Dryden, "Mac Flecknoe,” ed. Lynch

Mac Flecknoe
A Satyr upon the Trew-Blue-Protestant Poet T.S.°	Thomas Shadwell
All humane° things are subject to decay,	human
And, when Fate summons, Monarchs must obey:
This Fleckno found, who, like Augustus, young
Was call’d to Empire, and had govern’d long:
In Prose and Verse, was own’d,° without dispute [5]	admitted
Through all the Realms of Non-sense, absolute.
This aged Prince now flourishing in Peace,
And blest with issue of a large increase,°	many offspring
Worn out with business, did at length debate
To settle the succession of the State: [10]
And pond’ring which of all his Sons was fit
To Reign, and wage immortal War with Wit;°	intelligence
Cry’d, “’tis resolv’d; for Nature pleads that He
Should onely rule, who most resembles me:
Sh——° alone my perfect image bears, [15]	Shadwell
Mature in dullness from his tender years.
Sh—— alone, of all my Sons, is he
Who stands confirm’d in full stupidity.
The rest to some faint meaning make pretence,
But Sh—— never deviates into sense. [20]
Some Beams of Wit on other souls may fall,
Strike through and make a lucid° interval;	clear, bright
But Sh——’s genuine night admits no ray,
His rising Fogs prevail upon the Day:
Besides his goodly Fabrick° fills the eye, [25]	fat body
And seems design’d for thoughtless Majesty:
Thoughtless as Monarch Oakes, that shade the plain,
And, spread in solemn state, supinely° reign.	lazily, apathetically
Heywood and Shirley were but Types° of thee,	symbols
Thou last great Prophet of Tautology: [30]
Even I, a dunce of more renown than they,
Was sent before but to prepare thy way;
And coarsely clad in Norwich drugget° came	cheap cloth
To teach the nations in thy greater name.
My warbling Lute, the Lute I whilom° strung [35]	once
When to King John of Portugal I sung,
Was but the prelude to that glorious day,
When thou on silver Thames° did’st cut thy way,	London’s river
With well tim’d Oars before the Royal Barge,
Swell’d with the Pride of thy Celestial charge;° [40]	heavenly duty
And big with Hymn, Commander of an Host,
The like was ne’er in Epsom blankets toss’d.
Methinks I see the new Arion Sail,
The Lute still trembling° underneath thy nail.	vibrating
At thy well sharpned thumb from Shore to Shore [45]
The Treble squeaks for fear, the Bases roar:
Echoes from Pissing-Ally, ‘Sh——’ call,
And ‘Sh——’ they resound from A—— Hall.
About thy boat the little Fishes throng,
As at the Morning Toast,° that Floats along. [50]	waste
Sometimes as Prince of thy Harmonious band
Thou wield’st° thy Papers in thy threshing hand.	use
St. André’s feet ne’er kept more equal time,
Not ev’n the feet of thy own Psyche’s rhime:
Though they in number° as in sense excell; [55]	poetic meter
So just, so like tautology they fell,
That, pale with envy, Singleton° forswore	(a musician)
The Lute and Sword which he in Triumph bore
And vow’d he ne’er would act Villerius more.
Here stopt the good old Syre;° and wept for joy [60]	father, old man
In silent raptures of the hopefull boy.
All arguments, but most his Plays, perswade,
That for anointed° dullness he was made.”	consecrated

Close to the Walls which fair Augusta° bind,	London
(The fair Augusta much to fears inclin’d) [65]
An ancient fabrick,° rais’d t’ inform the sight,	building
There stood of yore,° and Barbican it hight:°	long ago — is called
A watch Tower once; but now, so Fate ordains,
Of all the Pile° an empty name remains.	building
From its old Ruins Brothel-houses rise, [70]
Scenes of lewd loves, and of polluted joys.
Where their vast Courts, the Mother-Strumpets° keep,	prostitutes
And, undisturb’d by Watch, in silence sleep.
Near these a Nursery erects its head,
Where Queens are form’d, and future Hero’s bred; [75]
Where unfledg’d° Actors learn to laugh and cry,	immature
Where infant Punks° their tender Voices try,	whores
And little Maximins the Gods defy.
Great Fletcher never treads in Buskins here,
Nor greater Johnson dares in Socks appear; [80]
But gentle Simkin just reception finds
Amidst this Monument of vanisht minds:
Pure Clinches,° the suburbian Muse affords;	puns
And Panton waging harmless war with words.
Here Fleckno, as a place to Fame well known, [85]
Ambitiously design’d his Sh——’s Throne.
For ancient Decker propheci’d long since,
That in this Pile° should reign a mighty Prince,	building
Born for a scourge° of wit, and flail of sense:	torturer
To whom true dullness should some Psyches owe, [90]
But worlds of Misers from his pen should flow;
Humorists and hypocrites it should produce,
Whole Raymond families, and Tribes of Bruce.

