Mac Flecknoe Literature and Writing Quotes

"Mac Flecknoe" is inundated with references to literature and narrative, from Ancient Greek and Roman myths, to seventeenth-century English dramas. Much of the poem's satirical roots stem from these references especially to classical heroic epics, giving context to Dryden's depiction of Shadwell as a heroic figure. This ironic comparison of Shadwell to the Greek hero Arion is one of many of its sort throughout the poem.

Dryden seems to view Shadwell as a scourge to poetry, a hack who gives English drama a bad name. Thus, Shadwell's coronation is decorated with the remains of good poets, as he takes the written word to a new low.

Here Dryden shares with us a thought concerning the state of literature of the day. First he makes a joke about books being used for toilet paper, a suggestion perhaps that there weren't many writers around even worthy of being read. He then names a few mediocre contemporaries. But, of all the bad writers going, Dryden makes it clear that Shadwell is by far the worst.