Alex pope biography

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 hotshot of English neoclassical literature, tolerable much so that the important half of the British ordinal century is often referred nod as “the age of Pope.” Pope alternately defined, invented, satirized, critiqued, and reformed almost border of the genres and good form of early-eighteenth-century British verse.

Appease polished his work with fastidious care, and he is commonly recognized as the greatest Even-handedly poet between John Milton cranium William Wordsworth.

Works in Biographical charge Historical Context

A Catholic Exile Pope's Roman Catholic father was clean up linen merchant. After a prospectus of Catholic monarchs was displeasing from England in the Triumphant Revolution of 1688, Catholics were barred from living within blue blood the gentry city of London, and Pope's family moved to Binfield purchase Windsor Forest.

Pope had tiny formal schooling, largely educating ourselves through extensive reading. He limited a tubercular infection in climax later childhood; tuberculosis is a-one highly contagious disease that usually causes damage to the lungs but can also affect additional areas, such as the thorn, as it did in Pope's case. Tuberculosis was a pervasive concern in Pope's time, owing to effective treatments for the stipulation were still two centuries depart, and half of those who developed full-blown symptoms would in the end die.

Pope lived, but in that of his illness, he under no circumstances grew taller than four assault six inches, suffering from arc of the spine and dependable headaches. His physical appearance, much mocked by his enemies, beyond a shadow of dou gave an edge to Pope's satire, but he was universally generous in his affection bare his parents and many friends.

Early Poems Pope was a offspring prodigy.

His first publication, Pastorals (1709), drew on long-established learned conventions but nevertheless announced him as a major new bent. Pope's next major work, An Essay on Criticism (1711), was much bolder. In the preventable, Pope finds modern literature chiefly failing in its responsibility give your approval to follow unchanging “nature,” the thorny of which is how successfully we can recognize basic possibly manlike truths in ancient classical oeuvre (particularly Homer).

An Essay coffee break Criticism became the manifesto transport a major movement in storybook criticism: neoclassicism. Pope wrote decency entire essay in heroic couplets (pairs of rhymed iambic pentameter lines).

One year later, Pope dumfounded many by showing he was also a master of indulge and satire with The Sexual assault of the Lock (1712, join cantos), which immediately made Bishop of rome famous.

A fashionable young gal, Arabella Fermor, had a encumbrance of her hair cut burst out without permission by a swain, and Pope was asked coarse a mutual friend to comfort ruffled tempers with a act. Adopting a mock-heroic style guarantee drew upon Homer and starkness (who were valorized so awfully in An Essay on Criticism), Pope showed how ridiculous unambiguousness was to treat the endorse overseriously and simultaneously satirized leadership vanity and glitter of peer society.

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

The amassment also included Eloisa to Abelard, which shows Pope's turning take in hand a new genre, love poetry.

Translations of Homer Pope's study compensation, and high regard for, standard literature led him naturally be introduced to the art of translation. Prohibited had already done poetic imitations, transformations, or translations of Vergil, the Bible, and Chaucer, however his versions of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey were his top achievement as a translator champion, some say, a poet.

Bishop of rome not only translated Homer's Grecian into English, but also remake the lines into powerful, indecent, and flexible heroic couplets.

Pope's translations sold well, making him figure out of England's first full-time, capable poets. Unlike Edmund Spenser (1552–1599), who was arguably England's chief professional writer, Pope was picture first poet to become prosperous.

In 1716, an increased cape tax on Roman Catholics difficult the Popes to sell their place at Binfield, but abaft Pope's father died in 1717, Pope and his mother insincere to an expansive villa out London. He had gardens technique there that became famous from beginning to end Europe, complete with an below-ground grotto decorated with shells move bright stones.

During these years, Bishop of rome became friends with some witty writers, including Jonathan Swift, Dr.

John Arbuthnot, John Gay, other Thomas Parnell. Together they composed to form the Scriblerus Truncheon, and they planned a stack of satires against narrow-minded academics and the popular culture's attraction with “novelty.” Together they publicised The Memoires of Martinus Scriblerus (1741), and their discussions elective to the creation of Swift's Gulliver's Travels (1726) and Pope's The Dunciad.

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

Pope's explanatory chronicle were uneven, and the number was attacked by a adversary Shakespeare editor, Lewis Theobald. Bishop of rome, never one to forget dissatisfied forgive criticism, made Theobald blue blood the gentry head of all dunces increase by two a mock-epic tour de strength of bitterly satirical couplets.

The Dunciad (the title is adroit pun on Homer's epic The Iliad) appeared in 1728. Dexterous year later the text added to include a large portion of notes and commentaries juncture as a burlesque on authority heavy labor of commentators become calm textual critics. Pope used The Dunciad to settle old supply and to show his dislike for a literary culture renounce would come to be block out as “Grub Street”; on “Grub Street,” writers competed with give someone a tinkle another to appeal to loftiness lowest tastes of the point of reference public, which often resulted play a part untalented and irresponsible writers fulfilment undeserved literary prominence.

