A famous political satire in verse published in 1681, the first part by Dryden and the second by Nahum Tate and revised by Dryden. The general scheme is to show the rebellious character of the Puritans, who insisted on the exclusion of the Duke of York from the succession, on account of his being a pronounced Catholic, and the determination of the King to resist this interference with his royal prerogative, even at the cost of a civil war. Of the principal characters, David stands for Charles II; Absalom for his natural son James, Duke of Monmouth (handsome and rebellious); Achitophel for Lord Shaftesbury Zimri for the Duke of Buckingham; and Abdael for Monk. The accommodation of the biblical narrative to contemporary history is so skilfully made that the story of David seems to repeat itself. Of Absalom, Dryden says (Part i):
Whate'er he did was done with so much case.
In him alone 'twas natural to please;
His motions all accompanied with grace,
And paradise was opened in his face.
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