Absalom
In Dryden's tragic satire Absalom and Achitophel, Absalom serves as an allegorical representation for the Duke of Monmouth. Within the biblically-adapted narrative of this work, Absalom is the son of King David, who is persuaded by his friend Achitophel to rebel against his father. The work is a commentary on the Exclusion crisis of the seventeenth century, in which the Earl of Shaftesbury conspired to elevate the Duke of Monmouth—an illegitimate son of King Charles II—to the throne. Here, the Protestant Monmouth is embodied by the character of Absalom. Meanwhile, Absalom's friend Achitophel represents the Earl of Shaftesbury.
Antony
Dryden's play Love is All was an adaptation of the Shakespearian Antony and Cleopatra, itself inspired by real—if ancient—people and events. In Dryden's depiction, Antony is an emotionally intense and turbulent man, driven by an overwhelming love for Cleopatra and yet powerless in the face of his own feelings. Dryden portrays this emotional intensity as both admirable and potentially dangerous. This is one of many instances within Dryden's work where passion and rationality are compared and contrasted. In his criticism, in particular, Dryden often sought to reconcile these two modes. Here, in a drama, this conflict is instead played out within the character of Antony.
Shadwell
This character, sometimes instead referred to as T.S. or Sh--, is a representation of a real contemporary of Dryden's, the dramatist Thomas Shadwell. The satire Mac Flecknoe, perhaps the most cutting of Dryden's satirical works, takes aim at Shadwell by attacking his skill as a writer, portraying him as careless and unrefined despite his success and prestige. Imagining him as the heir to a "Kingdom of Nonsense," Dryden paints Shadwell as the successor to a maligned earlier poet, Richard Flecknoe. The choice to ridicule Shadwell against a background of royal solemnity only makes the target of Dryden's critique appear more absurd. Indeed, this poem has affected the real Thomas Shadwell's reputation since its publication.
Mr. Oldham
Memorialized in the elegy To the Memory of Mr. Oldham, this character is, like Shadwell, a poetic representation of a real writer. The poet John Oldham was a contemporary and friend of Dryden's. Here, Dryden does not merely lament his premature death, but reframes that death as one event in an illustrious artistic line of succession. Using the themes of succession and lineage that appear in much of his work, Dryden pays tribute to his friend as a poetic forbear, framing himself as the inheritor of his legacy
The Hind
In his defense of Catholicism The Hind and the Panther, Dryden chooses to represent the Roman Catholic Church using the figure of a hind, or female deer. This poem was written following Dryden's own conversion to Catholicism, and as a result, his depiction of the Church serves also as a justification or account of his reasons for converting. The Hind is portrayed as dignified and elegant, yet delicate and elusive. Through this representation, Dryden frames the Church as a mysterious and regal yet fundamentally pure and upright body, emphasizing its refinement as well as its strength to explain his own change of heart.
Timotheus
In "Alexander's Feast, or, the Power of Music," Timotheus is a musician of such skill that he is able to manipulate and influence Alexander the Great. He is able to conjure a range of emotions in the monarch, from sadness to pride, and eventually drives Alexander into a vengeful frenzy against the Persians. In a work focused on the emotional power of the musical arts, Timotheus is an embodiment of that power. As such he is described with admiration, but he is also a figure of danger, able to greatly affect the political reality of the world around him through nothing but his artistic talent.
