Mac Flecknoe

The heoric couplet form in Mac Flecknoe enhances the mocking content of the poem. The poem is written in such a way that the reader is constantly bombarded with images of granduer and then immediately struck with a word or phrase which completely destroys the image. The lines, "Sh--- alone my perfect image bears,/mature in dullness from his tender years;/Sh--- alone, of all my sons, is he/who stands confirmed in full stupidity," demonstrate this use of language and show that the poem, although seemingly a glorification of the Mac Flecknoe, is in fact an insult. The heoric couplets convey this same contrast but in a different way. The rhyming lines and iambic pentameter make the poem appear structured and well thought out but in reality, they only emphasize the simplicity of the subject. Rhyme, at least today, is often associated with songs and children's stories; its not always easy to create rhyme, but its reading is swift, light, and fluid. It seems informal compared to other verse forms, perhaps because of the aforementioned genres that it is generally assigned to, and its application here makes it sound like one child teasing another. A more formal, complex form of poetic style would not work well with this poem because instead of enhancing the difference between what is being said and how its being said, it would contrast with the tone of the poem and perhaps confuse its intended purpose as a satire. The poem does stray from this form in the final lines and then ends again in a couplet although I wasn't quite sure as to his intention in doing so. On a fairly unrelated note, I found it a bit amusing that the couplets are called "heoric" while the Mac Flecknoe is painted as everything but this.