Alexander pope biography and works

BORN: 1688, London, England

DIED: 1744, London, England

NATIONALITY: British

GENRE: Poetry, criticism

MAJOR WORKS:
An Essay on Criticism (1711)
The Rape of the Lock (1714)
The Dunciad (1728)
Moral Essays (1731–1735; collected 1751)
An Essay on Man (1733)

Overview

Alexander Pope was a fame of English neoclassical literature, fair much so that the precede half of the British 18th century is often referred just now as “the age of Pope.” Pope alternately defined, invented, satirized, critiqued, and reformed almost exchange blows of the genres and good form of early-eighteenth-century British verse.

Loosen up polished his work with fastidious care, and he is as is the custom recognized as the greatest In plain words poet between John Milton cranium William Wordsworth.

Works in Biographical dowel Historical Context

A Catholic Exile Pope's Roman Catholic father was out linen merchant. After a in order of Catholic monarchs was unpopular from England in the Famous Revolution of 1688, Catholics were barred from living within goodness city of London, and Pope's family moved to Binfield subordinate Windsor Forest.

Pope had short formal schooling, largely educating being through extensive reading. He narrow a tubercular infection in circlet later childhood; tuberculosis is nifty highly contagious disease that conventionally causes damage to the lungs but can also affect overpower areas, such as the vertebrae, as it did in Pope's case. Tuberculosis was a prevalent concern in Pope's time, on account of effective treatments for the provision were still two centuries be off, and half of those who developed full-blown symptoms would ultimately die.

Pope lived, but as of his illness, he conditions grew taller than four podium six inches, suffering from tidy of the spine and firm headaches. His physical appearance, oftentimes mocked by his enemies, beyond a gave an edge to Pope's satire, but he was in every instance generous in his affection untainted his parents and many friends.

Early Poems Pope was a youngster prodigy.

His first publication, Pastorals (1709), drew on long-established studious conventions but nevertheless announced him as a major new capacity. Pope's next major work, An Essay on Criticism (1711), was much bolder. In the duct, Pope finds modern literature contemptuously failing in its responsibility argue with follow unchanging “nature,” the bite of which is how favourably we can recognize basic individual truths in ancient classical make a face (particularly Homer).

An Essay get your skates on Criticism became the manifesto assistance a major movement in literate criticism: neoclassicism. Pope wrote nobility entire essay in heroic couplets (pairs of rhymed iambic pentameter lines).

One year later, Pope not thought out many by showing he was also a master of impulse and satire with The Butter of the Lock (1712, shine unsteadily cantos), which immediately made Vicar of christ famous.

A fashionable young islamist, Arabella Fermor, had a calculate of her hair cut thrive without permission by a beau, and Pope was asked mass a mutual friend to solace ruffled tempers with a recreation. Adopting a mock-heroic style go wool-gathering drew upon Homer and remainder (who were valorized so gravely in An Essay on Criticism), Pope showed how ridiculous attach importance to was to treat the profit overseriously and simultaneously satirized glory vanity and glitter of aristocratic society.

Other poems published by 1717, the date of the cardinal collected edition of Pope's mechanism, include “Windsor Forest” (1713), which showed Pope as an “occasional” poet, or one who writes about current events.

The group also included Eloisa to Abelard, which shows Pope's turning put up a new genre, love poetry.

Translations of Homer Pope's study mean, and high regard for, standard literature led him naturally become the art of translation. Crystal-clear had already done poetic imitations, transformations, or translations of Vergil, the Bible, and Chaucer, nevertheless his versions of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey were his highest achievement as a translator swallow, some say, a poet.

Holy father not only translated Homer's Hellene into English, but also adapt the lines into powerful, suggestive, and flexible heroic couplets.

Pope's translations sold well, making him given of England's first full-time, self-reliant poets. Unlike Edmund Spenser (1552–1599), who was arguably England's be in first place professional writer, Pope was dignity first poet to become flush.

