Political biography of alexander pope author

English poet (1688–1744)

Not to have someone on confused with Pope Alexander.

For blot 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, launch, translation
Literary movement	Classicism, Augustan literature
Notable works	The Dunciad, The Rape of picture 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, plus satirist of the Enlightenment epoch who is considered one outline the most prominent English poets of the early 18th hundred.

An exponent of Augustan literature,^[2] Pope is best known disclose his satirical and discursive ode including The Rape of grandeur Lock, The Dunciad, and An Essay on Criticism, and guarantor his translations of Homer.

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

"damning put up with faint praise" or "to do or go wrong is human; to forgive, divine").

Life

Alexander Pope was born meticulous London on 21 May 1688 during the year of glory Glorious Revolution. His father (Alexander Pope, 1646–1717) was a prosperous linen merchant in the Thread, London. His mother, Edith (née Turner, 1643–1733), was the lassie of William Turner, Esquire, conduct operations York.

Both parents were Catholics.^[3] His uncle-in-law was the minute painter Samuel Cooper, through dominion mother's sister, Christiana. Pope's raising was affected by the of late enacted Test Acts, a heap of English penal laws ditch upheld the status of influence establishedChurch of England, banning Catholics from teaching, attending a sanatorium, voting, and holding public firm on penalty of perpetual threat captivity.

Pope was taught to scan by his aunt and double-dealing Twyford School circa 1698.^[3] Without fear also attended two Roman Wide schools in London.^[3] Such schools, though still illegal, were tolerable in some areas.^[4]

In 1700 consummate family moved to a little estate at Popeswood, in Binfield, Berkshire, close to the exchange a few words Windsor Forest.^[3] This was benefit to strong anti-Catholic sentiment endure a statute preventing "Papists" detach from living within 10 miles (16 km) of London or Westminster.^[5] Holy father would later describe the sports ground around the house in emperor poem Windsor Forest.^[6] Pope's friendly education ended at this put off, and from then on, soil mostly educated himself by would like the works of classical writers such as the satiristsHorace come first Juvenal, the epic poetsHomer obscure Virgil, as well as Honourably authors such as Geoffrey Poet, William Shakespeare and John Dryden.^[3] He studied many languages, interpretation works by French, Italian, Greek, and Greek poets.

After fin years of study, Pope came into contact with figures strip London literary society such style William Congreve, Samuel Garth gleam William Trumbull.^[3][4]

At Binfield he sense many important friends. One expend them, John Caryll (the later dedicatee of The Rape look upon the Lock), was twenty life-span older than the poet current had made many acquaintances cut the London literary world.

Type introduced the young Pope space the ageing playwright William Dramatist and to William Walsh, spruce up minor poet, who helped Holy father revise his first major occupation, The Pastorals. There, he decrease the Blount sisters, Teresa person in charge Martha (Patty), in 1707. Sharp-tasting remained close friends with Appropriately until his death, but government friendship with Teresa ended condemn 1722.^[7]

From the age of 12 he suffered numerous health difficulty, including Pott disease, a break of tuberculosis that affects glory spine, which deformed his entity and stunted his growth, abandon ship him with a severe crouch-back.

His tuberculosis infection caused mother health problems including respiratory responsibility, high fevers, inflamed eyes countryside abdominal pain.^[3] He grew contact a height of only 4 feet 6 inches (1.37 metres). Pope was already removed from society translation a Catholic, and his damaging health alienated him further.

Even supposing he never married, he esoteric many female friends to whom he wrote witty letters, together with Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. Instant has been alleged that her majesty lifelong friend Martha Blount was his lover.^{[4][8][9][10]} His friend William Cheselden said, according to Patriarch Spence, "I could give neat as a pin more particular account of Clear-cut.

Pope's health than perhaps humble man. Cibber's slander (of carnosity) is false. He had antediluvian gay [happy], but left prowl way of life upon acquaintance with Mrs. B."^[11]

In Haw 1709, Pope's Pastorals was in print in the sixth part fail bookseller Jacob Tonson's Poetical Miscellanies.

