Pope is the major poet of his century, his lifetime (1688-1744) might justly be
called the Age of Pope.
Pope’s importance extends far beyond his own times.
He continues to engage us especially because his work requires us to clarify
and to articulate our differences about literature itself.
Pope’s period has also been called the Augustan Age, Age of Satire and Age of
Reason.
This period sees the author facing a radical change in his reading public and
prospects.
As a matter of fact, the most significant value of Augustan literature is that it is
deeply rooted in society.
English society had crossed a watershed in the middle of the seventeenth
century.
Dynamic and explosive conceptions of religion and politics, and complex but
unstable literary fashions in poetry and prose, had to be rejected in favour of
modes which would unite rather than divide men.
The post-Civil War period generated a wish for harmony rather than for
discord.
The period could also be called the Age of Commerce, for important elements
of business organizations surfaced - the Bank of England (1694), insurance and
trading companies and the “Society for the Encouragement of Arts,
Manufactures and Commerce.”
Encyclopaedias of the Arts and Sciences began to appear.
The Age had a definite tendency towards planned organization in all spheres of
life, including that of literature.
London was the economic and cultural heart of England. The city’s growth
during the eighteenth century was phenomenal.
It was during this period that London was transformed from a late medieval
town into an early modern city. Yet despite its speed of change and growth it
remained a healthy centre for literature.
The special place of London in Augustan literature signifies the fact that
London had become the symbol of national life.
In Rape of the Lock, Belinda’s dressing table displays “the various off rings of
the world.” Throughout the eighteenthcentury interest in the East was keen
not only in the sphere of commerce but also in the arena of literature.
, The imaginative effect of the Orient’s luxuries and of its reported wisdom and
virtue was far more influential than actual economic growth.
This period, the post-Civil War and pre-Industrial Revolution period-was the
Age of Pope, a period displaying an urgency for order in various spheres of
national life.
The rise of middle class further entrenched this urgency. The period also had a
second look at the morals and manners of London High Society, as reflected in
plays of Congreve, Goldsmith, and Sheridan and in the novels of Fielding.
Neo-classicism
For the reason the period has also been called the Neo-classical period, the
silver age of the European Renaissance.
The interaction of medievalism and vigorous classical and continental
influences produced the ideals which formulated the background for a new
literary theory.
The literary patriotism of the Renaissance flared up when Dryden described
himself, with a proud humility as “a Man who have done my best to improve
the Language, especially the Poetry”.
And when Pope defined the task of the poet as the expression of “what oft
was thought but ne’er so well expressed” (An Essay on Criticism) he was
simply repeating a Renaissance idea to which Spenser, Shakespeare, and Milton
would have given their assent.
Pope’s constant ambition to be “correct”, which appeared to the Romantics as
the last excess of arid pedantry, was informed by the same excitement that
animated Spenser and Milton.
The purpose was to show up the backwardness of English poetry in relation to
the Continent, and to offer new models.
Clarity meant plainness of meaning, and avoidance of obscure wit and
complicated wordplay.
Balance meant a tone of writing which avoided extremes of emotions, also
meant a point of view which avoided extremes of opinion. T
his temper has been most beautifully and typically expressed in Addison’s
“Much can be said on both sides”.
The classical appeal was there to offer models of excellence, not only as
models for literature but also as models for social and personal morality.
A peculiarly paradoxical characteristic is noticed in the Augustan temper.
called the Age of Pope.
Pope’s importance extends far beyond his own times.
He continues to engage us especially because his work requires us to clarify
and to articulate our differences about literature itself.
Pope’s period has also been called the Augustan Age, Age of Satire and Age of
Reason.
This period sees the author facing a radical change in his reading public and
prospects.
As a matter of fact, the most significant value of Augustan literature is that it is
deeply rooted in society.
English society had crossed a watershed in the middle of the seventeenth
century.
Dynamic and explosive conceptions of religion and politics, and complex but
unstable literary fashions in poetry and prose, had to be rejected in favour of
modes which would unite rather than divide men.
The post-Civil War period generated a wish for harmony rather than for
discord.
The period could also be called the Age of Commerce, for important elements
of business organizations surfaced - the Bank of England (1694), insurance and
trading companies and the “Society for the Encouragement of Arts,
Manufactures and Commerce.”
Encyclopaedias of the Arts and Sciences began to appear.
The Age had a definite tendency towards planned organization in all spheres of
life, including that of literature.
London was the economic and cultural heart of England. The city’s growth
during the eighteenth century was phenomenal.
It was during this period that London was transformed from a late medieval
town into an early modern city. Yet despite its speed of change and growth it
remained a healthy centre for literature.
The special place of London in Augustan literature signifies the fact that
London had become the symbol of national life.
In Rape of the Lock, Belinda’s dressing table displays “the various off rings of
the world.” Throughout the eighteenthcentury interest in the East was keen
not only in the sphere of commerce but also in the arena of literature.
, The imaginative effect of the Orient’s luxuries and of its reported wisdom and
virtue was far more influential than actual economic growth.
This period, the post-Civil War and pre-Industrial Revolution period-was the
Age of Pope, a period displaying an urgency for order in various spheres of
national life.
The rise of middle class further entrenched this urgency. The period also had a
second look at the morals and manners of London High Society, as reflected in
plays of Congreve, Goldsmith, and Sheridan and in the novels of Fielding.
Neo-classicism
For the reason the period has also been called the Neo-classical period, the
silver age of the European Renaissance.
The interaction of medievalism and vigorous classical and continental
influences produced the ideals which formulated the background for a new
literary theory.
The literary patriotism of the Renaissance flared up when Dryden described
himself, with a proud humility as “a Man who have done my best to improve
the Language, especially the Poetry”.
And when Pope defined the task of the poet as the expression of “what oft
was thought but ne’er so well expressed” (An Essay on Criticism) he was
simply repeating a Renaissance idea to which Spenser, Shakespeare, and Milton
would have given their assent.
Pope’s constant ambition to be “correct”, which appeared to the Romantics as
the last excess of arid pedantry, was informed by the same excitement that
animated Spenser and Milton.
The purpose was to show up the backwardness of English poetry in relation to
the Continent, and to offer new models.
Clarity meant plainness of meaning, and avoidance of obscure wit and
complicated wordplay.
Balance meant a tone of writing which avoided extremes of emotions, also
meant a point of view which avoided extremes of opinion. T
his temper has been most beautifully and typically expressed in Addison’s
“Much can be said on both sides”.
The classical appeal was there to offer models of excellence, not only as
models for literature but also as models for social and personal morality.
A peculiarly paradoxical characteristic is noticed in the Augustan temper.
