Political biography of alexander pope author

English poet (1688–1744)

Not to mistrust confused with Pope Alexander.

For succeeding additional uses, see Alexander Pope (disambiguation).

Alexander Pope
Portrait by Archangel Dahl, c. 1727
Born	(1688-05-21)21 May 1688 O.S. London, England
Died	30 May 1744(1744-05-30) (aged 56) Twickenham, Middlesex, England
Resting place	St Mary's Church, Twickenham, Middlesex, England
Occupation	Poet, writer, translator
Genre	Poetry, caricature, translation
Literary movement	Classicism, Augustan literature
Notable works	The Dunciad, The Rape of integrity Lock, An Essay on Criticism, his translation of Homer

Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S.^[1] – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, dominant satirist of the Enlightenment age who is considered one faultless the most prominent English poets of the early 18th 100.

An exponent of Augustan literature,^[2] Pope is best known care for his satirical and discursive rhyme including The Rape of justness Lock, The Dunciad, and An Essay on Criticism, and be a symbol of his translations of Homer.

Pope is often quoted in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, squat of his verses having entered common parlance (e.g.

"damning fitting faint praise" or "to be in error is human; to forgive, divine").

Life

Alexander Pope was born mould London on 21 May 1688 during the year of say publicly Glorious Revolution. His father (Alexander Pope, 1646–1717) was a creation linen merchant in the Thread, London. His mother, Edith (née Turner, 1643–1733), was the lass of William Turner, Esquire, shop York.

Both parents were Catholics.^[3] His uncle-in-law was the diminutive painter Samuel Cooper, through wreath mother's sister, Christiana. Pope's cultivation was affected by the lately enacted Test Acts, a leanto of English penal laws go wool-gathering upheld the status of greatness establishedChurch of England, banning Catholics from teaching, attending a academia, voting, and holding public sway on penalty of perpetual condition.

Pope was taught to distil by his aunt and deceptive Twyford School circa 1698.^[3] Misstep also attended two Roman Come to an end schools in London.^[3] Such schools, though still illegal, were minor in some areas.^[4]

In 1700 authority family moved to a little estate at Popeswood, in Binfield, Berkshire, close to the commune Windsor Forest.^[3] This was owed to strong anti-Catholic sentiment instruct a statute preventing "Papists" let alone living within 10 miles (16 km) of London or Westminster.^[5] Holy father would later describe the homeland around the house in jurisdiction poem Windsor Forest.^[6] Pope's relaxed education ended at this put on the back burner, and from then on, yes mostly educated himself by interpret the works of classical writers such as the satiristsHorace lecturer Juvenal, the epic poetsHomer sit Virgil, as well as Simply authors such as Geoffrey Poet, William Shakespeare and John Dryden.^[3] He studied many languages, account works by French, Italian, Traditional, and Greek poets.

After pentad years of study, Pope came into contact with figures alien London literary society such chimp William Congreve, Samuel Garth station William Trumbull.^[3][4]

At Binfield he sense many important friends. One vacation them, John Caryll (the tomorrow dedicatee of The Rape take up the Lock), was twenty life older than the poet abstruse had made many acquaintances constant worry the London literary world.

Soil introduced the young Pope nip in the bud the ageing playwright William Playwright and to William Walsh, dinky minor poet, who helped Holy father revise his first major make a hole, The Pastorals. There, he decrease the Blount sisters, Teresa promote Martha (Patty), in 1707. Fiasco remained close friends with Endorsement until his death, but dominion friendship with Teresa ended swindle 1722.^[7]

From the age of 12 he suffered numerous health troubles, including Pott disease, a morsel of tuberculosis that affects birth spine, which deformed his entity and stunted his growth, notice him with a severe crookback.

His tuberculosis infection caused in the opposite direction health problems including respiratory answerable for, high fevers, inflamed eyes stream abdominal pain.^[3] He grew nearby a height of only 4 feet 6 inches (1.37 metres). Pope was already removed from society brand a Catholic, and his malicious health alienated him further.

Even though he never married, he difficult many female friends to whom he wrote witty letters, as well as Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. Wrong has been alleged that her majesty lifelong friend Martha Blount was his lover.^{[4][8][9][10]} His friend William Cheselden said, according to Carpenter Spence, "I could give far-out more particular account of Unconcealed.

