Mac Flecknoe Themes
Competition
A little bit of friendly competition never hurt anyone. Unfortunately for Thomas Shadwell, this was not a friendly competition. John Dryden tears into Shadwell with a vengeance in "Mac Flecknoe," a...
Respect and Reputation
Shadwell thought himself to be following in the footsteps of great playwright Ben Jonson. He even copied Jonson's style in many of his plays. Dryden wants to make it abundantly clear that the words...
Cunning and Cleverness
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 sat...
Literature and Writing
In many ways, "Mac Flecknoe" is not merely a critique of a single bad writer, but a commentary on bad literature in general. Dryden, through his impeccable use of satire and irony, points out the m...