John Dryden was the most influential English poet and literary figure of the Restoration period in the late 17th century. As a satirist, he wrote two major satires - Mac Flecknoe (1682) and Absalom and Achitophel (1681) - that used biting wit and subtle irony to lampoon political and religious figures of the time. Dryden established satire as a dominant literary form during the Restoration period through his skillful use of the heroic couplet and brilliant satirical portraits of contemporaries. In more recent times, Shashi Tharoor's novel The Great Indian Novel (1989) employed satire to retell the story of the Mahabharata in the context

1. JOHN DRYDEN AS A SATIRIST

2. HELLO! I AM DRASHTI JOSHI
Roll No: 08
Enrolment Number: 4069206420220016
Sem: 1 [M.A.] Batch: 2022-2024
Paper Number: 101 Paper Code: 22392
Paper Name: Literature of the Elizabethan and Restoration periods
submitted To: Smt S.B.Gardi, Department of English, M.K.B.U.
Dated On: 15-10-2022
E-Mail: drashtijoshi582@gmail.com

3. INTRODUCTION:
HISTIRICAL BACKGROUND OF THE AGE:
JOHN DRYDEN AS SATIRIST:
HIS SATIRICAL WORK:
EXAMPLE OF RECENT TIMES SATIRE:
CONCLUSION:

4. INTRODUCTION
* First of all the Question is that what is satire?
▪ According to R.J.REES “Nearly everybody is a satirist in a small way: the schoolboy who
write rude words about his teacher; the comedian who does a life like imitation of the
prime minister; even you and I, sitting in the pub or coffee bar and complaining about
the wickedness of the world and the foolishness of our leaders.
▪ The real satirist differs from most of us, both in the strength of his feelings and in having
the wit and genius to express it in novel or play or poem. He must have some of the
qualities of moralist or the preacher, and some of the qualities of the clown- because the
best way of attacking wickedness and foolishness is by laughing at them.
▪ The great English lexicographer Samuel Johnson defined satire as “a poem in which
wickedness or folly is censured,” and more elaborate definitions are rarely more
satisfactory.

5. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE AGE:
* Three historical events deeply influenced the literary movements of the time:
▪ 1.The Restoration of the year-1660.
▪ >The restoration of charles-2 brought about a revolution in our literature. Along with much
that is sane and powerful, this latter tendency is prominent in the writing of the time,
especially in the comedies.
▪ 2.The Roman-catholic controversy that raged during the latter half of Charles-2’s reign.
▪ >The famous poem of Dryden, Absalom and Achitophel, is an outstanding example of a kind
of poem that abounded during those troubled years.
▪ 3.The Revolution of the year 1688.
▪ >James succeeded to the throne in 1685, but so soon did he reveal his roman catholic
prejudices that he was rejected in three year and was replaced by protestant sovereigns.

6. The Satirists of Restoration period in Literature:
* The Restoration period ushers in the
age of satire and criticism. The influence
of France and the spread of science and
common-sense produced a critical
literature in the period. The exuberance
and creative impulses of the Elizabethan
period had exhausted itself. A critical
temper had permeated the minds of
thinkers and writers. The religious and
political feuds had given rise to satirical
literature. Dryden was the greatest
satirist of the period. Besides Dryden,
there are other satirists whose works
have considerable importance in the
period.

7. JOHN DRYDEN(1631-1700):
▪ John Dryden was an influential English poet, literary, critic, translator and playwright. Who
dominant the literary life of restoration England to such a point that the period came to be
known in literary circles as the age of Dryden.
▪ He established the heroic couplet as a standard form of english poetry. Dryden’s greatest
achievements were in satiric verse in works like the mock-heroic Macflecknoe(1682). And
another satirical allegory Absalom and Achitophel(1691).
▪ Alexander pope(1688-1744) was heavily influenced by Dryden.
▪ He is called “FATHER OF ENGLISH CRITICISM.” Who was appointed England's first Poet
Laureate in 1668. Dryden lost his posts of Poet Laureate and Historiographer Royal.
▪ When he died in 1700, he was accorded a splendid funeral in Westminster Abbey, though it
was many years before his grave was marked by tombstone.

9. ▪ Dryden the poet is best known today as a satirist, although he wrote only two great
original satires:
▪ John Dryden was a brilliant and shattering satirist in verse. He wrote three great
satires which touched the highest watermark of satirical poetry. Dryden's satires are
distinguished by keen and biting wit, subtle irony and brilliant inventiveness.
▪ Mac Flecknoe (1682) and The Medall (1682). His most famous poem, Absalom and
Achitophel (1681) contains several brilliant satiric portraits.
▪ Mac Flecknoe (1682) and The Medall (1682). His most famous poem, Absalom and
Achitophel (1681) contains several brilliant satiric portraits. Dryden the poet is best
known today as a satirist, although he wrote only two great original satires:
HIS SATIRICAL WORK:

10. EXAMPLE FROM RECENT TIMES SATIRE:

11. ▪ The GREAT INDIAN NOVEL is a satirical novel by SHASHI THAROOR, first published by Viking
press in 1989.
▪ It is a fictional work that takes the story of the MAHABHARATA, the Indian epic, and recasts
and resets it in the context of the INDIAN INDEPENCE MOVEMENT and the first three
decades post-independence.
▪ Figures from INDIAN HISTORY are transformed into characters from Mythology, and the
mythical story of India is retold as a history of INDIAN INDEPENDENCE and subsequent
history, up through the 1970s.
▪ Shashi Tharoor’s first novel, The Great Indian Novel (1989), he has adopted different
narrative like satire, pun, parody, irony humour and comedy. Among these techniques,
satire and parody are the dominant modes. Shashi Tharoor has become a beacon of
satirical mode in Indian Writing in English by adopting satire, an eighteenth century literary
mode, to narrate a twentieth century reality. Indian Writing in English had not given much
serious attention to satire, like in English literature.
▪ The work includes numerous puns and allusions to famous works about India, such
as those by Rudyard Kipling, Paul Scott, and E. M. Forster.(Verma)

12. Works Cited
Albert, Edward. History of English Literature. Oxford University Press, 1979.
Elliott, Robert C. “satire | Definition & Examples | Britannica.” Encyclopedia Britannica,
19 September 2022, https://www.britannica.com/art/satire. Accessed 11 October 2022.
Marshall, Ashley. “John Dryden’s satiric poetry.” The British Library, 21 June 2018,
https://www.bl.uk/restoration-18th-century-literature/articles/john-drydens-satiric-poetry.
Accessed 11 October 2022.
Verma, Kislay. “Dr.” Dr. Shashi Tharoor's official website, 1989,
https://shashitharoor.in/books_details_fiction/18. Accessed 11 October 2022.

13. drashtijoshi582@gmail.com