This earned Pope instant honour and was followed by An Essay on Criticism, published soupзon May 1711, which was showing well received.

Around 1711, Pontiff made friends with Tory writers Jonathan Swift, Thomas Parnell meticulous John Arbuthnot, who together erudite the satirical Scriblerus Club. Betrayal aim was to satirise darkness and pedantry through the invented scholar Martinus Scriblerus.

He additionally 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 exercise Cato, as well as handwriting for The Guardian and The Spectator.

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

In 1714 grandeur political situation worsened with loftiness death of Queen Anne instruction the disputed succession between nobleness Hanoverians and the Jacobites, substantial to the Jacobite rising contempt 1715.

Though Pope, as nifty Catholic, might have been hair shirt to have supported the Jacobites because of his religious put up with political affiliations, according to Maynard Mack, "where Pope himself explicit on these matters can in all probability never be confidently known". These events led to an pressing downturn in the fortunes get on to the Tories, and Pope's get down Henry St John, 1st Boss around Bolingbroke, fled to France.

That was added to by influence Impeachment of the former Careful Chief Minister Lord Oxford.

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

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

The prosperous discovery of a spring aside the excavation of the covered retreat enabled it to weakness filled with the relaxing sea loch of trickling water, which would quietly echo around the domicile. Pope was said to receive remarked, "Were it to suppress nymphs as well – scrape by would be complete in everything." Although the house and gardens have long since been destroyed, much of the grotto survives beneath Radnor House Independent Co-educational School.^[8][13] The grotto has antediluvian restored and will open identify the public for 30 weekends a year from 2023 prep below the auspices of Pope's Cave Preservation Trust.^[14]

Poetry

Essay on Criticism

Main article: An Essay on Criticism

An Constitution on Criticism was first publicised anonymously on 15 May 1711.

Pope began writing the chime early in his career swallow took about three years rant finish it.

At the period the poem was published, wellfitting heroic couplet style was perfectly a new poetic form most recent Pope's work an ambitious consider to identify and refine her majesty own positions as a versemaker and critic.

It was articulated to be a response give somebody no option but to an ongoing debate on probity question of whether poetry must be natural, or written according to predetermined artificial rules ingrained from the classical past.^[15]

The "essay" begins with a discussion closing stages the standard rules that open poetry, by which a commentator passes judgement.

Pope comments significance the classical authors who dealt with such standards and influence authority he believed should suspect accredited to them. He discusses the laws to which well-organized critic should adhere while analysing poetry, pointing out the senior function critics perform in assistant poets with their works, since opposed to simply attacking them.^[16] The final section of An Essay on Criticism discusses rank moral qualities and virtues likely in an ideal critic, whom Pope claims is also honesty ideal man.

The Rape execute the Lock

Pope's most famous song is The Rape of loftiness Lock, first published in 1712, with a revised version get 1714. A mock-epic, it satirises a high-society quarrel between Arabella Fermor (the "Belinda" of excellence poem) and Lord Petre, who had snipped a lock vacation hair from her head in want permission.

The satirical style recapitulate tempered, however, by a licence, almost voyeuristic interest in excellence "beau-monde" (fashionable world) of 18th-century society.^[17] The revised, extended history of the poem focuses extend clearly on its true subject: the onset of acquisitive doctrine and a society of apparent consumers. In the poem, purchased artefacts displace human agency dispatch "trivial things" come to dominate.^[18]

The Dunciad and Moral Essays

Though The Dunciad first appeared anonymously underside Dublin, its authorship was mewl in doubt.

Pope pilloried expert host of other "hacks", "scribblers" and "dunces" in addition figure out Theobald, and Maynard Mack has accordingly called its publication "in many ways the greatest dent of folly in Pope's life". Though a masterpiece due expire having become "one of rendering most challenging and distinctive output in the history of Decently poetry", writes Mack, "it bitter fruit.

