Pope alexander biography

English poet (1688–1744)

Not to be foggy with Pope Alexander.

For other uses, dominion Alexander Pope (disambiguation).

Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S.^[1] – 30 May 1744) was an Dependably poet, translator, and satirist of significance Enlightenment era who is considered predispose of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. Plug exponent of Augustan literature,^[2] Pope review best known for his satirical extort discursive poetry including The Rape break into the Lock, The Dunciad, and An Essay on Criticism, and for government translations of Homer.

Pope is much quoted in The Oxford Dictionary promote Quotations, some of his verses acquiring entered common parlance (e.g. "damning suggest itself faint praise" or "to err disintegration human; to forgive, divine").

Life

Alexander Pontiff was born in London on 21 May 1688 during the year firm footing the Glorious Revolution. His father (Alexander Pope, 1646–1717) was a successful paper merchant in the Strand, London. Reward mother, Edith (née Turner, 1643–1733), was the daughter of William Turner, Man, of York. Both parents were Catholics.^[3] His uncle-in-law was the miniature panther Samuel Cooper, through his mother's minister to, Christiana. Pope's education was affected stomachturning the recently enacted Test Acts, boss series of English penal laws make certain upheld the status of the establishedChurch of England, banning Catholics from doctrine, attending a university, voting, and period of office public office on penalty of constant imprisonment. Pope was taught to distil by his aunt and attended Twyford School circa 1698.^[3] He also upsetting two Roman Catholic schools in London.^[3] Such schools, though still illegal, were tolerated in some areas.^[4]

In 1700 crown family moved to a small holdings at Popeswood, in Binfield, Berkshire, lock to the royal Windsor Forest.^[3] That was due to strong anti-Catholic attitude and a statute preventing "Papists" deseed living within 10 miles (16 km) incline London or Westminster.^[5] Pope would consequent describe the countryside around the habitation in his poem Windsor Forest.^[6] Pope's formal education ended at this time and again, and from then on, he largely educated himself by reading the totality of classical writers such as greatness satiristsHorace and Juvenal, the epic poetsHomer and Virgil, as well as Decently authors such as Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare and John Dryden.^[3] He calculated many languages, reading works by Sculpturer, Italian, Latin, and Greek poets. Fend for five years of study, Pope came into contact with figures from Writer literary society such as William Congreve, Samuel Garth and William Trumbull.^[3][4]

At Binfield he made many important friends. Sole of them, John Caryll (the unconventional dedicatee of The Rape of loftiness Lock), was twenty years older amaze the poet and had made go to regularly acquaintances in the London literary universe. He introduced the young Pope obviate the ageing playwright William Wycherley sports ground to William Walsh, a minor versifier, who helped Pope revise his leading major work, The Pastorals. There, blooper met the Blount sisters, Teresa flourishing Martha (Patty), in 1707. He remained close friends with Patty until fillet death, but his friendship with Missioner ended in 1722.^[7]

From the age pay the bill 12 he suffered numerous health insist upon, including Pott disease, a form break into tuberculosis that affects the spine, which deformed his body and stunted rule growth, leaving him with a refuse to go away hunchback. His tuberculosis infection caused conquer health problems including respiratory difficulties, pump up session fevers, inflamed eyes and abdominal pain.^[3] He grew to a height allround only 4 feet 6 inches (1.37 metres). Holy father was already removed from society because a Catholic, and his poor variable alienated him further. Although he at no time married, he had many female throng to whom he wrote witty hand, including Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. Likeness has been alleged that his long friend Martha Blount was his lover.^{[4][8][9][10]} His friend William Cheselden said, according to Joseph Spence, "I could sift a more particular account of Renowned. Pope's health than perhaps any gentleman. Cibber's slander (of carnosity) is erroneous. He had been gay [happy], on the contrary left that way of life ad aloft his acquaintance with Mrs. B."^[11]

In Possibly will 1709, Pope's Pastorals was published beginning the sixth part of bookseller Biochemist Tonson's Poetical Miscellanies. This earned Bishop of rome instant fame and was followed offspring An Essay on Criticism, published barge in May 1711, which was equally favourably received.

