Life alexander pope

English poet (1688–1744)

Not to aptitude confused with Pope Alexander.

For pristine uses, see Alexander Pope (disambiguation).

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

An exponent of Augustan literature,^[2] Pope is best known get to his satirical and discursive rhyme including The Rape of say publicly Lock, The Dunciad, and An Essay on Criticism, and lay out his translations of Homer.

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

"damning explore faint praise" or "to contravene is human; to forgive, divine").

Life

Alexander Pope was born break down London on 21 May 1688 during the year of picture Glorious Revolution. His father (Alexander Pope, 1646–1717) was a work linen merchant in the Thread, London. His mother, Edith (née Turner, 1643–1733), was the damsel of William Turner, Esquire, admire York.

Both parents were Catholics.^[3] His uncle-in-law was the diminutive painter Samuel Cooper, through tiara mother's sister, Christiana. Pope's nurture was affected by the newly enacted Test Acts, a mound of English penal laws lapse upheld the status of probity establishedChurch of England, banning Catholics from teaching, attending a hospital, voting, and holding public supremacy on penalty of perpetual constraint.

Pope was taught to loom by his aunt and overflowing with Twyford School circa 1698.^[3] Closure also attended two Roman Encyclopedic schools in London.^[3] Such schools, though still illegal, were petty in some areas.^[4]

In 1700 her highness family moved to a minor estate at Popeswood, in Binfield, Berkshire, close to the sovereign august Windsor Forest.^[3] This was owed to strong anti-Catholic sentiment ride a statute preventing "Papists" non-native living within 10 miles (16 km) of London or Westminster.^[5] Bishop of rome would later describe the boondocks around the house in ruler poem Windsor Forest.^[6] Pope's reticent education ended at this central theme, and from then on, crystal-clear mostly educated himself by adaptation the works of classical writers such as the satiristsHorace fairy story Juvenal, the epic poetsHomer impressive Virgil, as well as Creditably authors such as Geoffrey Poet, William Shakespeare and John Dryden.^[3] He studied many languages, mensuration works by French, Italian, Italic, and Greek poets.

After quint years of study, Pope came into contact with figures exotic London literary society such though William Congreve, Samuel Garth last William Trumbull.^[3][4]

At Binfield he effortless many important friends. One delineate them, John Caryll (the time to come dedicatee of The Rape make out the Lock), was twenty length of existence older than the poet unthinkable had made many acquaintances prickly the London literary world.

Inaccuracy introduced the young Pope stick to the ageing playwright William Dramatist and to William Walsh, span minor poet, who helped Bishop of rome revise his first major see to, The Pastorals. There, he decrease the Blount sisters, Teresa gift Martha (Patty), in 1707. Fiasco remained close friends with Dab until his death, but reward friendship with Teresa ended look 1722.^[7]

From the age of 12 he suffered numerous health power, including Pott disease, a conformation of tuberculosis that affects honourableness spine, which deformed his object and stunted his growth, abandonment him with a severe quasimodo.

His tuberculosis infection caused conquer health problems including respiratory in dire straits, high fevers, inflamed eyes suffer abdominal pain.^[3] He grew cling on to a height of only 4 feet 6 inches (1.37 metres). Pope was already removed from society considerably a Catholic, and his slack health alienated him further.

Though he never married, he challenging many female friends to whom he wrote witty letters, with Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. Get underway has been alleged that queen lifelong friend Martha Blount was his lover.^{[4][8][9][10]} His friend William Cheselden said, according to Patriarch Spence, "I could give a-ok more particular account of Apparent.

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

In Might 1709, Pope's Pastorals was promulgated in the sixth part bring into play bookseller Jacob Tonson's Poetical Miscellanies.

This earned Pope instant reputation and was followed by An Essay on Criticism, published pop into May 1711, which was alike well received.

Around 1711, Bishop of rome made friends with Tory writers Jonathan Swift, Thomas Parnell countryside John Arbuthnot, who together bacilliform the satirical Scriblerus Club. Take the edge off aim was to satirise unawareness and pedantry through the made-up scholar Martinus Scriblerus.

He as well made friends with Whig writers Joseph Addison and Richard Writer. In March 1713, Windsor Forest^[6] was published to great acclaim.^[4]

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

Around this time, proceed began the work of translating the Iliad, which was well-ordered painstaking process – publication began in 1715 and did not quite end until 1720.^[4]

In 1714 magnanimity political situation worsened with distinction death of Queen Anne pointer the disputed succession between rendering Hanoverians and the Jacobites, chief to the Jacobite rising signify 1715.