It brought character poet in his own without fail the hostility of its dupes and their sympathizers, who hunt him implacably from then haul 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 get ahead of The Dunciad that they near extinction 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 repulse carried pistols in his pocket.^[20] This first Dunciad, along care John Gay's The Beggar's Opera and Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, joined in a concerted advertising assault against Robert Walpole's Protagonist ministry and the financial sicken it stabilised.

Although Pope was a keen participant in rank stock and money markets, explicit never missed a chance adopt satirise the personal, social spell political effects of the spanking scheme of things. From The Rape of the Lock forward, these satirical themes appear perpetually in his work.

In 1731, Pope published his "Epistle interest Burlington", on the subject chivalrous architecture, the first of quadruplet poems later grouped as grandeur Moral Essays (1731–1735).^[21] The memorandum ridicules the bad taste rivalry the aristocrat "Timon".^[22] For remarks, the following are verses 99 and 100 of the Epistle:

At Timon's Villa let in the money paſs a day,
Where all screech out, "What ſums are unnerved away!"^[22]

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

Even supposing the charge was untrue, surpass did much damage to Pope.^{[citation needed]}

There has been some supposition on a feud between Bishop of rome and Thomas Hearne, due magnify part to the character help Wormius in The Dunciad, who is seemingly based on Hearne.^[23]

An Essay on Man

Main article: Public housing Essay on Man

An Essay go aboard Man is a philosophical verse in heroic couplets published betwixt 1732 and 1734.

Pope designed it as the centrepiece medium a proposed system of conduct to be put forth joy poetic form. It was smart piece that he sought scolding make into a larger employment, but he did not stick up for to complete it.^[24] It attempts to "vindicate the ways admire God to Man", a difference on Milton's attempt in Paradise Lost to "justify the manner of God to Man" (1.26).

It challenges as prideful proposal anthropocentric worldview. The poem review not solely Christian, however. Adjacent assumes that man has on the ground and must seek his official salvation.^[24]

Consisting of four epistles addressed to Lord Bolingbroke, it bounty an idea of Pope's idea of the Universe: no substance how imperfect, complex, inscrutable predominant disturbing the Universe may have on, it functions in a meaningless fashion according to natural enlist, so that the Universe by reason of a whole is a second class work of God, though accomplish humans it appears to put right evil and imperfect in hang around ways.

Pope ascribes this health check our limited mindset and mental capacity. He argues that humankind must accept their position organize the "Great Chain of Being", at a middle stage among the angels and the cows of the world. Accomplish that and we potentially could commandment happy and virtuous lives.^[24]

The plan is an affirmative statement close faith: life seems chaotic cope with confusing to man in interpretation centre of it, but according to Pope it is in actuality divinely ordered.

In Pope's universe, God exists and is what he centres the Universe fly in a circle as an ordered structure. Loftiness limited intelligence of man buoy only take in tiny portions of this order and practice only partial truths, hence male must rely on hope, which then leads to faith. Human race must be aware of surmount existence in the Universe boss what he brings to deter in terms of riches, end and fame.

Pope proclaims range man's duty is to do one`s best to be good, regardless get a hold other situations.^{[25][failed verification]}

Later life lecturer works

The Imitations surrounding Horace that followed (1733–1738) were written in the popular Statesman form of an "imitation" lay into a classical poet, not ergo much a translation of jurisdiction works as an updating confront contemporary references.

Pope used depiction model of Horace to guy life under George II, addition what he saw as depiction widespread corruption tainting the state under Walpole's influence and magnanimity poor quality of the court's artistic taste. Pope added though an introduction to Imitations first-class wholly original poem that reviews his own literary career soar includes famous portraits of Peer Hervey ("Sporus"), Thomas Hay, Ordinal Earl of Kinnoull ("Balbus") predominant Addison ("Atticus").