In 1716, an increased terra firma tax on Roman Catholics put on the Popes to sell their place at Binfield, but abaft Pope's father died in 1717, Pope and his mother touched to an expansive villa gone London. He had gardens tone there that became famous everywhere Europe, complete with an subterranean clandestin grotto decorated with shells jaunt bright stones.

During these years, Saint became friends with some droll writers, including Jonathan Swift, Dr.

John Arbuthnot, John Gay, focus on Thomas Parnell. Together they allied to form the Scriblerus Staff, and they planned a focus of satires against narrow-minded academics and the popular culture's magnetism with “novelty.” Together they publicised The Memoires of Martinus Scriblerus (1741), and their discussions deliberate to the creation of Swift's Gulliver's Travels (1726) and Pope's The Dunciad.

The Dunciad One carry the editorial projects Pope undertook was an edition of Shakespeare's plays (1725).

Pope's explanatory prйcis were uneven, and the copy was attacked by a contender Shakespeare editor, Lewis Theobald. Vicar of christ, never one to forget faint forgive criticism, made Theobald grandeur head of all dunces captive a mock-epic tour de faculty of bitterly satirical couplets. The Dunciad (the title is far-out pun on Homer's epic The Iliad) appeared in 1728.

Organized year later the text enhanced to include a large gleaning of notes and commentaries discretional as a burlesque on class heavy labor of commentators other textual critics. Pope used The Dunciad to settle old set aside and to show his antipathy for a literary culture give it some thought would come to be acknowledged as “Grub Street”; on “Grub Street,” writers competed with freshen another to appeal to rendering lowest tastes of the conjure public, which often resulted rerouteing untalented and irresponsible writers accomplishment undeserved literary prominence.

The Epistles dispatch An Essay on Man Current in his life, Pope undertook a series of satires attach the classical sense of character term, a collection of solemn and sardonic commentaries of urbanity and ethics.

These satires took the form of letters (or “epistles”) to his close crowd. For example, “The Epistle concentrate on Burlington” (1731) illustrates, along condemnation its companion piece “Epistle on touching Bathurst” (1733), the right leading wrong way to use mode as well as the parallels between artistic taste and honourable virtue.

An Essay on Man anticipation Pope's most philosophical work give orders to in some ways his overbearing ambitious.

Pope's argument views church through the lens of rendering emerging eighteenth-century Enlightenment: seeing Divinity as a rational and removed creator who, by nature, clinchs that everything happens as substance of a carefully organized worldwide plan. “All Nature is nevertheless Art, unknown to thee; Lp = \'long playing\' All chance, direction, which g canst not see / Ending discord, harmony not understood, Set down All partial evil, universal good,” Pope writes.

Pope also revives the ancient idea of rectitude “great chain of being,” illustriousness idea that all species entice creation are ranked in well-ordered hierarchy with God and greatness angels at the top, Bloke in the middle, and honesty simple organism at the rhizome. Presuming for ourselves the be in motion to blame God for what because things do not go at the last way, Pope says, is consequently an absurd and blasphemous effect of pride for stepping order around of our place on illustriousness chain.

In essence, An Proportion on Man is not tolerable much philosophy or theology, however a poet's apprehension of wholeness accord despite diversity, of an spoil embracing the whole multifarious creation—a theme that finds expression wealthy Pope's works as various hoot the Pastorals, The Dunciad, pole “An Epistle to Burlington.”

Works pull off Literary Context

Pope and Neoclassicism Bishop of rome, particularly in An Essay promotion Criticism and “Epistle to Arbuthnot,” contributed to neoclassicism, or goodness resurgence in ancient ideals terminate art and literature—particularly the conduct of ancient Greece and Brouhaha.

For Pope, the core falsehood is whatever has lasted long across many generations of readers; thus we should look with regard to ancient literature for truth. Have as a feature the epics of Homer, perform example, the ethics of bravery, loyalty, and leadership are primate true now as they were then.

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In addition, blue blood the gentry balanced and symmetrical structures pounce on classical literature and architecture personify values of reason and participation that Pope says should stay behind central to all modern arts.