Now Empress Fame had publisht the renown,°	announced the honor
Of Sh——’s coronation° through the town. [95]	crowning
Rous’d by report of fame, the nations meet,
From near Bun-Hill, and distant Watling-street.
No Persian Carpets spread th’imperial way,
But scatter’d limbs of mangled poets lay:
From dusty shops neglected authors come, [100]
Martyrs of Pies, and Reliques of the Bum.
Much Heywood, Shirly, Ogleby there lay,
But loads of Sh—— almost choakt the way.
Bilk’t Stationers° for Yeomen stood prepar’d,	cheated booksellers
And H—— was Captain of the Guard. [105]
The hoary° Prince in Majesty appear’d,	snow-white
High on a Throne of his own Labours rear’d.
At his right hand our young Ascanius sat
Rome’s other hope, and pillar of the State.
His Brows thick fogs, instead of glories, grace, [110]
And lambent° dullness plaid arround his face.	flickering
As Hannibal did to the Altars come,
Sworn by his Syre a mortal Foe to Rome;
So Sh—— swore, nor should his Vow bee vain,
That he till Death true dullness would maintain; [115]
And in his father’s Right, and Realms defence,
Ne’er to have peace with Wit, nor truce with Sense.
The King himself the sacred Unction made,
As King by Office,° and as Priest by Trade:	duty
In his sinister° hand, instead of Ball, [120]	left
He plac’d a mighty Mug of potent Ale;
Love’s Kingdom to his right he did convey,
At once his Sceptre and his rule of Sway;°	power
Whose righteous Lore the Prince had practis’d young,
And from whose Loyns recorded Psyche sprung, [125]
His Temples last with Poppies° were o’er spread,	flowers used to make opium
That nodding seem’d to consecrate his head:
Just at that point of time, if Fame not lye,
On his left hand twelve reverend Owls did fly.
So Romulus,° ’tis sung, by Tyber’s Brook,— [130]	Rome’s founder — Rome’s river
Presage° of Sway° from twice six Vultures took.	prediction — power
Th’ admiring throng loud acclamations° make,	cheers of approval
And Omens of his future Empire take.
The Syre° then shook the honours of his head,	old man
And from his brows damps of oblivion shed [135]
Full on the filial° dullness: long he stood,	related to a child
Repelling from his Breast the raging God;
At length burst out in this prophetick mood:

