Exclusion Crises :

1670: Growing fear of Catholic Influence in .

1673: TEST Act required to take public Official anti-Catholic oath . Duke of York resigns as Lord High admiral.

1677 : An Account of Growth of Popery and Arbitrary Government , a pamphlet was possibly published by Andrew Marvell .

1678 [ July ] : produces 43 articles alleging Catholic Plot to assinate King Charles-II and take over English Government . The king is informed about the possible plot next month . 1678 :[Oct] Sir Edmund Berry Godfrey was found dead – gives the plot some credibility .

Oct : Tites Oates appear before the House of Commons and accuses Five Catholic Lords of being conspirators . The Earl of Shaftesbury arrest them .

Dec. 1678 – Second Test Act was introduced and Catholics were expelled from the Parliament .

1679 : Mass hysteria and opinion against Catholics across England . May – 1679 – The commons passes the first Exclusion Bill and the King dismissed the Parliament in response .

1679 –Summer –Shaftsbury begins meeting with Duke of Manmouth .

June : Five Jesuit Priests were hanged .

Sept : Charles sends Manmouth in exile to Europe to calm the crisis . Nove.1679 _ Man mouth returns to England uninvited among rejoicing .

1680 – Manmouth actively prompted himself touring country . His popularity grows .

1680 – Oct – Parlimanet again meets and Put Second Exclusion Bill but Lords easily decline it .

1680 – Dec. _ Trail Begins against five Lords ,Lord Satfford First to be found guilty and beheaded in the same month.

1681 –Jan : Charles-II dissolves the parliament again .

Nov. – Trial of Shaftesbury begins on charges of treason but acquitted .

Occasion : Aid to the king at the time of constitutional Crisis .

The Whig Party under the leadership of the earl of Shaftsbury tried to secure that Charles-II should be succeeded to the throne by his illigitimate son the Duke of Manmouth , A protestant Due to the terror of civil war , the public came in favour to the King Charles-II . Shafterbury was arrested on the charge of treason and was kept into the tower to await his trail at the Old Bailey . A week before the trail the poem was published . King David's favourite son Absalom and his false friend Achitophel (Ahithophel), who persuades Absalom to revolt against his father. In his poem, Dryden assigns each figure in the crisis a biblical name; e.g., Absalomis Monmouth, Achitophel is Shaftesbury, and David is Charles II. Purpose of the poem :

To Influence the trial and securing the conviction of Shaftesbury .

To raise public opinion against Shaftesbury and helping to obtain condemnation .

King himself Dryden to write it as poet of Laureate to defend the Monarch .

Form :

Classical in form .

Political Satire

Partly Religious .

Allegorical Form

Failure of the Purpose : Failed to achieve its immediate purpose to secure the conviction of Shaftesbury .He was released from the charge of treason by the grand Jury on 24th November 1682.

David is described in the Hebrew Bible as the second king of the United Kingdom of Israel and Judah. In the biblical narrative, David is a young shepherd who first gains fame as a musician and later by killing Goliath.

The Restoration of the English monarchy took place in the Stuart period. It began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under King Charles II. It followed the Interregnum, also called The Protectorate, that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. He was monarch . A kind ,indulgent and merciful king .

He was too lenient .

He served God by scattering his maker’s image thorough the land .

He was the absolute ruler . Absalom [ Manmouth ]

1] He is a good man. 2] His manners are gracefully.

3] He has charming personality .

4] He is hailed as second Messiah .

5] He is the savior of the nation . Zimiri [ Duke of Buckingham ] 1] Follower of Achitophel 2] Humorous character . 3] more a type and less individual 4] jack of all trades ,master of none 5] chemist ,statesman ,joker 6] Has changing mood 7] interested in woman and wife 8] also a poet and painter 9] always busy in praising others 10] Spends wealth on fools and get delight in jokes , Shimie : 1] The Republican Sherif of 2] Pious man ,avoids all sins 3] He keeps Sunday as holiday . 4] Observes secular activities on this day 5] He hates kings . 6] He uses religion as cover of his dishonesty 7] He keeps staff as symbol of his office 8] He wears heavy chain of gold round his neck 9] He shares mob to condemn the king. 10] He does not tolerate republican opposition . 11] He uses articles to shoe that kings are useless and hinderance in the way of trade and commerce 12] He hates wine. 13] He is frugal man . Absalom or Avshalom according to the Hebrew Bible was the third son of David, King of Israel with Maacah, daughter of Talmai, King of Geshur. 2 Samuel 14:25 describes him as the most handsome man in the kingdom.

The Monmouth Rebellion, also known as The Revolt of the West or The West Country rebellion, was an attempt to overthrow James II, the Duke of York who had become King of England, Scotland, and Ireland upon the death of his elder brother Charles II on 6 February 1685. James II was a Roman Catholic, In the poem the character of Zimri is based on Duke of Buckingham. Although the poem is based on political event there is also a personal attack. And Dryden had highly ridiculed Zimri or else Duke of Buckingham's character. He was a poet, dramatist and also a politician. Corah Corah is a Biblical name who led a rebellion against Moses. In Absalom and Achitophel, he stands for Titus Oates, who invented the and led the persecution of Catholics.

Barzillai Barzillai is a biblical character who lived beyond the Jordan River and sustained David during Absalom's rebellion. In Absalom and Achitophel, he stands for the Duke of Ormond (1610-88) who was a patron of Dryden and one of the most devoted servants of Charles. He accompanied Charles II during his exile and served him faithfully during the tie of his misfortunes on many important occasions. Zadoc Zadoc is the archbishop of Canterbury.

The Sagan of Jerusalem The Sagan of Jerusalem is the bishop of London.