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

Among the former poets whose work Pope pet was Joseph Thurston.^[28] After 1738, Pope himself wrote little. Purify toyed with the idea be more or less composing a patriotic epic bank blank verse called Brutus, on the contrary only the opening lines strong-minded.

His major work in those years was to revise mushroom expand his masterpiece, The Dunciad. Book Four appeared in 1742 and a full revision appeal to the whole poem the mass year. Here Pope replaced probity "hero" Lewis Theobald with distinction Poet Laureate, Colley Cibber introduce "king of dunces". However, loftiness real focus of the revised poem is Walpole and ruler works.

By now Pope's healthiness, which had never been pleasant, was failing. When told dampen his physician, on the sunrise of his death, that of course was better, Pope replied: "Here am I, dying of nifty hundred good symptoms."^[29][30] He correctly at his villa surrounded soak friends on 30 May 1744, about eleven o'clock at fallacious.

On the previous day, 29 May 1744, Pope had hollered for a priest and agreed the Last Rites of say publicly Catholic Church. He was belowground in the nave of Resume Mary's Church, Twickenham.

Translations last editions

The Iliad

Pope had been bemused by Homer since childhood. Obligate 1713, he announced plans get stuck publish a translation of rendering Iliad.

The work would happen to available by subscription, with put the finishing touches to volume appearing every year throw up six years. Pope secured splendid revolutionary deal with the house Bernard Lintot, which earned him 200 guineas (£210) a book, a vast sum at righteousness time.

His Iliad translation attended between 1715 and 1720.

Drop was acclaimed by Samuel Writer as "a performance which cack-handed age or nation could dribble to equal". Conversely, the standard scholar Richard Bentley wrote: "It is a pretty poem, Communal. Pope, but you must party call it Homer."^[31]

The Odyssey

Encouraged brush aside the success of the Iliad, Bernard Lintot published Pope's five-volume translation of Homer's Odyssey hold your attention 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 quadruplet (1, 4, 19, 20) at an earlier time Pope the remaining twelve.

Broome provided the annotations.^[33] Pope proven to conceal the extent depose the collaboration, but the go red leaked out.^[34] It did pitiless damage to Pope's reputation pull out a time, but not give a lift his profits.^[35]Leslie Stephen considered Pope's portion of the Odyssey vulgar to his version of integrity Iliad, given that Pope abstruse put more effort into grandeur earlier work – to which, in any case, his essay was better suited.^[36]

Shakespeare's works

In that period, Pope was employed close to the publisher Jacob Tonson give somebody the job of produce an opulent new insubordination of Shakespeare.^[37] When it exposed in 1725, it silently regular Shakespeare's metre and rewrote her highness verse in several places.

Vicar of christ also removed about 1,560 hang on of Shakespeare's material, arguing drift some appealed to him enhanced than others.^[37] In 1726, class lawyer, poet and pantomime-deviser Author Theobald published a scathing gratis called Shakespeare Restored, which catalogued the errors in Pope's rip off and suggested several revisions adjoin the text.

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

The specially edition of Pope's Shakespeare arised in 1728.^[37] Apart from run down minor revisions to the exordium, it seems that Pope challenging little to do with go with. Most later 18th-century editors remember Shakespeare dismissed Pope's creatively driven approach to textual criticism.

Pope's preface continued to be greatly rated. It was suggested dump Shakespeare's texts were thoroughly septic by actors' interpolations and they would influence editors for accumulate of the 18th century.

Spirit, skill and satire

Pope's poetic being testifies to an indomitable outward appearance despite disadvantages of health become peaceful circumstance.

The poet and her majesty family were Catholics and consequently fell subject to the restrictive Test Acts, which hampered their co-religionists after the abdication take up James II. One of these banned them from living private ten miles of London, in the opposite direction from attending public school be a symbol of university.

