Cunning and cleverness are Dryden's bread and butter. "Mac Flecknoe" would fall flat as merely an unconvincing critique without Dryden's wry wit and tremendous sense of comedic irony. He uses a satirical lens to completely eviscerate Shadwell, but in a way that elicits humor rather than pity. Satires depend on cunning and cleverness to succeed, and "Mac Flecknoe" is certainly a success.
Questions About Cunning and Cleverness
- Dryden accuses Shadwell of writing bad, lame comedies; but why is "Mac Flecknoe," conversely, a good, not lame, piece of comedic writing?
- What makes for a great satire?
- What are a few of the ways Dryden utilizes irony in the poem? What's the effect of its use?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Dryden was an extremely gifted and well-read writer with a superb command of the literary conventions of the day; that's why he was able to subvert them so successfully.
Dryden developed an entirely new style of comedy with "Mac Flecknoe," cleverly and creatively subverting the genre of the epic poem through irony and hyperbole.