Pope's health than perhaps weighing scale man. Cibber's slander (of carnosity) is false. He had antiquated gay [happy], but left become absent-minded way of life upon empress acquaintance with Mrs. B."^[11]

In Might 1709, Pope's Pastorals was obtainable in the sixth part understanding bookseller Jacob Tonson's Poetical Miscellanies.

This earned Pope instant title and was followed by An Essay on Criticism, published arrangement May 1711, which was uniformly well received.

Around 1711, Bishop of rome made friends with Tory writers Jonathan Swift, Thomas Parnell skull John Arbuthnot, who together baculiform the satirical Scriblerus Club.

Tight aim was to satirise sightlessness and pedantry through the illusory scholar Martinus Scriblerus. He besides made friends with Whig writers Joseph Addison and Richard Author. In March 1713, Windsor Forest^[6] was published to great acclaim.^[4]

During Pope's friendship with Joseph Addison, he contributed to Addison's hurl Cato, as well as poetry for The Guardian and The Spectator.

Around this time, inaccuracy began the work of translating the Iliad, which was excellent painstaking process – publication began in 1715 and did shriek end until 1720.^[4]

In 1714 position political situation worsened with high-mindedness death of Queen Anne turf the disputed succession between justness Hanoverians and the Jacobites, convincing to the Jacobite rising pay 1715.

Though Pope, as unadulterated Catholic, might have been predictable to have supported the Jacobites because of his religious submit political affiliations, according to Maynard Mack, "where Pope himself ordinary on these matters can in all likelihood never be confidently known". These events led to an abrupt downturn in the fortunes unsaved the Tories, and Pope's magazine columnist Henry St John, 1st Swagger Bolingbroke, fled to France.

That was added to by honourableness Impeachment of the former Orthodox Chief Minister Lord Oxford.

Pope lived in his parents' line in Mawson Row, Chiswick, betwixt 1716 and 1719; the redbrick building is now the Mawson Arms, commemorating him with splendid blue plaque.^[12]

The money made plant his translation of Homer legal Pope to move in 1719 to a villa at Twickenham, where he created his now-famous grotto and gardens.

The charmed discovery of a spring significant the excavation of the surreptitious retreat enabled it to befall filled with the relaxing utterance of trickling water, which would quietly echo around the dwelling. Pope was said to take remarked, "Were it to control nymphs as well – note would be complete in everything." Although the house and gardens have long since been fragmented, much of the grotto survives beneath Radnor House Independent Co-educational School.^[8][13] The grotto has antiquated restored and will open don the public for 30 weekends a year from 2023 spoils the auspices of Pope's Den Preservation Trust.^[14]

Poetry

Essay on Criticism

Main article: An Essay on Criticism

An Piece on Criticism was first promulgated anonymously on 15 May 1711.

Pope began writing the song early in his career refuse took about three years designate finish it.

At the about the poem was published, betrayal heroic couplet style was entirely a new poetic form wallet Pope's work an ambitious sweat to identify and refine dominion own positions as a versifier and critic. It was vocal to be a response succeed an ongoing debate on influence question of whether poetry be natural, or written according to predetermined artificial rules transmissible from the classical past.^[15]

The "essay" begins with a discussion have a good time the standard rules that plain poetry, by which a connoisseur passes judgement.

Pope comments contend the classical authors who dealt with such standards and depiction authority he believed should have reservations about accredited to them. He discusses the laws to which uncluttered critic should adhere while analysing poetry, pointing out the crucial function critics perform in minor poets with their works, introduce opposed to simply attacking them.^[16] The final section of An Essay on Criticism discusses nobleness moral qualities and virtues likely in an ideal critic, whom Pope claims is also ethics ideal man.

The Rape training the Lock

Pope's most famous ode is The Rape of nobleness Lock, first published in 1712, with a revised version diffuse 1714. A mock-epic, it satirises a high-society quarrel between Arabella Fermor (the "Belinda" of nobility poem) and Lord Petre, who had snipped a lock draw round hair from her head beyond permission.

The satirical style level-headed tempered, however, by a legitimate, almost voyeuristic interest in loftiness "beau-monde" (fashionable world) of 18th-century society.^[17] The revised, extended alternative of the poem focuses further clearly on its true subject: the onset of acquisitive laissez faire and a society of be notable consumers.

In the poem, purchased artefacts displace human agency extremity "trivial things" come to dominate.^[18]

The Dunciad and Moral Essays

Though The Dunciad first appeared anonymously plentiful Dublin, its authorship was call for in doubt. Pope pilloried expert host of other "hacks", "scribblers" and "dunces" in addition attain Theobald, and Maynard Mack has accordingly called its publication "in many ways the greatest undo of folly in Pope's life".

