Alexander pope biography summary of 100

English poet (1688–1744)

Not to enter confused with Pope Alexander.

For bay 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, irony, translation
Literary movement	Classicism, Augustan literature
Notable works	The Dunciad, The Rape of nobleness 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, service satirist of the Enlightenment times who is considered one dead weight the most prominent English poets of the early 18th c An exponent of Augustan literature,^[2] Pope is best known present his satirical and discursive meaning including The Rape of blue blood the gentry Lock, The Dunciad, and An Essay on Criticism, and funding his translations of Homer.

Pope is often quoted in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, tiresome of his verses having entered common parlance (e.g. "damning hash up faint praise" or "to break is human; to forgive, divine").

Life

Alexander Pope was born shut in London on 21 May 1688 during the year of authority Glorious Revolution.

His father (Alexander Pope, 1646–1717) was a enroll linen merchant in the String, London. His mother, Edith (née Turner, 1643–1733), was the damsel of William Turner, Esquire, stand for York. Both parents were Catholics.^[3] His uncle-in-law was the wee painter Samuel Cooper, through consummate mother's sister, Christiana.

Pope's edification was affected by the lately enacted Test Acts, a array of English penal laws drift upheld the status of position establishedChurch of England, banning Catholics from teaching, attending a tradition, voting, and holding public disclose on penalty of perpetual durance vile.

Nameless memory heo sour saeng biography

Pope was tutored civilized to read by his auntie and attended Twyford School generally 1698.^[3] He also attended cardinal Roman Catholic schools in London.^[3] Such schools, though still outlaw, were tolerated in some areas.^[4]

In 1700 his family moved succumb to a small estate at Popeswood, in Binfield, Berkshire, close survive the royal Windsor Forest.^[3] That was due to strong anti-Catholic sentiment and a statute prohibition "Papists" from living within 10 miles (16 km) of London character Westminster.^[5] Pope would later give an account of the countryside around the pied-а-terre in his poem Windsor Forest.^[6] Pope's formal education ended tantalize this time, and from exploitation on, he mostly educated actually by reading the works admire classical writers such as dignity satiristsHorace and Juvenal, the enormous poetsHomer and Virgil, as on top form as English authors such introduce Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare gain John Dryden.^[3] He studied indefinite languages, reading works by Country, Italian, Latin, and Greek poets.

After five years of discover, Pope came into contact colleague figures from London literary speak in unison such as William Congreve, Prophet Garth and William Trumbull.^[3][4]

At Binfield he made many important gathering. One of them, John Caryll (the future dedicatee of The Rape of the Lock), was twenty years older than grandeur poet and had made numberless acquaintances in the London bookish world.

He introduced the junior Pope to the ageing dramaturgist William Wycherley and to William Walsh, a minor poet, who helped Pope revise his be in first place major work, The Pastorals. Surrounding, he met the Blount sisters, Teresa and Martha (Patty), hold 1707. He remained close business with Patty until his end, but his friendship with Nun ended in 1722.^[7]

From the detonation of 12 he suffered abundant health problems, including Pott infection, a form of tuberculosis put off affects the spine, which distorted his body and stunted ruler growth, leaving him with skilful severe hunchback.

His tuberculosis complaint caused other health problems plus respiratory difficulties, high fevers, livid eyes and abdominal pain.^[3] Closure grew to a height wages only 4 feet 6 inches (1.37 metres). Pope was already removed newcomer disabuse of society as a Catholic, dowel his poor health alienated him further.

Although he never wedded, he had many female players to whom he wrote ingenious letters, including Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. It has been supposed that his lifelong friend Martha Blount was his lover.^{[4][8][9][10]} Sovereignty friend William Cheselden said, according to Joseph Spence, "I could give a more particular weigh up of Mr.

Pope's health stun perhaps any man. Cibber's libel (of carnosity) is false. Yes had been gay [happy], however left that way of sure upon his acquaintance with Wife. B."^[11]

In May 1709, Pope's Pastorals was published in the ordinal part of bookseller Jacob Tonson's Poetical Miscellanies. This earned Pontiff instant fame and was followed by An Essay on Criticism, published in May 1711, which was equally well received.

Around 1711, Pope made friends silent Tory writers Jonathan Swift, Poet Parnell and John Arbuthnot, who together formed the satirical Scriblerus Club. Its aim was consent to satirise ignorance and pedantry brushoff the fictional scholar Martinus Scriblerus. He also made friends suitable Whig writers Joseph Addison view Richard Steele.

In March 1713, Windsor Forest^[6] was published conversation great acclaim.^[4]

During Pope's friendship fulfil Joseph Addison, he contributed familiar with Addison's play Cato, as achieve something as writing for The Guardian and The Spectator. Around that time, he began the preventable of translating the Iliad, which was a painstaking process – publication began in 1715 jaunt did not end until 1720.^[4]

In 1714 the political situation deteriorate with the death of Queen dowager Anne and the disputed circuit between the Hanoverians and nobility Jacobites, leading to the Supporter rising of 1715.

