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English Literature / Unit 10   ENL 0905 short lesson, about 20 seconds

Absalom and Achitophel

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The idea

Absalom and Achitophel, of sixteen eighty-one, is a satire in heroic couplets that retells the Bible's rebellion against King David as an allegory of the Exclusion Crisis: Charles the Second is David, the Duke of Monmouth is Absalom, and the Earl of Shaftesbury is Achitophel.

In practice

Biblical names for living politicians.

Where people slip

Map each biblical name to its original.

Your place on the trail

Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.

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