Adriel Adriel was the son of Barzillai. Here he stands for John Sheffield, 3rd earl of Mulgrave. He supported Dryden and James, Duke of York, and he opposed Monmouth. Jotham Jotham stands for George Savile, Marquis of Halifax, and nephew of Shaftesbury. The marquis of Halifax had once supported Shaftsbury but, alarmed at his excess, had become a supporter of the Court. It was entirely by his eloquence that the Exclusion Bill was defeated in the Lords in 1680. Hushai Hushai, David's friend, here stands for Lawrence Hyde, Earl of Rochester, Charles II's First Lord of the Treasury. He fought against the Exclusion Bill. Ishbosheth :

Richard Cromwell (4 October 1626 – 12 July 1712) became the second Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland, and was one of only two commoners to become the English head of state, the other being his father, Oliver Cromwell, from whom he inherited the post. On his father's death Richard became Lord Protector, but lacked authority. He attempted to mediate between the army and civil society, and allowed a Parliament which contained a large number of disaffected Presbyterians and Royalists. Suspicions that civilian councillors were intent on supplanting the army were brought to a head by an attempt to prosecute a major-general for actions against a Royalist. The army made a threatening show of force against Richard, and may have had him in detention; he formally renounced power nine months after succeeding. Main Objective :

1] To attack the person who plotted against the King.

2] To expose the true foes and real friend of the king and the country .

3] To analyse the merit or guilt of the portraits .

4] Personal elation with the degree of royal favour enjoyed by the writer .

5] To Praise the person belonging to the party of revolution . Story Charles-II came to throne in 1660. He was married to in 1662. He has no legitimate heir to the throne .It was obvious that the King’s brother , James , the Duke of York would occupy the crown . But James was a catholic by faith and the crown could not go to Catholic king . Catherine of Braganza was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1662 to 1685, by marriage to King Charles II. She also served as regent of Portugal during the absence of her brother in 1701 and 1704- 05, after her return to Portugal as widow. Two Parties in England

1] Whig & Tory

Whig wanted the exclude James from the sight of succession on the basis of his catholic faith .

The leader of this party [Whig] was Shaftesbury The other Party was Tory which supported the claim of the Duke of York , the kings brother James . There was Papish plot , affirmed on oath by Titus Oates and other leaders . The leader of this party [Whig] was Shaftesbury lost his position as Lord Chancellor .

He wanted the succession of Manmouth , the King’s Son by Lucy Walters , a legal heir to the crown . Manmouth came to England in November 1669. The public favoured the King Charles-II

Shafterbury was arrested on charges of the treason and kept into the tower to await his trial at the old Boiley in November . But the Earl of Shaftbury was released by the Grand Jury on 24th November 1682. The Whigs had excited the people of England against the Roman Catholic religion . A rumor was spread the Catholics conspired to kill the king .

King David of Israel had no legitimate son . He had an illegitimate son Absalom , who was very popular among the people . He had won several battles . A part of Jews was not satisfied by the rule of David . But the rebel element did not get a chance the rise against the king. The Papish Plot : The Jehurites suffered oppression by the chosen people . Their relic were burnt and they were suspected as traitors. They tried to convert the chosen people and this infuretd the Jewish Rabbing .This led to papish plot which was affirmed on oath by Titus Oates .It was rumoured that Jeburites had a secret plan to murder the King David. Suppoters of Achotophel :

The plot failed due to fear of civil war .

Some people tried to revolt against King David .A judge Achitophel was turned into a politician . He exploited a Papish Plot and created dissatisfaction among the people . He spread rumours against the illegitimate son f the e King and inflamed the Jews .

He got the support of Absalom , the illegitimate son of King David . He called him the saviour of the nation .He flattered him and told him that people wanted to make him the king .He should follow the example of David , who Ran at the request of the exile and become the king . The people wanted a change in the crown and needed a leader with the royal blood . Thus by his canning ways Achitophel tried his best to influence Absalom . Temptations of Achitophel :

Absalom was much impressed by the temptations of Achitophel . But he had no courage to rebel against his father . David loved him very much and he could not give him crown. Achitophel again tried to impress him .He told him that the people hate his father , because he has become a catholic , David’s brother hated Absalom and waited for an opportunity to crush him. He should tell the people that David’s life is insecure and he has come out to protect him. Absalom Misguided :

Absalom was moved to some extent . He became hopeful to get public support and crush the aims of James ,his uncle .Achitophel has a number of followers like Zimiri , Shimie ,Corah . Zimiri had his wealth and was turned out of the court . He formed parties against the king . Shimie was a miser and he drank no wine and maintained no kithcen . He was the son of a weaver and he pored him as the protector of soceity . He had invented the polish plot and affirmed on oath the truth of the plot .He was ill tempered . Spirit of Revolt :

Absalom left the court . He made a tour of the country and met the people . He was welcomed as the saviour . This tour was arranged by Achitophel .Thus the spirit of rebellion was visible among the people of Israel .It was propagated that the ultimate power lies with the people .If the king misuses the power entrusted by the people , they have the right to withdraw it . The foolish Israelies Were misguided by the argument of the rebels .They felt that the public has the right to rebel and depose the king .Thus tension gains strength . Rory Peers : The king had to face a strong opposition . He had few supporters . There was Brazillai , an old man who had gone to exile , with the king . He had eight issues out of which six were already died. Next was Zoda , who was modest and retiring . Sagon of Jerusalem comes next . He is famous for his hospitality . John Dolben is famous for his eloquence .There are loyals peers including Adriel ,Jonathan ,Hushai , Amiel and Edward Seymour . All these are faithful friends of the king . They helped and guided the king in difficult hours. David’s Speech :

David gave a forceful speech to the people of Israel . He promsied to give the people all that they wanted . He can not remove his friends from on the demand of the mob . David got the full support of the people and Law and order again established in England .