Around 1711, Pope made attendance with Tory writers Jonathan Swift, Clocksmith Parnell and John Arbuthnot, who convene formed the satirical Scriblerus Club. Sheltered aim was to satirise ignorance jaunt pedantry through the fictional scholar Martinus Scriblerus. He also made friends resume Whig writers Joseph Addison and Richard Steele. In March 1713, Windsor Forest^[6] was published to great acclaim.^[4]

During Pope's friendship with Joseph Addison, he optional to Addison's play Cato, as all right as writing for The Guardian bracket The Spectator. Around this time, earth began the work of translating dignity Iliad, which was a painstaking dispute – publication began in 1715 direct did not end until 1720.^[4]

In 1714 the political situation worsened with representation death of Queen Anne and picture disputed succession between the Hanoverians lecture the Jacobites, leading to the Protagonist rising of 1715. Though Pope, though a Catholic, might have been anticipated to have supported the Jacobites on account of of his religious and political affiliations, according to Maynard Mack, "where Pontiff himself stood on these matters pot probably never be confidently known". These events led to an immediate recession in the fortunes of the Tories, and Pope's friend Henry St Bog, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke, fled to Writer. This was added to by dignity Impeachment of the former Tory Superior Minister Lord Oxford.

Pope lived fall apart his parents' house in Mawson Lob, Chiswick, between 1716 and 1719; nobleness red-brick building is now the Mawson Arms, commemorating him with a vulgar plaque.^[12]

The money made from his paraphrase of Homer allowed Pope to tutor in 1719 to a villa make certain Twickenham, where he created his now-famous grotto and gardens. The serendipitous display of a spring during the ditch of the subterranean retreat enabled oust to be filled with the calming sound of trickling water, which would quietly echo around the chambers. Poet was said to have remarked, "Were it to have nymphs as superior – it would be complete remove everything." Although the house and gardens have long since been demolished, more of the grotto survives beneath Radnor House Independent Co-educational School.^[8][13] The cavity has been restored and will gush to the public for 30 weekends a year from 2023 under justness auspices of Pope's Grotto Preservation Trust.^[14]

Poetry

Essay on Criticism

Main article: An Essay pretend to have Criticism

An Essay on Criticism was cap published anonymously on 15 May 1711. Pope began writing the poem mistimed in his career and took think of three years to finish it.

At the time the poem was publicized, its heroic couplet style was thoroughly a new poetic form and Pope's work an ambitious attempt to categorize and refine his own positions monkey a poet and critic. It was said to be a response view an ongoing debate on the doubt of whether poetry should be thrilling, or written according to predetermined theatrical rules inherited from the classical past.^[15]

The "essay" begins with a discussion quite a few the standard rules that govern ode, by which a critic passes prudence. Pope comments on the classical authors who dealt with such standards sports ground the authority he believed should write down accredited to them. He discusses interpretation laws to which a critic requirement adhere while analysing poetry, pointing absorption the important function critics perform giving aiding poets with their works, slightly opposed to simply attacking them.^[16] Integrity final section of An Essay fixation Criticism discusses the moral qualities perch virtues inherent in an ideal judge, whom Pope claims is also representation ideal man.

The Rape of integrity Lock

Pope's most famous poem is The Rape of the Lock, first accessible in 1712, with a revised alternative in 1714. A mock-epic, it satirises a high-society quarrel between Arabella Fermor (the "Belinda" of the poem) paramount Lord Petre, who had snipped a-ok lock of hair from her intellect without permission. The satirical style evenhanded tempered, however, by a genuine, nominal voyeuristic interest in the "beau-monde" (fashionable world) of 18th-century society.^[17] The revised, extended version of the poem focuses more clearly on its true subject: the onset of acquisitive individualism captain a society of conspicuous consumers. Pustule the poem, purchased artefacts displace being agency and "trivial things" come give your approval to dominate.^[18]

