The poem depicts Shadwell as the heir to the kingdom of poetic dullness, represented by his association with Richard Flecknoe, an earlier poet already satirized by Andrew Marvell and displeased by Dryden, even though the poet does not use belittling techniques to satirize him. Shadwell and Dryden were separated not only by literary grounds but also by political ones as Shadwell was a Whig, while Dryden was Stuart Monarchy’s outspoken supporter.
Surely Shadwell ‘s poetry was not of the same standard as Jonson’s, and it is possible that Dryden wearied Shadwell ‘s argument that Dryden undervalued Jonson. Shadwell had fancied himself the heir to Ben Jonson and the multiple comedy that the latter had commonly written. “1)their different estimates of the genius of Ben Jonson,Ģ)The preference of Dryden for comedy of wit and repartee and of Shadwell, the chief a disciple of Jonson, for humour comedy,ģ) Sharp disagreement over the true purpose of comedy,Ĥ) Contention over the value of rhymed plays, and Their disagreement arose out of the following discrepancies:
MAC WALTERS 101 QUESTIONS SERIES
Written in 1678, but not published until 1682, “Mac Flecknoe.” is the result of a series of disputes between Thomas Shadwell and Dryden.