John Dryden's Mac Flecknoe is a literary theory and critique.

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There was a time when there were two poets, one of which was named John Dryden.Both of them were successful and well respected.They were involved in some serious beef after one thing led to another.John Dryden decided to up the ante one day.

"Mac Flecknoe" was John Dryden's take on Thomas Shadwell, an imaginative and hilarious satire.Whether it's epically ironic, or ironically epic, the poem carved out its own genre: the mock-heroic.

He was a bad writer with bad taste, who would do anything for the cheap laugh.It doesn't make sense to make fun of a guy who looks like that.Maybe that's an unfair assessment.He was an important figure in the English Restoration literary scene.He's best remembered for playing the hapless starring role in "Mac Flecknoe," where he gets shredded faster than a Kleenex.

You might wonder how a razor-sharp, devastating effect can be achieved."Mac Flecknoe" is an incredibly rich, masterfully crafted work of satire, with so much irony, sarcasm, and wit that you forget at times he's even joking.The poem is written in a mock-epic style and takes after epics like The Iliad and Paradise Lost, except for the minor detail that the whole thing is a massive joke.

"Mac Flecknoe" is an epic piece of writing that is less Homer and more Homer Simpson.The "realms of Non-sense" were depicted as the "lamest epic hero of all time" by Dryden.Dryden shows no mercy to his victim, finding new and clever ways to use wit and irony, while inventing his own genre in the process.We can still feel that 330-year-old burn when we watch "Mac Flecknoe" today.That is what we call epic.

The park is called South Park.Stephen Colbert.The Onion.These things have something in common, even though it seems like we're playing the loosest pop culture word association game of all time.That is satire.It is possible to make people laugh and think at the same time with satire.It's one of the most important forms of comedy in our culture today, lending itself to excellent and effective social and political commentary.Where does "Mac Flecknoe" fit in?The modern satire was invented by John Dryden.

When we think about the origins of modern satire, names like Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, and Voltaire come to mind.The great wit, hysterical hyperbole, and epic irony of "Mac Flecknoe" are what these later writers draw from.They use an extravagantly inflated tone to parody their subjects.The Colbert Report has a similar technique.

"Mac Flecknoe" is not a cakewalk.It is long, complicated, and contains more random references than an episode of Family Guy.It's a commentary on the social landscape of the day.Even if you have a PhD in English Restoration Literature, the cultural context is hard to understand.It stands the test of time, remaining relevant even after some of the references are no longer relevant.

Whether or not you know a lick about the late seventeenth-century London poetry scene, "Mac Flecknoe" is still hilarious, a shrewd commentary on an ever-relevant theme: terrible artists creating terrible art.Through his inventive use of satire, Dryden shows that he's not just a poet, but also a comedian, a critic, and a dissident.The fine folks over at South Park, The Onion, and the Colbert Report have a lot to do with this tradition.

Thanks to "Mac Flecknoe," we have ridiculous stuff like this. Thank you, John Dryden, from the bottom of our satire-loving hearts.

John Dryden was a well-respected translator and took on The Aeneid.He made a pretty obscure reference to the Roman epic in line108.His translation can be seen here.

There is a short lesson on the Restoration Period of English history.

What would John Dryden have looked like reading his own poetry?Wonder no further.We admit that this one gives us the willies.

The audio version of the great Dryden-Shadwell smackdown is called A Poetic DuelThis.Through their poetry, you can hear them going back and forth at each other.The closer tells you who's left standing.