Anti-Achitophel

Settle, Elkanah, 1648-1724Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.2

Word count: 179K words
Chapters: 18

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Anti-Achitophel (1682) by Samuel Pordage and Elkanah SettleAuthor: Settle, Elkanah, 1648-1724,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Jun 6, 2006

Editor's review

Anti-Achitophel is an English political satire in verse written around 1682. Using the Old Testament figure Achitophel as a metaphor, it alludes to the political figures and factional struggles of the Restoration period. The work layers classical myth, biblical figures, and overt political discourse into successive levels of allusion, demanding that readers both recognize the references and reconstruct the historical context. Its value lies in showcasing the wit, versification, and modes of political expression of early modern English poetry, and in helping readers understand how satire produces a double effect through information the reader may or may not possess. It suits researchers in literary history and the history of political culture, as well as readers willing to work through the historical background. The text is strongly partisan and somewhat opaque to those lacking background knowledge.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers researching English Restoration political satire
Poetry lovers interested in classical myth and biblical intertextuality
Literature students seeking to improve their recognition of historical allusions
Readers interested in early modern English language and verse forms

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a modern novel with a complete plot and vivid characterization
Beginners unfamiliar with Restoration-era English history
Readers seeking a quick, systematic literary-theoretical analysis

Reading tips

First learn about the main political figures of the Restoration, then read the poem's satirical targets
Build an annotated list of Achitophel and other classical and biblical allusions
Mark stanza by stanza the correspondences among the narrator, the satirized figures, and political events
Read aloud and note the rhythmic effects of rhyme, antithesis, and ironic phrasing

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What is Anti-Achitophel mainly satirizing?

The work uses the Old Testament figure of Achitophel to satirize political figures and factional behavior of the Restoration period. An allegorical relationship exists between its specific targets and real political events, which requires understanding the historical context around 1682.

Why is Achitophel in the title not an ordinary character?

Achitophel is originally a political adversary figure in the Old Testament. The author borrows this figure as a satirical template, allowing characters in the poem to acquire more covert and critical meaning through allusion.

How should this work be read?

It is advisable first to grasp the political background of the Restoration and the classical and biblical allusions cited in the work, then analyze the allegorical targets section by section. If reading directly, begin with an annotated edition to become familiar with the relationships among characters, then attempt the whole text.

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About the author

Settle, Elkanah, 1648-1724 Author

Elkanah Settle (1648–1724) was an English playwright and poet, with two of his works held in this collection. Because public information is limited, the details of his life are difficult to set out; his surviving works nonetheless reveal the direction of his writing. The Notorious Impostor Diego Redivivus, as its title suggests, has a satirical and debunking bent, its subject matter involving social fraud and disguised identities. Anti-Achitophel, again judging by its title, responds to the political allegorical verse tradition of the day and belongs to polemical political writing. Taken together, the two works show Settle's style to lean toward satire and controversy, using irony and sharp language to intervene in the literary and political disputes of his time. His works are often consulted by later readers as material for understanding late seventeenth-century English satire and political pamphlet writing.