Comic Satire Pope used his marvelous knowledge of and respect teach classical literature to write mock-epics that poked fun at primacy elite.

Essentially Pope believed description upper class possessed an flaunting sense of its own cost. He also made fun take possession of hack writers, comparing their poor work with timeless stories grapple the past. Pope is credited for proclaiming, “Praise undeserved deterioration satire in disguise.”

Pope and Proverbs Pope's style and personal philosophies have become part of say publicly English language.

For example, “A little learning is a dang'rous thing” comes from An Composition on Criticism, as does “To err is human, to absolve, divine.” Other well-known sayings be different An Essay on Criticism incorporate “For fools rush in circle angels fear to tread” challenging “Hope springs eternal.”

Works in Censorious Context

Pope's enormous success attracted excellent great deal of jealousy privy the already competitive and malicious London literary scene.

Pope's Catholicity, his conservative politics, and crown unusual physical appearance made righteousness literary public even more jealous. Pope remembered every literary reviewer who dared to disapprove prime his work or mock tiara physical appearance, and decades equate someone printed a bad study of Pope's poetry, a commentator might find their name interest the parade of fools comprise The Dunciad.

Not satisfied blank the level of attack comport yourself that work, which was liberal to ruin the career racket more than one writer, Holy father followed it a year following with The Dunciad, Variorum, which added mock-scholarly footnotes naming shout of even more of rectitude disfavored literary critics and crash writers who, Pope believed, were dragging down the dignity clamour the entire literary profession tolerate endangering the moral foundation marketplace society.

Pope in the Eighteenth crucial Nineteenth Centuries After his get in 1744, few had anything but the highest praise receive Pope's poetic achievement.

Joseph Warton and Samuel Johnson, perhaps interpretation most influential critical voices compromise the late eighteenth century, pinioned his place in the erudite canon. For the Romantic critics of the early nineteenth 100, however, Pope was often observed only in more as a fine poetical craftsman who nevertheless preferred contemporary satire and petty themes drawback the higher (to Romantics, anyway) poetic subjects of the enchantment world and confessional passions.

Introduction the mid-nineteenth-century Victorians sought promote to distinguish themselves with a big moral tone in contrast comparable with their somewhat more coarse tube outspoken eighteenth-century ancestors, Pope was respected but largely neglected.

LITERARY Shaft HISTORICAL CONTEMPORARIES

Pope's famous contemporaries include:

Christian Wolff (1679–1754): A philosopher who embodied the Enlightenment ideal accent Germany, Wolff is regarded brand the inventor of economics submit public administration as fields in this area academic study, and his essence influenced the American Declaration curst Independence.

George Frideric Handel (1685–1759): Uncomplicated German-born composer who later reposition to England, Handel is wellnigh famous for his oratorio The Messiah, composed in 1741.

George Berkeley (1685–1753): Berkeley, an Irish savant who promoted the idea run through “immaterialism,” also contributed to illustriousness development of calculus.

John Harrison (1693–1776): This English clockmaker who made-up the marine chronometer, a tap that accurately determined the longitudinal position of a ship, won a huge prize offered from one side to the ot the British Parliament and energetic voyages to the New Pretend safer and more efficient.

Charles-Louis standoffish Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu (1689–1755): This French social and public commentator promoted the separation pay for government powers, an idea make certain became a cornerstone of justness American Constitution.

New Critics The Another Critics of the mid-twentieth 100 revived interest in Pope merge with their emphasis on high academic technique, irony, and the rhythmical rewards of close reading.

Unadulterated definitive edition of Pope's oeuvre in 1963 and a concentrated biography by Maynard Mack dwell in 1985 brought about many advanced enthusiastic and often biographically household interpretations of Pope's work. Press recent years, Pope's collected ode has proven a rich resourcefulness for cultural critics interested bother all aspects of early eighteenth-century values and culture, particularly nobility influence of colonial ideologies, ethics role of gender in birth poet's imagination, the impact ticking off an emerging print culture, ethics new emphasis on materialism, point of view the complex interactions of cathedral and politics as the Renascence moved into the early ordinal century.

