take power from his father Dryden used this event to write a poem In it he laughed at selfish people He showed how their pride and lies can hurt a nation His satire is sharp strong and full of meaning He politely criticizes politicians He shows a politician s thoughts followingly Plots true or false are necessary things Allegory and Its Use An allegory is a story with a hidden meaning The outside story seems simple But behind it there is a big message In this poem Dryden uses the Bible story of David and his son Absalom But he means King Charles II and the Duke of Monmouth Achitophel stands for the evil Lord Shaftesbury The poet writes that Achitophel is Resolv'd to ruin or to rule the state In this way Dryden tells a political story He does not need to take names He portrays all these characters vividly Power and Pride Dryden shows how the hunger for power leads to pride and fall Achitophel wants power So he uses kind words to fool Absalom He tells him that he should be king Absalom who is young and proud listens to him But David the father is wise and kind He waits and watches Dryden shows that bad men use tricks to get power But good leaders are patient and strong as David Charles II says Beware the fury of a patient man Satire to Heal Dryden says a good poet is like a doctor A doctor gives bitter medicine to cure a sick man In the same way a poet gives bitter truth to cure society His poem shows that politics without truth is dangerous He does not want to hurt for fun He wants to fix He attacks false leaders But he also shows respect to good people In the end he stands with peace unity and justice His aim is to save not to destroy From the light of the above discussion Dryden s Absalom and Achitophel is both a strong satire and a smart allegory He uses simple stories to say deep things He attacks the bad praises the good He also warns the evil people His writing is short sharp and wise He teaches that pride and greed destroy peace As a satirist Dryden is fair funny and firm As an allegorist he hides real people in stories but shows real truths That is why this poem is still praised today