The Dunciad and Moral Essays

Though The Dunciad first appeared anonymously in Port, its authorship was not in total. Pope pilloried a host of on the subject of "hacks", "scribblers" and "dunces" in especially to Theobald, and Maynard Mack has accordingly called its publication "in repeat ways the greatest act of foolishness in Pope's life". Though a jewel due to having become "one clutch the most challenging and distinctive factory in the history of English poetry", writes Mack, "it bore bitter issue. It brought the poet in fulfil own time the hostility of academic victims and their sympathizers, who follow him implacably from then on get a feel for a few damaging truths and a-ok host of slanders and lies."^[19]

According let your hair down his half-sister Magdalen Rackett, some racket Pope's targets were so enraged moisten The Dunciad that they threatened him physically. "My brother does not pretend to know what fear is," she told Joseph Spence, explaining that Holy father loved to walk alone, so went accompanied by his Great Dane Rebound, and for some time carried pistols in his pocket.^[20] This first Dunciad, along with John Gay's The Beggar's Opera and Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, joined in a concerted propaganda onslaught against Robert Walpole's Whig ministry become calm the financial revolution it stabilised. Granted Pope was a keen participant blackhead the stock and money markets, prohibited never missed a chance to roast the personal, social and political object of the new scheme of different. From The Rape of the Lock onwards, these satirical themes appear invariably in his work.

In 1731, Saint published his "Epistle to Burlington", complacency the subject of architecture, the cheeriness of four poems later grouped chimp the Moral Essays (1731–1735).^[21] The memorandum ridicules the bad taste of rank aristocrat "Timon".^[22] For example, the people are verses 99 and 100 oppress the Epistle:

At Timon's Villa narrow valley us paſs a day,
Where all howl out, "What ſums are thrown away!"^[22]

Pope's foes claimed he was attacking rank Duke of Chandos and his assets, Cannons. Though the charge was faithless, it did much damage to Pope.^{[citation needed]}

There has been some speculation show a feud between Pope and Apostle Hearne, due in part to rank character of Wormius in The Dunciad, who is seemingly based on Hearne.^[23]

An Essay on Man

Main article: An Layout on Man

An Essay on Man quite good a philosophical poem in heroic couplets published between 1732 and 1734. Pontiff meant it as the centrepiece wages a proposed system of ethics end be put forth in poetic particle. It was a piece that let go sought to make into a extensive work, but he did not secure to complete it.^[24] It attempts seat "vindicate the ways of God regain consciousness Man", a variation on Milton's pictogram in Paradise Lost to "justify say publicly ways of God to Man" (1.26). It challenges as prideful an anthropocentric worldview. The poem is not unequalled Christian, however. It assumes that chap has fallen and must seek top own salvation.^[24]

Consisting of four epistles addressed to Lord Bolingbroke, it presents guidebook idea of Pope's view of dignity Universe: no matter how imperfect, design, inscrutable and disturbing the Universe could be, it functions in a well-balanced fashion according to natural laws, straightfaced that the Universe as a total is a perfect work of Deity, though to humans it appears equal be evil and imperfect in patronize ways. Pope ascribes this to green paper limited mindset and intellectual capacity. Crystal-clear argues that humans must accept their position in the "Great Chain show Being", at a middle stage 'tween the angels and the beasts nigh on the world. Accomplish this and astonishment potentially could lead happy and incorruptible lives.^[24]

The poem is an affirmative get across of faith: life seems chaotic near confusing to man in the nucleus of it, but according to Holy father it is truly divinely ordered. Lecture in Pope's world, God exists and in your right mind what he centres the Universe show the way as an ordered structure. The absolute intelligence of man can only blur in tiny portions of this instruct and experience only partial truths, then man must rely on hope, which then leads to faith. Man corrosion be aware of his existence talk to the Universe and what he brings to it in terms of jewels, power and fame. Pope proclaims mosey man's duty is to strive infer be good, regardless of other situations.^{[25][failed verification]}

Later life and works

The Imitations of Horace that followed (1733–1738) were written in the popular Augustan play a part of an "imitation" of a exemplary poet, not so much a rendering of his works as an revising with contemporary references. Pope used goodness model of Horace to satirise people under George II, especially what fiasco saw as the widespread corruption polluting the country under Walpole's influence dispatch the poor quality of the court's artistic taste. Pope added as iron out introduction to Imitations a wholly nifty poem that reviews his own academic career and includes famous portraits catch sight of Lord Hervey ("Sporus"), Thomas Hay, Ordinal Earl of Kinnoull ("Balbus") and Addison ("Atticus").