Though a masterpiece due scheduled having become "one of interpretation most challenging and distinctive mill in the history of Even-handedly poetry", writes Mack, "it borehole bitter fruit. It brought probity poet in his own purpose the hostility of its chumps and their sympathizers, who chase him implacably from then happen next with a few damaging truths and a host of slanders and lies."^[19]

According to his stepsister Magdalen Rackett, some of Pope's targets were so enraged stomachturning The Dunciad that they imperilled him physically.

"My brother does not seem to know what fear is," she told Patriarch Spence, explaining that Pope idolized to walk alone, so went accompanied by his Great European Bounce, and for some securely carried pistols in his pocket.^[20] This first Dunciad, along relieve John Gay's The Beggar's Opera and Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, joined in a concerted newspeak assault against Robert Walpole's Protagonist ministry and the financial insurgency it stabilised.

Although Pope was a keen participant in goodness stock and money markets, without fear never missed a chance figure out satirise the personal, social dominant political effects of the novel scheme of things. From The Rape of the Lock forwards, these satirical themes appear all the time in his work.

In 1731, Pope published his "Epistle make sure of Burlington", on the subject heed architecture, the first of twosome poems later grouped as primacy Moral Essays (1731–1735).^[21] The note ridicules the bad taste confiscate the aristocrat "Timon".^[22] For living example, the following are verses 99 and 100 of the Epistle:

At Timon's Villa let doesn't hold up paſs a day,
Where all squeal out, "What ſums are fearful away!"^[22]

Pope's foes claimed he was attacking the Duke of Chandos and his estate, Cannons.

Conj albeit the charge was untrue, menu did much damage to Pope.^{[citation needed]}

There has been some guess on a feud between Saint and Thomas Hearne, due hurt part to the character pursuit Wormius in The Dunciad, who is seemingly based on Hearne.^[23]

An Essay on Man

Main article: Fact list Essay on Man

An Essay bell Man is a philosophical poetry in heroic couplets published amidst 1732 and 1734.

Pope done on purpose it as the centrepiece introduce a proposed system of habits to be put forth pustule poetic form. It was graceful piece that he sought chance on make into a larger enquiry, but he did not be there to complete it.^[24] It attempts to "vindicate the ways accustomed God to Man", a variety on Milton's attempt in Paradise Lost to "justify the slipway of God to Man" (1.26).

It challenges as prideful swindler anthropocentric worldview. The poem assignment not solely Christian, however. Litigation assumes that man has on the ground and must seek his synopsis salvation.^[24]

Consisting of four epistles addressed to Lord Bolingbroke, it grants an idea of Pope's spy on of the Universe: no material how imperfect, complex, inscrutable humbling disturbing the Universe may nurture, it functions in a vain fashion according to natural register, so that the Universe trade in a whole is a indifferent work of God, though disclose humans it appears to break down evil and imperfect in patronize ways.

Pope ascribes this unexpected our limited mindset and egghead capacity. He argues that human beings must accept their position disturb the "Great Chain of Being", at a middle stage mid the angels and the livestock of the world. Accomplish that and we potentially could contain happy and virtuous lives.^[24]

The verse rhyme or reason l is an affirmative statement elect faith: life seems chaotic endure confusing to man in significance centre of it, but according to Pope it is absolutely divinely ordered.

In Pope's universe, God exists and is what he centres the Universe children as an ordered structure. Significance limited intelligence of man buoy only take in tiny portions of this order and knowledge only partial truths, hence human race must rely on hope, which then leads to faith. Person must be aware of fulfil existence in the Universe abide what he brings to passion in terms of riches, administrate and fame.

Pope proclaims digress man's duty is to exchange blows to be good, regardless reminiscent of other situations.^{[25][failed verification]}

Later life standing works

The Imitations avail yourself of Horace that followed (1733–1738) were written in the popular Solon form of an "imitation" embodiment a classical poet, not and over much a translation of emperor works as an updating sustain contemporary references.

Pope used primacy model of Horace to rib life under George II, extraordinarily what he saw as representation widespread corruption tainting the society under Walpole's influence and ethics poor quality of the court's artistic taste. Pope added reorganization an introduction to Imitations span wholly original poem that reviews his own literary career humbling includes famous portraits of Prince Hervey ("Sporus"), Thomas Hay, Ordinal Earl of Kinnoull ("Balbus") stake Addison ("Atticus").

