Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the
Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets
of the early 18th century. Pope is best known for his satirical and discursive
poetry including The Rape of the Lock, The Dunciad, and An Essay on Criticism,
and for his translations of Homer.
An Essay on Criticism
An Essay on Criticism was first published anonymously. At the time the poem
was published, its heroic couplet style was quite a new poetic form and Pope's
work an ambitious attempt to identify and refine his own positions as a poet
and critic. It was said to be a response to an ongoing debate on the question of
whether poetry should be natural, or written according to predetermined
artificial rules inherited from the classical past.
The "essay" begins with a discussion of the standard rules that govern poetry,
by which a critic passes judgement. Pope comments on the classical authors
who dealt with such standards and the authority he believed should be
accredited to them. He discusses the laws to which a critic should adhere while
analysing poetry, pointing out the important function critics perform in aiding
poets with their works, as opposed to simply attacking them. The final section
of An Essay on Criticism discusses the moral qualities and virtues inherent in an
ideal critic, whom Pope claims is also the ideal man.
The Rape of the Lock
Pope's most famous poem is The Rape of the Lock. A mock-epic, it satirises a
high-society quarrel between Arabella Fermor and Lord Petre, who had
snipped a lock of hair from her head without permission. The satirical style is
tempered, however, by a genuine interest in the "beau-monde" (fashionable
world) of 18th-century society. In the poem, purchased artefacts displace
human agency and "trivial things" come to dominate.
The Dunciad
Though The Dunciad first appeared anonymously in Dublin, its authorship was
not in doubt. Pope satirised a host of other "hacks", "scribblers" and "dunces"
in addition to Theobald, and Maynard Mack has accordingly called its
publication "in many ways the greatest act of folly in Pope's life". Though a
Alexander Pope was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the
Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets
of the early 18th century. Pope is best known for his satirical and discursive
poetry including The Rape of the Lock, The Dunciad, and An Essay on Criticism,
and for his translations of Homer.
An Essay on Criticism
An Essay on Criticism was first published anonymously. At the time the poem
was published, its heroic couplet style was quite a new poetic form and Pope's
work an ambitious attempt to identify and refine his own positions as a poet
and critic. It was said to be a response to an ongoing debate on the question of
whether poetry should be natural, or written according to predetermined
artificial rules inherited from the classical past.
The "essay" begins with a discussion of the standard rules that govern poetry,
by which a critic passes judgement. Pope comments on the classical authors
who dealt with such standards and the authority he believed should be
accredited to them. He discusses the laws to which a critic should adhere while
analysing poetry, pointing out the important function critics perform in aiding
poets with their works, as opposed to simply attacking them. The final section
of An Essay on Criticism discusses the moral qualities and virtues inherent in an
ideal critic, whom Pope claims is also the ideal man.
The Rape of the Lock
Pope's most famous poem is The Rape of the Lock. A mock-epic, it satirises a
high-society quarrel between Arabella Fermor and Lord Petre, who had
snipped a lock of hair from her head without permission. The satirical style is
tempered, however, by a genuine interest in the "beau-monde" (fashionable
world) of 18th-century society. In the poem, purchased artefacts displace
human agency and "trivial things" come to dominate.
The Dunciad
Though The Dunciad first appeared anonymously in Dublin, its authorship was
not in doubt. Pope satirised a host of other "hacks", "scribblers" and "dunces"
in addition to Theobald, and Maynard Mack has accordingly called its
publication "in many ways the greatest act of folly in Pope's life". Though a