Though Pope, as elegant Catholic, might have been be a success to have supported the Jacobites because of his religious opinion political affiliations, according to Maynard Mack, "where Pope himself unattractive on these matters can as likely as not never be confidently known". These events led to an instant downturn in the fortunes fend for the Tories, and Pope's crony Henry St John, 1st Ruler Bolingbroke, fled to France.

That was added to by justness Impeachment of the former Expert Chief Minister Lord Oxford.

Pope lived in his parents' studio in Mawson Row, Chiswick, amidst 1716 and 1719; the redbrick building is now the Mawson Arms, commemorating him with well-organized blue plaque.^[12]

The money made take the stones out of his translation of Homer allowable 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 beside the excavation of the hidden retreat enabled it to suitably filled with the relaxing lock up of trickling water, which would quietly echo around the barracks. Pope was said to be born with remarked, "Were it to suppress nymphs as well – tingle 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 antique restored and will open work to rule the public for 30 weekends a year from 2023 botched job the auspices of Pope's Hollow Preservation Trust.^[14]

Poetry

Essay on Criticism

Main article: An Essay on Criticism

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

Pope began writing the lyric early in his career nearby took about three years come into contact with finish it.

At the delay the poem was published, academic heroic couplet style was totally a new poetic form highest Pope's work an ambitious try to identify and refine diadem own positions as a versifier and critic. It was spoken to be a response make somebody's acquaintance an ongoing debate on influence question of whether poetry forced to be natural, or written according to predetermined artificial rules hereditary from the classical past.^[15]

The "essay" begins with a discussion staff the standard rules that rule poetry, by which a judge passes judgement.

Pope comments get hold of the classical authors who dealt with such standards and dignity authority he believed should emerging accredited to them. He discusses the laws to which capital critic should adhere while analysing poetry, pointing out the chief function critics perform in minor poets with their works, type opposed to simply attacking them.^[16] The final section of An Essay on Criticism discusses representation moral qualities and virtues innate in an ideal critic, whom Pope claims is also blue blood the gentry ideal man.

The Rape reminiscent of the Lock

Pope's most famous verse is The Rape of probity Lock, first published in 1712, with a revised version unswervingly 1714. A mock-epic, it satirises a high-society quarrel between Arabella Fermor (the "Belinda" of rectitude poem) and Lord Petre, who had snipped a lock take up hair from her head deprived of permission.

The satirical style quite good tempered, however, by a true, almost voyeuristic interest in integrity "beau-monde" (fashionable world) of 18th-century society.^[17] The revised, extended replace of the poem focuses make more complicated clearly on its true subject: the onset of acquisitive free enterprise and a society of evident consumers.

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

The Dunciad and Moral Essays

Though The Dunciad first appeared anonymously bear Dublin, its authorship was bawl in doubt. Pope pilloried clean host of other "hacks", "scribblers" and "dunces" in addition fit in Theobald, and Maynard Mack has accordingly called its publication "in many ways the greatest free up of folly in Pope's life".

Though a masterpiece due come together having become "one of magnanimity most challenging and distinctive mill in the history of Simply poetry", writes Mack, "it punch bitter fruit. It brought honesty poet in his own lifetime the hostility of its chumps and their sympathizers, who follow him implacably from then go 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 hunk The Dunciad that they imperilled him physically.

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

Although Pope was a keen participant in honourableness stock and money markets, grace never missed a chance make something go with a swing satirise the personal, social elitist political effects of the newborn scheme of things. From The Rape of the Lock vanguard, these satirical themes appear day in in his work.

In 1731, Pope published his "Epistle inhibit Burlington", on the subject sponsor architecture, the first of couple poems later grouped as distinction Moral Essays (1731–1735).^[21] The letter ridicules the bad taste in this area the aristocrat "Timon".^[22] For comments, the following are verses 99 and 100 of the Epistle:

At Timon's Villa let undue paſs a day,
Where all keen out, "What ſums are scared out of your wits away!"^[22]

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

Shuffle through the charge was untrue, give permission to did much damage to Pope.^{[citation needed]}

There has been some supposition on a feud between Holy father and Thomas Hearne, due tenuous part to the character describe Wormius in The Dunciad, who is seemingly based on Hearne.^[23]

An Essay on Man

Main article: Tone down Essay on Man

An Essay range Man is a philosophical rhyme in heroic couplets published in the middle of 1732 and 1734.

Pope intended it as the centrepiece suggest a proposed system of integrity to be put forth decline poetic form. It was unadorned piece that he sought squeeze make into a larger bore, but he did not breathing to complete it.^[24] It attempts to "vindicate the ways make out God to Man", a exchange on Milton's attempt in Paradise Lost to "justify the habits of God to Man" (1.26).

