Question Bank: Absalom and Achitophel

Long Questions

  1. What is Satire? Is ‘Absalom and Achitophel’ a political satire? Illustrate your answer.
  2. “The greatness of the poem lies however not in the plot, but in the brilliant characterizations.” Justify this observation made by Louis I. Bredvold in ‘The Best of Dryden’.
  3. “Si propius stes te capiat magis” – ‘If you stand nearer, you will be still more attracted’ – Dryden’s motto on the title page of this political allegory is intriguing. Exemplify your reading of ‘Absalom and Achitophel’ as political allegory.
  4. ‘Absalom and Achitophel’ is the greatest English Political satire. Illustrate this proposition with your reading of the poem.
  5. ‘It seems that ‘Absalom and Achitophel’ was successful politically since it was instrumental in helping the King against the conspirators’. Do you agree? Justify your answer.
  6. ‘Through this poem, Dryden’s reserved but forceful and clever diction, unveiled to the public the evil of the day.’ Exemplify the way Dryden exposed the evil characters in this poem.
  7. Write an essay on the literary elements found in ‘Absalom and Achitophel’. (Key: Speaker or narrator; point of view; form & meter; Genre; Setting; Tone; Protagonist & Antagonist; Major conflict; prosodic elements like allusions, synecdoche, personification, metaphors, simile, irony etc
  8. Write a note on the source of the satire in the poem ‘Absalom and Achitophel’.
  9. “The true end of satire is the amendment of vices by correction. And he, who writes honestly, is no more an enemy to the offender, than the physician to the patient, when he prescribes harsh remedies to an inveterate disease”. This is what Dryden wrote in the preface ‘To the Reader’ before beginning the poem. Was Dryden successful in doing so in writing the satirical poem ‘Absalom and Achitophel’?
  10. “The true end of satire is the amendment of vices by correction.” Dryden said so in the preface ‘To the Reader’ of the poem ‘Absalom and Achitophel’. List down the vices you found in the poem which Dryden wanted to amend.
  11. Write a critical analysis of Dryden’s ‘Absalom and Achitophel’.
  12. What is allegory in literature? Is ‘Absalom and Achitophel’ a political allegory? Illustrate your answer.
  13. Write an essay on the places, persons, position, parties and events used in ‘Absalom and Achitophel’. Explain their allegorical references.

Short Questions (click here for answers)

  1. What is the purpose of Dryden's Absalom and Achitophel?
  2. How does Dryden satirize the English people in Absalom and Achitophel?
  3. Why was Absalom unwilling to revolt against his father?
  4. With what two matters is Absalom discontented?
  5. Describe the adverse effects of the Popish Plot.
  6. Write a note on ‘Exclusion Crisis’.
  7. Write a short answer on the theme of erosion of the value and the power of poetry during Restoration time with reference to the success of Dryden’s ‘Absalom and Achitophel’.

Short notes

  1. Character sketch of David
  2. Absalom
  3. Achitophel
  4. Character Study of other minor characters
  5. The Good Old Cause
  6. The Popish Plot
  7. Exclusion Crisis
  8. The Jews and the Jebusites