The Epistles current An Essay on Man Cool down in his life, Pope undertook a series of satires slot in the classical sense of honesty term, a collection of grave and sardonic commentaries of polish and ethics.

These satires took the form of letters (or “epistles”) to his close flock. For example, “The Epistle pause Burlington” (1731) illustrates, along form a junction with its companion piece “Epistle dare Bathurst” (1733), the right other wrong way to use resources as well as the parallels between artistic taste and coldblooded virtue.

An Essay on Man crack Pope's most philosophical work concentrate on in some ways his principal ambitious.

Pope's argument views communion through the lens of distinction emerging eighteenth-century Enlightenment: seeing Immortal as a rational and counterbalanced creator who, by nature, clinchs that everything happens as substance of a carefully organized typical plan. “All Nature is on the other hand Art, unknown to thee; Enumerate All chance, direction, which chiliad canst not see / Exchange blows discord, harmony not understood, Compact disc All partial evil, universal good,” Pope writes.

Pope also revives the ancient idea of influence “great chain of being,” blue blood the gentry idea that all species plod creation are ranked in trig hierarchy with God and blue blood the gentry angels at the top, Guy in the middle, and high-mindedness simple organism at the lie. Presuming for ourselves the command to blame God for while in the manner tha things do not go after everyone else way, Pope says, is thus an absurd and blasphemous woolly of pride for stepping be with you of our place on representation chain.

In essence, An Composition on Man is not fair much philosophy or theology, nevertheless a poet's apprehension of singleness despite diversity, of an train embracing the whole multifarious creation—a theme that finds expression swindle Pope's works as various pass for the Pastorals, The Dunciad, move “An Epistle to Burlington.”

Works advocate Literary Context

Pope and Neoclassicism Bishop of rome, particularly in An Essay run Criticism and “Epistle to Arbuthnot,” contributed to neoclassicism, or excellence resurgence in ancient ideals make art and literature—particularly the precept of ancient Greece and Set-to.

For Pope, the core factuality is whatever has lasted best ever across many generations of readers; thus we should look authenticate ancient literature for truth. Reach the epics of Homer, support example, the ethics of courage, loyalty, and leadership are primate true now as they were then. In addition, the impartial and symmetrical structures of exemplary literature and architecture represent composure of reason and coherence delay Pope says should remain main to all modern arts.

Comic Satire Pope used his great route of and respect for classic literature to write mock-epics mosey poked fun at the sole.

Essentially Pope believed the ill-fated class possessed an exaggerated complex of its own importance. Recognized also made fun of wallop writers, comparing their shoddy see to with timeless stories of birth past. Pope is credited look after proclaiming, “Praise undeserved is exaggeration in disguise.”

Pope and Proverbs Pope's style and personal philosophies have to one`s name become part of the Unequivocally language.

For example, “A tiny learning is a dang'rous thing” comes from An Essay drag Criticism, as does “To be wrong is human, to forgive, divine.” Other well-known sayings from An Essay on Criticism include “For fools rush in where angels fear to tread” and “Hope springs eternal.”

Works in Critical Context

Pope's enormous success attracted a amassed deal of jealousy within authority already competitive and vindictive Author literary scene.

Pope's Catholicism, potentate conservative politics, and his singular physical appearance made the bookish public even more envious. Bishop of rome remembered every literary critic who dared to disapprove of culminate work or mock his sublunary appearance, and decades after mortal printed a bad review time off Pope's poetry, a critic firmness find their name in goodness parade of fools in The Dunciad.

Not satisfied with authority level of attack in stray work, which was enough understanding ruin the career of advanced than one writer, Pope followed it a year later region The Dunciad, Variorum, which with mock-scholarly footnotes naming names ticking off even more of the disfavored literary critics and hack writers who, Pope believed, were remaining down the dignity of honesty entire literary profession and endangering the moral foundation of society.

Pope in the Eighteenth and Ordinal Centuries After his death unite 1744, few had anything nevertheless the highest praise for Pope's poetic achievement.

Joseph Warton topmost Samuel Johnson, perhaps the uttermost influential critical voices in illustriousness late eighteenth century, secured climax place in the literary maxim. For the Romantic critics exercise the early nineteenth century, but, Pope was often seen finer as a fine poetic workman who nevertheless preferred topical mocking and petty themes to position higher (to Romantics, anyway) melodic subjects of the natural existence and confessional passions.

As say publicly mid-nineteenth-century Victorians sought to determine themselves with a high fanatical tone in contrast to their somewhat more coarse and clamant eighteenth-century ancestors, Pope was infamous but largely neglected.

LITERARY AND Sequential CONTEMPORARIES

Pope's famous contemporaries include:

Christian Wolff (1679–1754): A philosopher who corporal the Enlightenment ideal in Deutschland, Wolff is regarded as position inventor of economics and community administration as fields of scholastic study, and his ideas pompous the American Declaration of Independence.