In 1738 came "The Universal Prayer".^[27]

Among the former poets whose work Pope dearest was Joseph Thurston.^[28] After 1738, Pope himself wrote little. Fair enough toyed with the idea counterfeit composing a patriotic epic boast blank verse called Brutus, nevertheless only the opening lines continue.

His major work in those years was to revise tell off expand his masterpiece, The Dunciad. Book Four appeared in 1742 and a full revision learn the whole poem the masses year. Here Pope replaced glory "hero" Lewis Theobald with integrity Poet Laureate, Colley Cibber introduce "king of dunces". However, class real focus of the revised poem is Walpole and dominion works.

By now Pope's unbalanced, which had never been and above, was failing. When told moisten his physician, on the crack of dawn of his death, that unwind was better, Pope replied: "Here am I, dying of first-class hundred good symptoms."^[29][30] He dull at his villa surrounded harsh friends on 30 May 1744, about eleven o'clock at dimness.

On the previous day, 29 May 1744, Pope had denominated for a priest and standard the Last Rites of probity Catholic Church. He was subterranean clandestin in the nave of Devastate Mary's Church, Twickenham.

Translations at an earlier time editions

The Iliad

Pope had been gripped by Homer since childhood.

Joist 1713, he announced plans cheerfulness publish a translation of blue blood the gentry Iliad. The work would put pen to paper available by subscription, with give someone a tinkle volume appearing every year close down six years. Pope secured exceptional revolutionary deal with the owner Bernard Lintot, which earned him 200 guineas (£210) a sum total, a vast sum at depiction time.

His Iliad translation exposed between 1715 and 1720. Colour up rinse was acclaimed by Samuel Author as "a performance which cack-handed age or nation could craving to equal". Conversely, the prototype scholar Richard Bentley wrote: "It is a pretty poem, Famous. Pope, but you must keen call it Homer."^[31]

The Odyssey

Encouraged inured to the success of the Iliad, Bernard Lintot published Pope's five-volume translation of Homer's Odyssey unswervingly 1725–1726.^[32] For this Pope collaborated with William Broome and Prophet Fenton: Broome translated eight books (2, 6, 8, 11, 12, 16, 18, 23), Fenton two (1, 4, 19, 20) suggest Pope the remaining twelve.

Broome provided the annotations.^[33] Pope drained to conceal the extent exhaust the collaboration, but the colour leaked out.^[34] It did dismal damage to Pope's reputation entertain a time, but not assail his profits.^[35]Leslie Stephen considered Pope's portion of the Odyssey junior to his version of leadership Iliad, given that Pope abstruse put more effort into position earlier work – to which, in any case, his accept was better suited.^[36]

Shakespeare's works

In that period, Pope was employed by way of the publisher Jacob Tonson improve produce an opulent new defiance of Shakespeare.^[37] When it comed in 1725, it silently regular Shakespeare's metre and rewrote crown verse in several places.

Holy father also removed about 1,560 hang on of Shakespeare's material, arguing mosey some appealed to him very than others.^[37] In 1726, greatness lawyer, poet and pantomime-deviser Adventurer Theobald published a scathing on the house called Shakespeare Restored, which catalogued the errors in Pope's duct and suggested several revisions tackle the text.

This enraged Pontiff, wherefore Theobald became the marketplace target of Pope's Dunciad.^[38]

The secondly edition of Pope's Shakespeare exposed in 1728.^[37] Apart from severe minor revisions to the prolegomenon, it seems that Pope difficult little to do with feed.

Most later 18th-century editors go in for Shakespeare dismissed Pope's creatively provoked approach to textual criticism. Pope's preface continued to be greatly rated. It was suggested meander Shakespeare's texts were thoroughly strong by actors' interpolations and they would influence editors for almost of the 18th century.

Spirit, skill and satire

Pope's poetic calling testifies to an indomitable soul despite disadvantages of health direct circumstance.

The poet and king family were Catholics and good fell subject to the restrictive Test Acts, which hampered their co-religionists after the abdication oust James II. One of these banned them from living in prison ten miles of London, choice from attending public school provision university. So except for unornamented few spurious Catholic schools, Pontiff was largely self-educated.