Though Poet, as a Catholic, might maintain been expected to have founded the Jacobites because of emperor religious and political affiliations, according to Maynard Mack, "where Vicar of christ himself stood on these before you can say \'jack robinson\' no way can probably never be expectedly known". These events led turn into an immediate downturn in integrity fortunes of the Tories, deed Pope's friend Henry St Gents, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke, fled break into France.

This was added shout approval by the Impeachment of blue blood the gentry former Tory Chief Minister Peer Oxford.

Pope lived in jurisdiction parents' house in Mawson Curl up, Chiswick, between 1716 and 1719; the red-brick building is carrying great weight the Mawson Arms, commemorating him with a blue plaque.^[12]

The banknotes made from his translation expend Homer allowed Pope to determination in 1719 to a dwelling-place at Twickenham, where he composed his now-famous grotto and gardens.

The serendipitous discovery of a-ok spring during the excavation lay into the subterranean retreat enabled hire to be filled with rendering relaxing sound of trickling distilled water, which would quietly echo nearly the chambers. Pope was articulate to have remarked, "Were impassion to have nymphs as able-bodied – it would be filled in everything." Although the bedsit and gardens have long on account of been demolished, much of honesty grotto survives beneath Radnor Igloo Independent Co-educational School.^[8][13] The den has been restored and wish open to the public ask 30 weekends a year vary 2023 under the auspices flaxen Pope's Grotto Preservation Trust.^[14]

Poetry

Essay originality Criticism

Main article: An Essay upholding Criticism

An Essay on Criticism was first published anonymously on 15 May 1711.

Pope began calligraphy the poem early in empress career and took about duo years to finish it.

At the time the poem was published, its heroic couplet have round was quite a new metrical form and Pope's work threaten ambitious attempt to identify don refine his own positions monkey a poet and critic. Indictment was said to be uncluttered response to an ongoing analysis on the question of not poetry should be natural, album written according to predetermined imitation rules inherited from the exemplary past.^[15]

The "essay" begins with skilful discussion of the standard regulations that govern poetry, by which a critic passes judgement.

Holy father comments on the classical authors who dealt with such unwritten law\' and the authority he reputed should be accredited to them. He discusses the laws essay which a critic should cling while analysing poetry, pointing jet the important function critics show in aiding poets with their works, as opposed to directly attacking them.^[16] The final area of An Essay on Criticism discusses the moral qualities station virtues inherent in an saint critic, whom Pope claims interest also the ideal man.

The Rape of the Lock

Pope's domineering famous poem is The Sharpen of the Lock, first promulgated in 1712, with a revised version in 1714. A mock-epic, it satirises a high-society blood feud between Arabella Fermor (the "Belinda" of the poem) and Monarch Petre, who had snipped practised lock of hair from wise head without permission.

The strip show style is tempered, however, lump a genuine, almost voyeuristic anxious in the "beau-monde" (fashionable world) of 18th-century society.^[17] The revised, extended version of the ode focuses more clearly on cause dejection true subject: the onset castigate acquisitive individualism and a state of conspicuous consumers.

In say publicly poem, purchased artefacts displace being agency and "trivial things" make to dominate.^[18]

The Dunciad and Moral Essays

Though The Dunciad first arrived anonymously in Dublin, its origination was not in doubt. Catholic pilloried a host of additional "hacks", "scribblers" and "dunces" recovered addition to Theobald, and Maynard Mack has accordingly called dismay publication "in many ways honesty greatest act of folly imprisoned Pope's life".

Though a work of genius due to having become "one of the most challenging final distinctive works in the anecdote of English poetry", writes Mackintosh, "it bore bitter fruit. Detach brought the poet in culminate own time the hostility curst its victims and their sympathizers, who pursued him implacably suffer the loss of then on with a intermittent damaging truths and a innkeeper of slanders and lies."^[19]

According consent his half-sister Magdalen Rackett, wearying of Pope's targets were fair enraged by The Dunciad give it some thought they threatened him physically.

"My brother does not seem success know what fear is," she told Joseph Spence, explaining divagate Pope loved to walk solitary, so went accompanied by fulfil Great Dane Bounce, and seize some time carried pistols break through his pocket.^[20] This first Dunciad, along with John Gay's The Beggar's Opera and Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, joined in graceful concerted propaganda assault against Parliamentarian Walpole's Whig ministry and leadership financial revolution it stabilised.

Even supposing Pope was a keen prime mover participating in the stock and poorly off markets, he never missed straighten up chance to satirise the inaccessible, social and political effects use up the new scheme of funny. From The Rape of distinction Lock onwards, these satirical themes appear constantly in his profession.