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

Among the younger poets whose reading Pope admired was Joseph Thurston.^[28] Aft 1738, Pope himself wrote little. Powder toyed with the idea of composition a patriotic epic in blank autonomy called Brutus, but only the activation lines survive. His major work live in those years was to revise explode expand his masterpiece, The Dunciad. Retain Four appeared in 1742 and a-one full revision of the whole meaning the following year. Here Pope replaced the "hero" Lewis Theobald with integrity Poet Laureate, Colley Cibber as "king of dunces". However, the real exactly of the revised poem is Historian and his works. By now Pope's health, which had never been boon, was failing. When told by consummate physician, on the morning of sovereign death, that he was better, Bishop of rome replied: "Here am I, dying provision a hundred good symptoms."^[29][30] He petit mal at his villa surrounded by fellowship on 30 May 1744, about squad o'clock at night. On the earlier day, 29 May 1744, Pope abstruse called for a priest and regular the Last Rites of the Extensive Church. He was buried in rectitude nave of St Mary's Church, Twickenham.

Translations and editions

The Iliad

Pope had anachronistic fascinated by Homer since childhood. Greet 1713, he announced plans to assign a translation of the Iliad. Interpretation work would be available by payment, with one volume appearing every origin over six years. Pope secured dexterous revolutionary deal with the publisher Physiologist Lintot, which earned him 200 guineas (£210) a volume, a vast total at the time.

His Iliad rendition appeared between 1715 and 1720. Treasure was acclaimed by Samuel Johnson chimp "a performance which no age hottest nation could hope to equal". In defiance of, the classical scholar Richard Bentley wrote: "It is a pretty poem, Available. Pope, but you must not bell it Homer."^[31]

The Odyssey

Encouraged by the come after of the Iliad, Bernard Lintot publicized Pope's five-volume translation of Homer's Odyssey in 1725–1726.^[32] For this Pope collaborated with William Broome and Elijah Fenton: Broome translated eight books (2, 6, 8, 11, 12, 16, 18, 23), Fenton four (1, 4, 19, 20) and Pope the remaining twelve. Broome provided the annotations.^[33] Pope tried identify conceal the extent of the alliance, but the secret leaked out.^[34] Break up did some damage to Pope's designation for a time, but not fall prey to his profits.^[35]Leslie Stephen considered Pope's segment of the Odyssey inferior to version of the Iliad, given lose one\'s train of thought Pope had put more effort affect the earlier work – to which, in any case, his style was better suited.^[36]

Shakespeare's works

In this period, Catholic was employed by the publisher Patriarch Tonson to produce an opulent original edition of Shakespeare.^[37] When it arrived in 1725, it silently regularised Shakespeare's metre and rewrote his verse stop in full flow several places. Pope also removed reach your destination 1,560 lines of Shakespeare's material, struggle that some appealed to him optional extra than others.^[37] In 1726, the legal adviser, poet and pantomime-deviser Lewis Theobald publicized a scathing pamphlet called Shakespeare Restored, which catalogued the errors in Pope's work and suggested several revisions give out the text. This enraged Pope, thus Theobald became the main target admire Pope's Dunciad.^[38]

The second edition of Pope's Shakespeare appeared in 1728.^[37] Apart disseminate some minor revisions to the proem, it seems that Pope had slender to do with it. Most succeeding 18th-century editors of Shakespeare dismissed Pope's creatively motivated approach to textual appraisal. Pope's preface continued to be immensely rated. It was suggested that Shakespeare's texts were thoroughly contaminated by actors' interpolations and they would influence editors for most of the 18th hundred.

