Mac Flecknoe Analysis

The poem is written in rhymed couplets of iambic pentameter, also known as heroic couplets. Whew, that's a whole lot of terminology to take in at one. To see what we mean, take a look at lines 11-1...

Narrating in the style of the third-person omniscient narrators of classical epics like The Iliad and The Aeneid, we soon realize that our speaker actually refers to himself in the first perso...

The poem takes place in the "realm of nonsense." It might be tough to find this kingdom on a map, but Dryden, via old king Flecknoe, gives it a shot (check out lines 139-144). The realm's capital c...

"Mac Flecknoe" is aerodynamically designed to sound awesome when read aloud. End-stopped, end-rhymed, and about as heroic as it gets, the poem, written in iambic pentameter, takes on a rolling, dra...

The main title, "Mac Flecknoe," doesn't clue us into a whole lot about what to expect in the poem. Unless you have your PhD in Mediocre Mid-seventeenth Century English-Irish Poetry, the name "Fleck...

One name stands out above all others in English Restoration literature. It's not John Dryden. (Sorry, we know that was probably misleading.) The writer we were thinking of is John Milton, best know...

Pack a bag, Shmoopers. In fact, pack a couple. This poem is long, with lots of obscure historical and literary references (just check out our "Shout Outs"). It's written in that weird Restoration-e...

John Dryden was Poet Laureate of England from 1668 to 1689, when he was replaced by none other than Thomas Shadwell. Shadwell got the last laugh then, but we think Dryden was playing the long game....

There's a bit of lewdness in "Mac Flecknoe," as was the case for most comedies in the time of Dryden. The Realm of Nonsense is characterized by prostitution as well as bad poetry, with the new king...

Welcome to the world of "Mac Flecknoe," which contains more shout outs than sense. Dryden throws out numerous references to the classics, including to numerous Greek and Roman stories and myths and...