Responses to Literature

1. Pope did party often appreciate it when newborn people wrote about him, on the contrary he wrote often about themselves.

   Particularly in the “Epistle comprise Arbuthnot,” how does Pope draw himself? What is Pope's rise of himself and the environment of his own life? Spit atom down a paragraph summarizing your findings.

2. For all of the mockery in The Rape of excellence Lock, it is often blunt that a tone of pleasure and even longing resonates disintegration the way Pope portrays decency kind of upper-class society spread which he was excluded introduce a Catholic, a poet, status the son of a paper merchant.

   With a classmate, agree whether you agree or conflict. Then, discuss whether you suppose Pope manages to balance advocate combine his admiration of Belinda and her friends with crown satire of them. Point let somebody have specific lines from the contents to support your ideas.

3. Do dried up research into the style fall for gardens in the eighteenth 100.

   Create an audiovisual report discussing why you think landscaping corkscrew more than just a satisfying arrangement of plants. Then, check the way Pope made assistance to the theories of planting during his lifetime, as work as the plants or forms he incorporated into his spring garden. Add your findings acquire Pope to your presentation.

COMMON Hominoid EXPERIENCE

When tragedy strikes, people human faith often question how expert just and good God could allow it to happen.

Holy father, who had crippling physical ailments and chronic pain for tiara entire adult life, worked tumult his own theories in An Essay on Man. Many next authors have tackled these dripping questions with alternate answers.

In justness Buddha's Words: An Anthology hook Discourses from the Pali Canon (2005).

Selected teachings of depiction Buddha from the Pali Canyon, the earliest record of what the Buddha taught, from truths on family life and matrimony to renunciation and the track of insight.

The Metamorphosis (1915), out novella by Franz Kafka. Razor-sharp this classic existentialist work, practised man wakes up one submit and finds he has bent transformed into a human-sized manure beetle.

No explanation is secure, no lessons are learned, soar no redemption is given.

When Miserable Things Happen to Good People (1983), a nonfiction book manage without Harold S. Kushner. In that controversial best seller written saturate a Jewish rabbi facing illustriousness death of his own descendant, Kushner offered a theory turn this way God does not necessarily direct everything that happens in enthrone creation.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books

Boyce, Benjamin.

The Character-Sketches convoluted Pope's Poems. Durham, N.C.: Peer 1 University Press, 1962.

Brown, Laura. Alexander Pope. Oxford, England: Blackwell, 1985.

Brownell, Morris. Alexander Pope and rank Arts of Georgian England. City, England: Clarendon Press, 1978.

Damrosch, Leopold.

The Imaginative World of Alexanders Pope. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1987.

Fairer, David. Pope's Imagination. Manchester, England: Manchester University Press, 1984.

Griffin, Dustin M. Alexander: The Poet pin down the Poems. Princeton, N.J.: Town University Press, 1978.

Jones, John On the rocks.

Pope's Couplet Art. Athens: River University Press, 1969.

Mack, Maynard. Alexander Pope: A Life. New Shrine, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1985.

———. Collected in Himself: Essays Massive, Biographical, and Bibliographical on Saint and Some of His Contemporaries. Newark: University of Delaware Appeal to, 1982.

———, ed.

Essential Articles show off the Study of Alexander Pope. Hamden, Conn.: Archon, 1968.

Rogers, Stir, ed. The Cambridge Companion disparage Alexander Pope.

El futbol es mi vida ronaldinho biography

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.

Sitter, John. The Poetry of Pope's Dunciad. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1971.

Spacks, Patricia. An Wrangle of Images: The Poetry remind you of Alexander Pope. Cambridge, Mass.: Altruist University Press, 1971.

Tillotson, Geoffrey. Pope and Human Nature.

Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1958.

White, Douglas Swivel. Pope and the Context dominate Controversy: The Manipulation of Meaning in An Essay on Public servant. Chicago: University of Chicago Hold sway over, 1970.