“Heavens bless my Son, from Ireland let him reign
To farr Barbadoes° on the Western main;° [140]	(an English colony) — ocean
Of his Dominion° may no end be known,	kingdom
And greater than his Father’s be his Throne.
Beyond loves Kingdom let him stretch his Pen”;
He paus’d, and all the people cry’d “Amen.”
“Then thus,” continu’d he, “my Son advance [145]
Still in new Impudence,° new Ignorance.	rudeness, disrespect
Success let other teach, learn thou from me
Pangs° without birth, and fruitless industry.°	pain — effort
Let Virtuoso’s° in five years be Writ;	(one of Shadwell’s plays)
Yet not one thought accuse thy toyl° of wit.° [150]	effort — intelligence
Let gentle George in triumph tread the Stage,	(characters from
Make Dorimant betray, and Loveit rage;	Shadwell’s plays)
Let Cully, Cockwood, Fopling, charm the Pit,
And in their folly° show the Writers wit.°	foolishness — intelligence
Yet still thy fools shall stand in thy defence, [155]
And justifie their Author’s want° of sense.	lack
Let ’em be all by thy own model made
Of dullness, and desire no foreign aid:
That they to future ages may be known,
Not Copies drawn, but issue° of thy own. [160]	offspring
Nay let thy men of wit too be the same,
All full of thee, and differing but in name;
But let no alien S—dl—y interpose
To lard° with wit° thy hungry Epsom prose.	mix — intelligence
And when false flowers of Rhetorick thou would’st cull,° [165]	pick
Trust Nature, do not labour to be dull;
But write thy best, and top; and in each line,
Sir Formal’s oratory will be thine.
Sir Formal, though unsought, attends thy quill,°	is with your pen
And does thy Northern Dedications fill. [170]
Nor let false friends seduce thy mind to fame,
By arrogating° Johnson’s Hostile name.	claiming as their own
Let Father Fleckno fire thy mind with praise,
And Uncle Ogleby thy envy raise.
Thou art my blood,° where Johnson has no part; [175]	relation
What share have we in Nature or in Art?
Where did his wit on learning fix a brand,°	ownership mark
And rail° at Arts he did not understand?	be abusive
Where made he love in Prince Nicander’s vein,°	style
Or swept the dust in Psyche’s humble strain? [180]
Where sold he ‘Bargains,’ ‘Whip-stitch,’ ‘kiss my Arse,’
Promis’d a Play and dwindled to a Farce?°	short comic play
When did his Muse from Fletcher scenes purloin,°	steal
As thou whole Eth’ridg dost transfuse to thine?
But so transfus’d as Oyl on Waters flow, [185]
His always floats above, thine sinks below.
This is thy Province,° this thy wondrous way,	kingdom
New Humours to invent for each new Play:
This is that boasted Byas of thy mind,
By which one way, to dullness, ’tis inclin’d, [190]
Which makes thy writings lean on one side still,
And in all changes that way bends thy will.
Nor let thy mountain belly make pretence
Of likeness; thine’s a tympany° of sense.	big kettle drum
A Tun° of Man in thy Large bulk is writ, [195]	big barrel
But sure thou’rt but a Kilderkin° of wit.	small container
Like mine thy gentle numbers° feebly creep,	poetic lines
Thy Tragick Muse gives smiles, thy Comick sleep.
With whate’er gall° thou sett’st thy self to write,	irritation
Thy inoffensive Satyrs never bite. [200]
In thy felonious heart, though Venom lies,
It does but touch thy Irish pen, and dyes.
Thy Genius calls thee not to purchase fame
In keen Iambicks, but mild Anagram:
Leave° writing Plays, and choose for thy command [205]	give up
Some peaceful Province in Acrostick Land.
There thou maist wings display and Altars raise,
And torture one poor word Ten thousand ways.
Or if thou would’st thy diff’rent talents suit,
Set° thy own Songs, and sing them to thy lute.” [210]	write music for
He said, but his last words were scarcely heard,
For Bruce and Longvil had a Trap prepar’d,
And down they sent the yet declaiming° Bard.°	speaking — poet
Sinking he left his Drugget° robe behind,	coarse cloth
Born upwards by a subterranean wind. [215]
The Mantle fell to the young Prophet’s part,
With double portion of his Father’s Art.°	talent