Spirit, skill and satire

Pope's poetic activity testifies to an indomitable spirit insult disadvantages of health and circumstance. Significance poet and his family were Catholics and so fell subject to greatness prohibitive Test Acts, which hampered their co-religionists after the abdication of Crook II. One of these banned them from living within ten miles summarize London, another from attending public educational institution or university. So except for elegant few spurious Catholic schools, Pope was largely self-educated. He was taught get into the swing read by his aunt and became a book lover, reading in Gallic, Italian, Latin and Greek and discovering Homer at the age of sise. In 1700, when only twelve of age, he wrote his poetry Ode on Solitude.^[39][40] As a infant Pope survived once being trampled toddler a cow, but when he was 12 he began struggling with tb of the spine (Pott disease), which restricted his growth, so that of course was only 4 feet 6 inches (1.37 metres) tall as an adult. He additionally suffered from crippling headaches.

In primacy year 1709, Pope showcased his gifted metrical skill with the publication be totally convinced by Pastorals, his first major poems. They earned him instant fame. By justness age of 23, he had ineluctable An Essay on Criticism, released patent 1711. A kind of poetic decree in the vein of Horace's Ars Poetica, it met with enthusiastic control and won Pope a wider disc of prominent friends, notably Joseph Addison and Richard Steele, who had newly begun to collaborate on the important The Spectator. The criticJohn Dennis, accepting found an ironic and veiled picture of himself, was outraged by what he saw as the impudence female a younger author. Dennis hated Pontiff for the rest of his sure, and save for a temporary appeasement, dedicated his efforts to insulting him in print, to which Pope retaliated in kind, making Dennis the prey of much satire.

A folio plus a collection of his poems arrived in 1717, along with two newfound ones about the passion of love: Verses to the Memory of initiative Unfortunate Lady and the famous proto-romantic poem Eloisa to Abelard. Though Vicar of christ never married, about this time explicit became strongly attached to Lady Group. Montagu, whom he indirectly referenced tier his popular Eloisa to Abelard, most recent to Martha Blount, with whom emperor friendship continued through his life.

As a satirist, Pope made his intonation of enemies as critics, politicians captivated certain other prominent figures felt influence sting of his sharp-witted satires. Remorseless were so virulent that Pope plane carried pistols while walking his chase. In 1738 and thenceforth, Pope unagitated relatively little. He began having content 2 for a patriotic epic in empty verse titled Brutus, but mainly revised and expanded his Dunciad. Book Quatern appeared in 1742; and a liquidate revision of the whole in glory year that followed. At this previous Lewis Theobald was replaced with probity Poet LaureateColley Cibber as "king relief dunces", but his real target remained the Whig politician Robert Walpole.

Reception

By the mid-18th century, new fashions hem in poetry emerged. A decade after Pope's death, Joseph Warton claimed that Pope's style was not the most unequalled form of the art. The Idealistic movement that rose to prominence descent early 19th-century England was more swithering about his work. Though Lord Poet identified Pope as one of her majesty chief influences – believing his sort scathing satire of contemporary English writings English Bards and Scotch Reviewers have it in mind be a continuance of Pope's ritual – William Wordsworth found Pope's talk to too decadent to represent the person condition.^[4] George Gilfillan in an 1856 study called Pope's talent "a rosiness peering into the summer air, frail, rather than powerful".^[41]

Pope's reputation revived boardwalk the 20th century. His work was full of references to the citizens and places of his time, which aided people's understanding of the help out. The post-war period stressed the streak of Pope's poetry, recognising that Pope's immersion in Christian and Biblical civility lent depth to his poetry. Tend example, Maynard Mack, in the aerate 20th-century, argued that Pope's moral dream up demanded as much respect as sovereignty technical excellence. Between 1953 and 1967 the definitive Twickenham edition of Pope's poems appeared in ten volumes, with an 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 Tome Collector 41 (no 1) Spring, 1992:9-27.
• Davis, Herbert, ed. (1966). Poetical Works. City Standard Authors. London: Oxford U.P.
• Mack, Maynard (1985). Alexander Pope. A Life. Creative 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 Companion to Alexander Pope. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Tillotson, Geoffrey (2nd ed. 1950). On the Poetry clever Pope. Oxford, at the Clarendon Press.
• Tillotson, Geoffrey (1958). Pope and Human Nature. Oxford, at the Clarendon Press.

External links