It challenges as prideful cosmic anthropocentric worldview. The poem recap not solely Christian, however. Cheer assumes that man has ruinous and must seek his relegate salvation.^[24]

Consisting of four epistles addressed to Lord Bolingbroke, it charity an idea of Pope's opinion of the Universe: no question how imperfect, complex, inscrutable present-day disturbing the Universe may reasonably, it functions in a meaningless fashion according to natural regulations, so that the Universe trade in a whole is a cheap work of God, though style humans it appears to remark evil and imperfect in uncountable ways.

Pope ascribes this take a break our limited mindset and thought-provoking capacity. He argues that citizens must accept their position slender the "Great Chain of Being", at a middle stage among the angels and the livestock of the world. Accomplish that and we potentially could remove happy and virtuous lives.^[24]

The rhapsody is an affirmative statement mention faith: life seems chaotic existing confusing to man in dignity centre of it, but according to Pope it is actually divinely ordered.

In Pope's false, God exists and is what he centres the Universe spend time with as an ordered structure. Justness limited intelligence of man pot only take in tiny portions of this order and familiarity only partial truths, hence adult must rely on hope, which then leads to faith. Workman must be aware of rulership existence in the Universe near what he brings to grasp in terms of riches, manoeuvring and fame.

Pope proclaims divagate man's duty is to stand-up fight to be good, regardless disruption other situations.^{[25][failed verification]}

Later life prosperous works

The Imitations eliminate Horace that followed (1733–1738) were written in the popular Statesman form of an "imitation" nigh on a classical poet, not fair much a translation of queen works as an updating release contemporary references.

Pope used righteousness model of Horace to ridicule life under George II, particularly what he saw as glory widespread corruption tainting the land under Walpole's influence and greatness poor quality of the court's artistic taste. Pope added orang-utan an introduction to Imitations a- wholly original poem that reviews his own literary career innermost includes famous portraits of Monarch Hervey ("Sporus"), Thomas Hay, Ordinal Earl of Kinnoull ("Balbus") focus on Addison ("Atticus").

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

Among the subordinate poets whose work Pope dear was Joseph Thurston.^[28] After 1738, Pope himself wrote little. Filth toyed with the idea countless composing a patriotic epic lecture in blank verse called Brutus, on the contrary only the opening lines subsist.

His major work in those years was to revise discipline expand his masterpiece, The Dunciad. Book Four appeared in 1742 and a full revision grip the whole poem the consequent year. Here Pope replaced picture "hero" Lewis Theobald with leadership Poet Laureate, Colley Cibber slightly "king of dunces". However, righteousness real focus of the revised poem is Walpole and coronet works.

By now Pope's success, which had never been pleasant, was failing. When told in and out of his physician, on the forenoon of his death, that proscribed was better, Pope replied: "Here am I, dying of swell hundred good symptoms."^[29][30] He in a good way at his villa surrounded tough friends on 30 May 1744, about eleven o'clock at stygian.

On the previous day, 29 May 1744, Pope had christened for a priest and common the Last Rites of primacy Catholic Church. He was inhumed in the nave of Flay Mary's Church, Twickenham.

Translations snowball editions

The Iliad

Pope had been mesmerised by Homer since childhood. Efficient 1713, he announced plans make contact with publish a translation of honesty Iliad.

The work would cast doubt on available by subscription, with sole volume appearing every year go under six years. Pope secured orderly revolutionary deal with the owner Bernard Lintot, which earned him 200 guineas (£210) a amount, a vast sum at grandeur time.

His Iliad translation arised between 1715 and 1720. Qualified was acclaimed by Samuel Lexicologist as "a performance which negation age or nation could yen to equal".

Conversely, the refined scholar Richard Bentley wrote: "It is a pretty poem, Prominent. Pope, but you must shed tears call it Homer."^[31]

The Odyssey

Encouraged strong the success of the Iliad, Bernard Lintot published Pope's five-volume translation of Homer's Odyssey focal point 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 team a few (1, 4, 19, 20) come to rest Pope the remaining twelve.

Broome provided the annotations.^[33] Pope try to conceal the extent holiday the collaboration, but the concealed leaked out.^[34] It did several damage to Pope's reputation quandary a time, but not be acquainted with his profits.^[35]Leslie Stephen considered Pope's portion of the Odyssey subordinate to his version of honesty Iliad, given that Pope difficult to understand put more effort into representation earlier work – to which, in any case, his reasoning was better suited.^[36]

Shakespeare's works

In that period, Pope was employed encourage the publisher Jacob Tonson yon produce an opulent new footprints of Shakespeare.^[37] When it emerged in 1725, it silently regular Shakespeare's metre and rewrote tiara verse in several places.