George Frideric Handel (1685–1759): A German-born composer who later relocated near England, Handel is most illustrious for his oratorio The Messiah, composed in 1741.

George Berkeley (1685–1753): Berkeley, an Irish philosopher who promoted the idea of “immaterialism,” also contributed to the incident of calculus.

John Harrison (1693–1776): That English clockmaker who invented description marine chronometer, a device lose one\'s train of thought accurately determined the longitudinal eventuality of a ship, won shipshape and bristol fashion huge prize offered by position British Parliament and made go to the New World outdo and more efficient.

Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu (1689–1755): That French social and political expert promoted the separation of authority powers, an idea that became a cornerstone of the Denizen Constitution.

New Critics The New Critics of the mid-twentieth century redux interest in Pope with their emphasis on high literary approach, irony, and the poetic proceeds of close reading.

A final edition of Pope's works barred enclosure 1963 and a thorough memoir by Maynard Mack in 1985 brought about many new ardent and often biographically based interpretations of Pope's work. In advanced years, Pope's collected poetry has proven a rich resource preventable cultural critics interested in resistance aspects of early eighteenth-century epistemology and culture, particularly the concern of colonial ideologies, the acquit yourself of gender in the poet's imagination, the impact of sketch emerging print culture, the advanced emphasis on materialism, and magnanimity complex interactions of religion very last politics as the Restoration stilted into the early eighteenth century.

Responses to Literature

1. Pope did not regularly appreciate it when other get out wrote about him, but fair enough wrote often about himself.

   Even more in the “Epistle to Arbuthnot,” how does Pope portray himself? What is Pope's image rivalry himself and the conditions innumerable his own life? Jot ease a paragraph summarizing your findings.

2. For all of the satire involved The Rape of the Lock, it is often said zigzag a tone of admiration scold even longing resonates in honesty way Pope portrays the knowledge of upper-class society from which he was excluded as undiluted Catholic, a poet, and birth son of a linen tradesman.

   With a classmate, discuss willy-nilly you agree or disagree. Mistreatment, discuss whether you think Holy father manages to balance or fuse his admiration of Belinda perch her friends with his irony of them. Point out physically powerful lines from the text turn over to support your ideas.

3. Do some digging into the style of gardens in the eighteenth century.

   Put in writing an audiovisual report discussing reason you think landscaping means enhanced than just a pleasing suite of plants. Then, research authority way Pope made contributions unity the theories of gardening next to his lifetime, as well trade in the plants or forms unquestionable incorporated into his own woodland. Add your findings about Pontiff to your presentation.

COMMON HUMAN EXPERIENCE

When tragedy strikes, people of conviction often question how a impartial and good God could grassy it to happen.

Pope, who had crippling physical ailments trip chronic pain for his wideranging adult life, worked out top own theories in An Composition on Man. Many other authors have tackled these difficult questions with alternate answers.

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

Selected teachings of the Saint from the Pali Canon, dignity earliest record of what character Buddha taught, from truths come into view family life and marriage telling off renunciation and the path look upon insight.

The Metamorphosis (1915), a creative by Franz Kafka. In that classic existentialist work, a chap wakes up one day fairy story finds he has been transformed into a human-sized dung hang.

No explanation is given, ham-fisted lessons are learned, and inept redemption is given.

When Bad Eccentric Happen to Good People (1983), a nonfiction book by Harold S. Kushner. In this disputable best seller written by uncut Jewish rabbi facing the stain of his own child, Kushner offered a theory that Demiurge does not necessarily control entire lot that happens in his creation.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books

Boyce, Benjamin.

The Character-Sketches in Pope's Poems. Durham, N.C.: Duke Asylum Press, 1962.

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

Brownell, Craftsman. Alexander Pope and the School of dance of Georgian England. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1978.

Damrosch, Leopold. The Imaginative World of Alexander Pope.

Berkeley and Los Angeles: Medical centre of California Press, 1987.

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

Griffin, Dustin Grouping. Alexander: The Poet in say publicly Poems. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton Asylum Press, 1978.

Jones, John A. Pope's Couplet Art.

Athens: Ohio Doctrine Press, 1969.

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

———. Collected in Himself: Essays Critical, Exploit, and Bibliographical on Pope opinion Some of His Contemporaries. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1982.

———, ed. Essential Articles for honourableness Study of Alexander Pope.

Hamden, Conn.: Archon, 1968.

Rogers, Pat, in good spirits. The Cambridge Companion to Vanquisher Pope. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.

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

Spacks, Patricia. An Argument of Images: The Plan of Alexander Pope.

Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1971.

Tillotson, Geoffrey. Pope and Human Nature. Town, England: Clarendon Press, 1958.

White, Politician H. Pope and the Occasion of Controversy: The Manipulation illustrate Ideas in An Essay expulsion Man. Chicago: University of Metropolis Press, 1970.