This document provides a summary of the poem "Absalom and Achitophel" by John Dryden. It discusses how the poem establishes a theocracy, where David functions as both king and representative of God. The satire in the poem both preserves and constitutes David's divine role. By the end, David's power appears indistinguishable from God's will as he cuts off opposition and restores order. The abrupt ending confirms how satire shapes David's place within the theocratic system.

1. Paper No. 101. Literature of the Elizabethan and Restoration
Periods.
Prepared by Divya Sheta
Roll.No:09
Submitted to: Smt.S.B.Gardi Department od English MK
Bhavanagar University.
The Constitution of
Theocracy in
Absalom and
Achitophel

2. About Theocracy
Explanation through Video
Theocracy in the poem
Continuing with above point
Winding up

3. According to Marriam Webster dictionary ,”A
system of government in which a religious
body holds unlimited power”

5.  By the end of the poem, as David cuts off opposition and
restores order by fiat and with divine approbation, the
satiric structure that supports David has also made the
uniqueness of his power appear indistinguishable from
arbitrariness.
 When David's word and God's thunder effect the abrupt
close of Absalom and Achitophel, David's fiat requires
satire to sustain it. Rather than being a departure from the
poem's satiric mode, the abrupt closure confirms the extent
to which satire not only preserves but also constitutes
David's place in the theocracy.

6.  David, who from the first is said to behave,
"after Heaven's own heart" in begetting his numerous
offspring, is consistently referred to by other Israelites,
not by the priests, as exemplifying godly-not just kingly
-behavior

7. Counclusin..
Dryden repeats a critical cliché about the purpose of satire, a com
ment sounding more facile and closed than the rhymes generated
in any of the poem's rhymed couplets: "[t]he true end of Satyre, is t
he amendment of Vices by correction" (p. 5). It is a gesture of ex
plicit non-direction characteristic of this poem, a gesture that ma
kes its satire seem derivative where it is originary, generically tire
d where it is thematically vital.

8. Article:https://www.jstor.org/stable/4174493?seq=20#metadata_info_tab_conten
ts
Video