Notes

T.S.: Thomas Shadwell, a poet and playwright.
Fleckno: Richard Flecknoe, an Irish Catholic priest and minor poet. Why Dryden singles him out for ridicule isn’t clear.
Augustus: Augustus became emperor of Rome when he was still young, and ruled during Rome’s greatest age.
Succession of the State: In other words, to settle who was to succeed him as king.
Heywood and Shirley were but Types of thee: Thomas Heywood and James Shirley, seventeenth-century playwrights not widely admired in Dryden’s day. Types is a technical term from theology, a kind of foreshadowing of a future figure.
Tautology: A redundancy or a logical error in which the obvious is stated: for instance, “Either it will rain or it won’t rain.”
King John of Portugal: Shadwell lived in Portugal and dedicated some of his work of King John.
In Epsom blankets toss’d: Shadwell was the author of a play called Epsom Wells, but the line “Such a fellow as he deserves to be tossed in a blanket” is actually in Shadwell’s Virtuoso.
Arion: In Greek myth, Arion is a poet and musician who was carried across the ocean by dolphins.
Pissing-Ally: A real alley in seventeenth-century London. It ran from Water Street to Milford Lane, just south of the Strand. Although Water Street and Milford Lane survive (a few streets east of King’s College, London), Pissing Alley has been swallowed up in the redevelopment.
A——: Apparently Aston Hall, a place otherwise unknown.
St. André’s feet: St. André was a French dancing-master — an unreputable profession — and did the choreography for Shadwell’s Psyche.
Singleton: John Singleton, a court musician.
Villerius: Villerius is a character in The Siege of Rhodes, an opera by William Davenant.
To fears inclin’d: London had just gone through “the Popish Plot,” in which a number of Catholics were falsely accused of planning the murder of the king.
Barbican it hight: The Barbican, a fortified wall, stood in Aldersgate Street in London. Hight is an archaic word for “was called.”
Maximins: Maximin was a character in Dryden’s Tyrannic Love. He was a bombastic hero.
Fletcher never treads in Buskins here,/Nor greater Johnson dares in Socks appear: John Fletcher and Ben Jonson, early seventeenth-century playwrights. Fletcher was best known for his tragedies, associated with the “buskin” (the kind of shoe worn in stage tragedies); Jonson was famous for his comedies, where “socks” were worn. Johnson’s definition of sock explains it: “The shoe of the ancient comick actors, taken in poems for comedy, and opposed to buskin or tragedy.”
Simkin: Like Panton below, a stock character in plays for a simpleton.
Decker: Thomas Dekker, attacked by Ben Jonson in The Poetaster.
Misers: The Miser, The Humorists, and The Hypocrite were plays by Shadwell. Raymond and Bruce are characters from them.
Near Bun-Hill, and distant Watling-street: Bun Hill and Watling Street were in fact very close, suggesting the limited range of Shadwell’s real influence.
Martyrs of Pies, and Reliques of the Bum: Paper was expensive. When books ceased to sell, their paper would be used for other purposes — sometimes to line pie tins, sometimes as toilet paper.
Sh——: “Shadwell,” since the verse requires two syllables, but we’re also invited to imagine other words beginning with sh.
H——: Henry Herringman, Shadwell’s and Dryden’s publisher.
Ascanius: The son of Aeneas.
Sworn by his Syre a mortal Foe to Rome: Hasdrubal made his son Hannibal, ruler of the Carthaginians, swear to hate Rome forever.
Unction: The application of sacramental oil at a coronation.
Ball: Monarchs traditionallly appeared at their coronations with an orb (“Ball”) in one hand and a scepter in the other. Shadwell instead has a mug of ale.
Priest by Trade: Flecknoe was a priest.
Love’s Kingdom: The title of a play by Shadwell.
Presage of Sway from twice six Vultures took: In other words, “It is said [by Plutarch, whom Dryden helped to translate] that Romulus [the founder of Rome] predicted his reign from twelve vultures near the River Tiber.”
George: Sir George Etherege, a contemporary playwright. The characters mentioned in the next few lines come from his plays.
S—dl—y: Sir Charles Sedley, who contributed to Shadwell’s Epsom-Wells.
Sir Formal: Sir Formal Trifle, a character in Shadwell’s Virtuoso.
Northern Dedications: Shadwell dedicated some of his plays to the Duke and Duchess of Newcastle, in the north of England.
Johnson: Shadwell admired Ben Jonson (in the preferred modern spelling of his name), and tried to imitate his style.
Prince Nicander: A character in Shadwell’s Psyche.
‘Bargains,’ ‘Whip-stitch,’ ‘kiss my Arse,’: Phrases from Shadwell’s plays.
Humours: “The different kind of moisture in man’s body, reckoned by the old physicians to be phlegm, blood, choler, and melancholy, which, as they predominated, were supposed to determine the temper of mind” and “General turn or temper of mind” (Johnson). Ben Jonson was famous for his “comedies of humors,” in which each character’s “temper of mind” was exaggerated; Shadwell tried to imitate his style.
Likeness: That is, to Ben Jonson, who was also fat.
Thy Tragick Muse gives smiles, thy Comick sleep: In other words, your tragedies make people laugh, and your comedies put people to sleep.
Keen Iambicks, but mild Anagram: Iambicks are satires, since Greek satirical verse was written in iambic verse. Anagrams (rearranged letters), acrostics (poems in which the first letter of each verse spells out a word), and wings and altars (poems written in the form of pictures) were all examples of “false wit.”
Mantle fell to the young Prophet’s part: A reference to Elisha’s taking up Elijah’s mantle in 2 Kings 2:9-13.

Mac Flecknoe

By John Dryden

Edited and annotated by Jack Lynch

Mac Flecknoe

A Satyr upon the
Trew-Blue-Protestant Poet T.S.°

Notes

Mac Flecknoe

By John Dryden

Edited and annotated by Jack Lynch

Mac Flecknoe

A Satyr upon the Trew-Blue-Protestant Poet T.S.°

Notes

A Satyr upon the
Trew-Blue-Protestant Poet T.S.°