himself. 213. Jebusite. Roman Catholic. Jerusalem, before it was taken by the Hebrews under David, was the capital and the final stronghold of the Jebusites.

ZIMRI

This represents George Villiers, second duke of Buckingham (1628-1687), one of the richest, wittiest, most versatile, and worstconducted of the subjects of Charles II. He was at one time attached to the king's government, and was a member of the cabinet. But later he changed to the opposition, intrigued with Shaftesbury, furthered the results of the Popish Plot exposure, and was one of the promoters of the Bill of Exclusion intended to prevent James, as a Catholic, from succeeding to the throne. All this Dryden had against him in his public relations. Besides this, Buckingham had satirized Dryden as Bayes in The Rehearsal, his witty burlesque of the Restoration heroic play, and Dryden had some personal scores to settle. Buckingham was absolutely unprincipled and unrestrained. He was a marvel even to his own unprincipled age.

BARZILLAI

The character of James Butler, first duke of Ormond (1610-1688), is presented in this section. He led the royalist forces in Ireland during the Civil War, and afterward withdrew to France, and was with Prince Charles during a part of his exile. After the Restoration he was made Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, but falling into disfavour, was recalled. He remained at court awhile in the office of Lord-Steward of the Household, but in such disfavour that for months the king did not speak to him. Ormond's loyalty was of the oldfashioned traditional sort. He showed disapproval of the customs of the court, but no bad conduct or ill-treatment on the part of Charles shook Ormond's allegiance to him. Finally, Charles, apparently

ashamed, restored him to favour and to his position in Ireland. He was a faithful public servant, but no politician. He was upright and uncompromising, and lived a life untainted by the grossness of the period in which it was spent. 831. Ormond's eldest son, Lord Ossory, died in 1680. He was a soldier and a scholar, distinguished for his courage and good sense. Ormond said on his son's death, "I would rather have my dead son than any living son in Christendom." At the time of this writing six of Ormond's eight sons were dead. 842-843. He served under the Prince of Orange, in the Dutch war against the French.

ODE FOR ST. CECILIA'S DAY

The legend regarding St. Cecilia places her in the third century. She was a Roman lady of rank, a Christian, and because of her purity and ardour of adoration, was given intercourse with an angel. She was martyred in the reign of Septimius Severus and was canonized and made the patron saint of music. Tradition credits her with inventing the organ. In 1680 a Musical Society was formed in London, and the annual commemoration of St. Cecilia's Day instituted. For each occasion an ode was to be written and set to music, and rendered in public on that day. This of Dryden's is the first one of value. It was produced in 1687.

The general form, that of the so-called Pindaric ode, had been introduced by Cowley in 1656. He fancied he was reproducing the forms of Pindar's odes, not recognizing the regularity in irregularity of the Greek form. In Cowley's odes the irregularity was entirely arbitrary, not even being informed by the mood or spirit of the poem, and not indicating the variations of thought. Dryden, in this and in Alexander's Feast, controls the verse very much better, adapting it to his purpose. The so-called Pindaric form has been used at intervals ever since Cowley, but did not reach its best until the nineteenth century; among the finest examples are Wordsworth's Ode on the Intimations of Immortality, Tennyson's Ode on the Duke of Wellington, and Lowell's Commemoration Ode. 17. Jubal. "The father of all such as handle the harp and the organ." See Genesis iv. 19-21. 50. sequacious. Dryden never outgrew his tendency to use an occasional Latinism or pedantic expression. 63. untune. As Music drew the " jarring atoms together in the first place,

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setting creation in order, it will eventually release them when the end of the world comes.

ALEXANDER'S FEAST

This was produced for St. Cecilia's Day, in 1697. It has been the best-known and most popular of Dryden's poems. In this he has the verse-form better in hand, and the means used to secure imitative effects are less obvious than in the other St. Cecilia ode. For reading, the chorus is unnecessary and rather in the way; but it has been the custom to print it with the rest of the poem. The occasion represented is a feast celebrating Alexander's conquest of Persia, completed with the battle of Arbela, B.C. 331. 9. Thais. A beautiful Athenian who accompanied Alexander into Asia. It was told by Cleitarchus that on such an occasion as this she induced the conqueror to set fire to the royal palace at Persepolis. This is what Dryden refers to in stanza 6. 20. Timotheus. A Greek poet and musician. Several innovations in lyric forms and in music are traced to him. In recent years a manuscript of a poem of his, The Persians, has been found; it deals with the defeat of the Persians at Salamis. 30. Olympia. Olympias, the mother of Alexander. Alexander claimed to be the son, not of Philip, but of Zeus, who came to Olympias in the form of a serpent. 108. Lydian measures. The Lydians were a luxurious and effeminate people; they cultivated music, and their music was especially of a soft and voluptuous kind.

ANNE FINCH, COUNTESS OF WINCHILSEA

(1661-1720)

Lady Winchilsea was born Anne Kingsmill. Before her marriage she was connected with the court as maid of honour to Mary of Modena. In 1684 she married Heneage Finch, who became the fourth earl of Winchilsea. In 1701 she published The Spleen in Gildon's Miscellany; in 1713, Miscellany Poems; and at different times other scattered poems, including Aristomenes. But the greater part of her work remained, at her death, in manuscript volumes. In 1903 Miss Myra Reynolds edited a collection containing the most of this. One manuscript is still unpublished. Lady Winchilsea's work

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