Why did John Dryden write The Medall?

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Poet John Dryden — John Dryden John Dryden, oil painting by Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1693; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.

John Dryden wrote The Medall in early 1682 as a direct response to the political climate surrounding the Whig Party and their leader, the earl of Shaftesbury.1

Following the publication of his earlier work, Absalom and Achitophel, which supported Charles II against Whig efforts to exclude the king's brother from the succession, tensions remained high. When a London grand jury refused to indict Shaftesbury for high treason, his Whig supporters celebrated by striking a commemorative medal.1

In reaction to this act, Dryden published The Medall to deliver a scathing, unsparing attack on the Whigs, which included a vigorous prose "Epistle to the Whigs" as a preface. The work served as a continuation of his role as poet laureate in defending the king and his Tory ministers against political opposition.1