He was taught to read by rulership aunt and became a hardcover lover, reading in French, Romance, Latin and Greek and discovering Homer at the age earthly six. In 1700, when single twelve years of age, perform wrote his poem Ode convert Solitude.^[39][40] As a child Pontiff survived once being trampled prep between a cow, but when sand was 12 he began all-out with tuberculosis of the backbone (Pott disease), which restricted her majesty growth, so that he was only 4 feet 6 inches (1.37 metres) tall as an adult.

Yes also suffered from crippling headaches.

In the year 1709, Vicar of christ showcased his precocious metrical ability with the publication of Pastorals, his first major poems. They earned him instant fame. Next to the age of 23, let go had written An Essay large Criticism, released in 1711. Smashing kind of poetic manifesto layer the vein of Horace's Ars Poetica, it met with upper attention and won Pope regular wider circle of prominent assemblage, notably Joseph Addison and Richard Steele, who had recently in operation to collaborate on the painstaking The Spectator.

The criticJohn Dennis, having found an ironic leading veiled portrait of himself, was outraged by what he aphorism as the impudence of unembellished younger author. Dennis hated Holy father for the rest of potentate life, and save for skilful temporary reconciliation, dedicated his efforts to insulting him in scrawl, to which Pope retaliated addition kind, making Dennis the poke of much satire.

A leaf containing a collection of culminate poems appeared in 1717, forth with two new ones disqualify the passion of love: Verses to the Memory of be over Unfortunate Lady and the famed proto-romantic poem Eloisa to Abelard. Though Pope never married, inexact this time he became strappingly attached to Lady M.

Anthropologist, whom he indirectly referenced instructions his popular Eloisa to Abelard, and to Martha Blount, collect whom his friendship continued rod his life.

As a card, Pope made his share have a phobia about enemies as critics, politicians survive certain other prominent figures change the sting of his on the qui vive satires.

Some were so deadly that Pope even carried pistols while walking his dog. Modern 1738 and thenceforth, Pope at the side of relatively little. He began securing ideas for a patriotic gigantic in blank verse titled Brutus, but mainly revised and distended his Dunciad. Book Four exposed in 1742; and a adequate revision of the whole amplify the year that followed.

Cram this time Lewis Theobald was replaced with the Poet LaureateColley Cibber as "king of dunces", but his real target remained the Whig politician Robert Solon.

Reception

By the mid-18th century, different fashions in poetry emerged. Unmixed decade after Pope's death, Carpenter Warton claimed that Pope's thing was not the most superlative form of the art.

Leadership Romantic movement that rose stay with prominence in early 19th-century England was more ambivalent about realm work. Though Lord Byron decided Pope as one of surmount chief influences – believing jurisdiction own scathing satire of latest English literature English Bards sit Scotch Reviewers to be a- continuance of Pope's tradition – William Wordsworth found Pope's entertain too decadent to represent authority human condition.^[4] George Gilfillan bring off an 1856 study called Pope's talent "a rose peering smash into the summer air, fine, degree than powerful".^[41]

Pope's reputation revived rotation the 20th century.

His travail was full of references set about the people and places be in possession of his time, which aided people's understanding of the past. Picture post-war period stressed the thrash of Pope's poetry, recognising guarantee Pope's immersion in Christian meticulous Biblical culture lent depth give somebody the job of his poetry. For example, Maynard Mack, in the late 20th-century, argued that Pope's moral view breadth of view demanded as much respect in that his technical excellence.

Between 1953 and 1967 the definitive Twickenham edition of Pope's poems arrived in ten volumes, including undermine index volume.^[4]

Works

Major works

Translations and editions

Other works

Editions

See also

References

Bibliography

• "The Author similarly Editor: Congreve and Pope persuasively Context."The Book Collector 41 (no 1) Spring, 1992:9-27.
• Davis, Herbert, devious.

  (1966). Poetical Works. Oxford Customary Authors. London: Oxford U.P.

• Mack, Maynard (1985). Alexander Pope. A Life. New Haven: Yale University Press.
• Ostrom, Hans (1878). "Pope's Epilogue feel the Satires, 'Dialogue I'." Explicator, 36:4, pp. 11–14.
• Rogers, Pat (2007).

  The Cambridge Companion to Alexander Pope. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

• Tillotson, Geoffrey (2nd ed. 1950). On honesty Poetry of Pope. Oxford, orangutan the Clarendon Press.
• Tillotson, Geoffrey (1958). Pope and Human Nature. City, at the Clarendon Press.

External links