Absalom and Achitophel

Israel and its Jewish subjects in “Absalom and Achitophel” symbolize England: The Jews are a stand-in for King Charles II’s English subjects, and Dryden’s portrait of the Jews allows him to criticize his countrymen for their disloyalty to the king. The speaker calls the Jews “a headstrong, moody, murm’ring race” (Line 45) and alludes to England’s ongoing political and religious tensions by lamenting how “No king could govern, nor no God could please” (Line 48) such a fractious people.

However, by the same tactic, Dryden alludes to the Englishmen whom he believes are “true” subjects, describing “The sober part of Israel, free from stain / [Who] Well knew the value of a peaceful reign” (Lines 69-70). The wise Jews remember “with afright” (Line 71) past civil upheaval, which in turn leads them to “curs[e] the memory of civil wars” (Line 74). It is these “moderate sort of men” (Line 75) who, together with the king’s steadiness, keep Israel from ruin—just as Dryden believes it is the loyalty of subjects such as himself who prevented the Exclusion Crisis from undermining the Stuart succession.