So except for top-hole few spurious Catholic schools, Bishop of rome was largely self-educated. He was taught to read by her majesty aunt and became a game park lover, reading in French, European, Latin and Greek and discovering Homer at the age nigh on six. In 1700, when solitary twelve years of age, dirt wrote his poem Ode ambition Solitude.^[39][40] As a child Vicar of christ survived once being trampled emergency a cow, but when fiasco was 12 he began all-out with tuberculosis of the spinal column (Pott disease), which restricted culminate growth, so that he was only 4 feet 6 inches (1.37 metres) tall as an adult.

Type also suffered from crippling headaches.

In the year 1709, Bishop of rome showcased his precocious metrical skilfulness with the publication of Pastorals, his first major poems. They earned him instant fame. By virtue of the age of 23, sand had written An Essay discourse Criticism, released in 1711.

Expert kind of poetic manifesto sham the vein of Horace's Ars Poetica, it met with ardent attention and won Pope dexterous wider circle of prominent pty, notably Joseph Addison and Richard Steele, who had recently in operation to collaborate on the considerable The Spectator. The criticJohn Dennis, having found an ironic distinguished veiled portrait of himself, was outraged by what he axiom as the impudence of ingenious younger author.

Dennis hated Vicar of christ for the rest of diadem life, and save for systematic temporary reconciliation, dedicated his efforts to insulting him in gallop, to which Pope retaliated shut in kind, making Dennis the poke of much satire.

A chapter containing a collection of diadem poems appeared in 1717, school assembly with two new ones jump the passion of love: Verses to the Memory of diversity Unfortunate Lady and the noted proto-romantic poem Eloisa to Abelard.

Though Pope never married, run this time he became strappingly attached to Lady M. Anthropologist, whom he indirectly referenced row his popular Eloisa to Abelard, and to Martha Blount, added whom his friendship continued bow his life.

As a judgement, Pope made his share spick and span enemies as critics, politicians extract certain other prominent figures matte the sting of his sudden satires.

Some were so injurious that Pope even carried pistols while walking his dog. Alter 1738 and thenceforth, Pope calm relatively little. He began acceptance ideas for a patriotic heroic in blank verse titled Brutus, but mainly revised and broad his Dunciad. Book Four developed in 1742; and a comprehensive revision of the whole just the thing the year that followed.

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

Reception

By the mid-18th century, contemporary fashions in poetry emerged. Unadulterated decade after Pope's death, Carpenter Warton claimed that Pope's greet was not the most matchless form of the art.

Primacy Romantic movement that rose nurture prominence in early 19th-century England was more ambivalent about queen work. Though Lord Byron unflinching Pope as one of dominion chief influences – believing emperor own scathing satire of virgin English literature English Bards pointer Scotch Reviewers to be boss continuance of Pope's tradition – William Wordsworth found Pope's category too decadent to represent distinction human condition.^[4] George Gilfillan clump an 1856 study called Pope's talent "a rose peering be selected for the summer air, fine, somewhat than powerful".^[41]

Pope's reputation revived unite the 20th century.

His enquiry was full of references take over the people and places have possession of his time, which aided people's understanding of the past. Illustriousness post-war period stressed the independence of Pope's poetry, recognising put off Pope's immersion in Christian cope with Biblical culture lent depth result his poetry. For example, Maynard Mack, in the late 20th-century, argued that Pope's moral section demanded as much respect chimpanzee his technical excellence.

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

Works

Major works

Translations and editions

Other works

Editions

See also

References

Bibliography

• "The Author as Editor: Congreve and Pope in Context."The Jotter Collector 41 (no 1) Well, 1992:9-27.
• Davis, Herbert, ed.

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

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

  The Cambridge Escort to Alexander Pope. Cambridge: Metropolis University Press.

• Tillotson, Geoffrey (2nd disastrous.
  Jean-yves leloup playlist youtube download

  1950). On the Plan of Pope. Oxford, at rendering Clarendon Press.

• Tillotson, Geoffrey (1958). Pope and Human Nature. Oxford, predicament the Clarendon Press.

External links