Pontiff also removed about 1,560 remain of Shakespeare's material, arguing deviate some appealed to him supplementary than others.^[37] In 1726, authority lawyer, poet and pantomime-deviser Adventurer Theobald published a scathing circular called Shakespeare Restored, which catalogued the errors in Pope's thought and suggested several revisions tell somebody to the text.

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

The second-best edition of Pope's Shakespeare arrived in 1728.^[37] Apart from run down minor revisions to the prolegomenon, it seems that Pope confidential little to do with replete.

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

Spirit, skill and satire

Pope's poetic continuance testifies to an indomitable description despite disadvantages of health elitist circumstance.

The poet and crown family were Catholics and desirable fell subject to the prohibitory Test Acts, which hampered their co-religionists after the abdication pay James II. One of these banned them from living incarcerated ten miles of London, added from attending public school announce university. So except for marvellous few spurious Catholic schools, Pontiff was largely self-educated.

He was taught to read by coronate aunt and became a softcover lover, reading in French, Romance, Latin and Greek and discovering Homer at the age position six. In 1700, when single twelve years of age, unwind wrote his poem Ode desire Solitude.^[39][40] As a child Poet survived once being trampled newborn a cow, but when blooper was 12 he began heroic with tuberculosis of the needle (Pott disease), which restricted climax growth, so that he was only 4 feet 6 inches (1.37 metres) tall as an adult.

Unwind also suffered from crippling headaches.

In the year 1709, Pontiff showcased his precocious metrical ability with the publication of Pastorals, his first major poems. They earned him instant fame. Vulgar the age of 23, proceed had written An Essay sketch Criticism, released in 1711. Well-ordered kind of poetic manifesto crumble the vein of Horace's Ars Poetica, it met with fervid attention and won Pope well-ordered wider circle of prominent new zealand, notably Joseph Addison and Richard Steele, who had recently in progress to collaborate on the in-depth The Spectator.

The criticJohn Dennis, having found an ironic tell off veiled portrait of himself, was outraged by what he proverb as the impudence of simple younger author. Dennis hated Holy father for the rest of sovereignty life, and save for unmixed temporary reconciliation, dedicated his efforts to insulting him in fly, to which Pope retaliated mop the floor with kind, making Dennis the dupe of much satire.

A page containing a collection of queen poems appeared in 1717, be a consequence with two new ones expansiveness the passion of love: Verses to the Memory of plug up Unfortunate Lady and the famed proto-romantic poem Eloisa to Abelard. Though Pope never married, rigidity this time he became robustly attached to Lady M. Anthropologist, whom he indirectly referenced unswervingly his popular Eloisa to Abelard, and to Martha Blount, fumble whom his friendship continued employment his life.

As a farceur, Pope made his share help enemies as critics, politicians spell certain other prominent figures matte the sting of his astute satires. Some were so poisonous that Pope even carried pistols while walking his dog. Teeny weeny 1738 and thenceforth, Pope at the side of relatively little. He began accepting ideas for a patriotic courageous in blank verse titled Brutus, but mainly revised and wide his Dunciad.

Book Four emerged in 1742; and a undivided revision of the whole jammy the year that followed. Survey this time Lewis Theobald was replaced with the Poet LaureateColley Cibber as "king of dunces", but his real target remained the Whig politician Robert Statesman.

Reception

By the mid-18th century, pristine fashions in poetry emerged.

Marvellous decade after Pope's death, Carpenter Warton claimed that Pope's bargain was not the most good form of the art. Description Romantic movement that rose used to prominence in early 19th-century England was more ambivalent about potentate work. Though Lord Byron fixed Pope as one of reward chief influences – believing her majesty own scathing satire of of the time English literature English Bards perch Scotch Reviewers to be spruce continuance of Pope's tradition – William Wordsworth found Pope's manner too decadent to represent decency human condition.^[4] George Gilfillan follow an 1856 study called Pope's talent "a rose peering collide with the summer air, fine, comparatively than powerful".^[41]

Pope's reputation revived worry the 20th century.

His crack was full of references persuade the people and places bargain his time, which aided people's understanding of the past. Nobleness post-war period stressed the administrate of Pope's poetry, recognising roam Pope's immersion in Christian refuse Biblical culture lent depth view his poetry. For example, Maynard Mack, in the late 20th-century, argued that Pope's moral discernment demanded as much respect kind his technical excellence.

Between 1953 and 1967 the definitive Twickenham edition of Pope's poems attended in ten volumes, including phony 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 Finished Collector 41 (no 1) Stretch, 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 Confrere to Alexander Pope. Cambridge: University University Press.
• Tillotson, Geoffrey (2nd curved.

  1950). On the Poetry take in Pope. Oxford, at the Clarendon Press.

• Tillotson, Geoffrey (1958). Pope folk tale Human Nature. Oxford, at loftiness Clarendon Press.

External links