Introduction

John Dryden's "Alexander's Feast, or the Power of Music" (1688) was an occasional poem commissioned as part of the royal commemoration of the feast day of Cecilia, within the Catholic Church celebrated as the patron saint of music.

The poem recounts the raucous celebration following the defeat of King Darius by the Greeks under the command of Alexander the Great. In 331 BCE, that victory marked Alexander's conquest of Persia (modern-day Iran). Set in the banquet hall of the conquered capital of Persepolis, the poem records the impact of Alexander's court musician, Timotheus, whose rich variety of musical tunes on the lyre controls the emotions of the increasingly drunker gathering.

Dryden (1631-1700), a prolific poet and dramatist whose influence was vast enough that the seventeenth century in British literature is often called the Age of Dryden, upcycles a poetic model that dates to Antiquity but flourished in Dryden's England: the Pindaric ode.  A Pindaric ode uses grand historic figures to explore a single theme, in this case, music and its impact. The ode is delivered in stately and carefully chiseled lines of measured rhythm and intricate rhyme.  Indeed, Dryden's ode itself has often been set to music, most notably by George Frideric Handel (1685-1759). Thus, in the story, it relates, and in the lines themselves, Dryden's ode explores how music excites emotions.

Summary

As the poem opens, Alexander ("Philip's warlike son") and his soldiers celebrate their bloody victory over the Persian army led by King Darius. They feast in the massive banquet hall in the Darius' palace in the heart of the captured Persian capital of Persepolis. Alexander, his head adorned with laurels of rose and myrtle, sits on the very throne of the vanquished Darius. With his lover, Thais, at his side, Alexander enjoys the boisterous reveling.

Timotheus, Alexander's court musician, entertains the soldiers, alternating between his lyre and his flute. First, he plays a "lofty" regal tune that commemorates the legend that has become Alexander himself. The song suggests Alexander is the offspring of the Greek god Zeus, disguised as a fiery dragon, who then "stamp'd an image of himself" on the earthly baby. That makes Alexander himself "a present diety." Alexander listens to such immodest praise and nods in agreement, the nod having the weight that could "shake" the planets.

In Stanza 3, Timotheus shifts moods and plays a delightful ditty. It sets the crowded hall celebrating the giddy energy of "jolly" Bacchus, the impish god of wine. The wine flows freely. After all, "drinking is the soldier's pleasure."

In Stanza 4, however, Timotheus notices that Alexander, the wine and the music spurring him to think back on his conquests, has grown distant, detached from the revelry. Alexander relives the victory over the Persians and his many battlefield triumphs. To tamp down such vainglorious thoughts, Timotheus plays a mournful tune to remind Alexander, and his soldiers for that matter, of the terrible cost of war. He focuses his song on the bloody corpse of King Darius, rotting even now on the day's battlefield. "On the bare earth exposed he lies," fallen "from his high estate." Alexander casts his eyes downward. Suddenly, his victories bring him no joy. The sad melody moves Alexander to tears.

In Stanza 5, Timotheus, fearful the celebration may be lost to such lamentations, turns to a soft, sweet melody that celebrates the wonder of love. War, he sings, is carnage and suffering, and whatever glory might be found in battle is quickly lost. War is "never ending, still beginning." But look, Timotheus reminds Alexander, look to the beautiful Thais there at your...