Original artwork, not a still
Absalom and Achitophel · 1681
And heaven had wanted one immortal song.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The line belongs to a counterfactual passage: had Achitophel been content to serve virtuously, David would have sung his praise. The imagined immortal song is part of that unrealised praise before the poem turns back to destructive ambition; it does not report an actual heavenly event.
Sources (1)
- Dryden, collected works (Scott edition, 1808)Absalom and Achitophel: conditional praise of AchitophelReference checked
Context reviewed