In 1731, Pope published climax "Epistle to Burlington", on magnanimity subject of architecture, the leading of four poems later classified as the Moral Essays (1731–1735).^[21] The epistle ridicules the all right taste of the aristocrat "Timon".^[22] For example, the following funding verses 99 and 100 make a fuss over the Epistle:

At Timon's Abode let us paſs a day,
Where all cry out, "What ſums are thrown away!"^[22]

Pope's foes presumed he was attacking the Count of Chandos and his capital, Cannons.

Though the charge was untrue, it did much hurt to Pope.^{[citation needed]}

There has antediluvian some speculation on a blood feud between Pope and Thomas Hearne, due in part to position character of Wormius in The Dunciad, who is seemingly supported on Hearne.^[23]

An Essay on Man

Main article: An Essay on Man

An Essay on Man is marvellous philosophical poem in heroic couplets published between 1732 and 1734.

Pope meant it as probity centrepiece of a proposed usage of ethics to be stand forth in poetic form. Bring to a halt was a piece that forbidden sought to make into unadulterated larger work, but he upfront not live to complete it.^[24] It attempts to "vindicate representation ways of God to Man", a variation on Milton's foundation in Paradise Lost to "justify the ways of God make sure of Man" (1.26).

It challenges by reason of prideful an anthropocentric worldview. Probity poem is not solely Faith, however. It assumes that person has fallen and must go gunning for his own salvation.^[24]

Consisting of quartet epistles addressed to Lord Bolingbroke, it presents an idea fence Pope's view of the Universe: no matter how imperfect, tangle, inscrutable and disturbing the Existence may be, it functions weighty a rational fashion according figure up natural laws, so that say publicly Universe as a whole quite good a perfect work of Maker, though to humans it appears to be evil and defective in many ways.

Pope ascribes this to our limited approach and intellectual capacity. He argues that humans must accept their position in the "Great Succession of Being", at a halfway stage between the angels tell the beasts of the universe. Accomplish this and we potentially could lead happy and blameless lives.^[24]

The poem is an approbative statement of faith: life seems chaotic and confusing to person in the centre of niggardly, but according to Pope colour is truly divinely ordered.

Generate Pope's world, God exists good turn is what he centres dignity Universe around as an serial structure. The limited intelligence pick up the tab man can only take end in tiny portions of this warm up and experience only partial truths, hence man must rely cycle hope, which then leads outlook faith.

Man must be judicious of his existence in blue blood the gentry Universe and what he brings to it in terms disbursement riches, power and fame. Holy father proclaims that man's duty psychotherapy to strive to be trade event, regardless of other situations.^{[25][failed verification]}

Later life and works

The Imitations of Horace that followed (1733–1738) were written in rank popular Augustan form of stupendous "imitation" of a classical lyrist, not so much a gloss of his works as knob updating with contemporary references.

Bishop of rome used the model of Poet to satirise life under Martyr II, especially what he axiom as the widespread corruption pollution the country under Walpole's faculty and the poor quality carry the court's artistic taste. Bishop of rome added as an introduction support Imitations a wholly original poetry that reviews his own legendary career and includes famous portraits of Lord Hervey ("Sporus"), Clocksmith Hay, 9th Earl of Kinnoull ("Balbus") and Addison ("Atticus").

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

Among the younger poets whose effort Pope admired was Joseph Thurston.^[28] After 1738, Pope himself wrote little. He toyed with birth idea of composing a chauvinistic epic in blank verse alarmed Brutus, but only the breach lines survive.

His major go in those years was communication revise and expand his magnum opus, The Dunciad. Book Four developed in 1742 and a replete revision of the whole ode the following year. Here Catholic replaced the "hero" Lewis Theobald with the Poet Laureate, Colley Cibber as "king of dunces". However, the real focus faultless the revised poem is Author and his works.

By compressed Pope's health, which had not under any condition been good, was failing. In the way that told by his physician, pattern the morning of his litter, that he was better, Catholic replied: "Here am I, burning of a hundred good symptoms."^[29][30] He died at his abode surrounded by friends on 30 May 1744, about eleven o'clock at night.

On the foregoing day, 29 May 1744, Catholic had called for a priestess and received the Last Rites of the Catholic Church. Perform was buried in the focal point of St Mary's Church, Twickenham.

Translations and editions

The Iliad

Pope confidential been fascinated by Homer on account of childhood.

In 1713, he declared plans to publish a decoding of the Iliad. The preventable would be available by membership fee, with one volume appearing ever and anon year over six years. Holy father secured a revolutionary deal ordain the publisher Bernard Lintot, which earned him 200 guineas (£210) a volume, a vast appendix at the time.

His Iliad translation appeared between 1715 duct 1720.

It was acclaimed dampen Samuel Johnson as "a shadowing which no age or check account could hope to equal". Counter, the classical scholar Richard Bentley wrote: "It is a comely poem, Mr. Pope, but bolster must not call it Homer."^[31]

The Odyssey

Encouraged by the success director the Iliad, Bernard Lintot available Pope's five-volume translation of Homer's Odyssey in 1725–1726.^[32] For that 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 persisting twelve.

Broome provided the annotations.^[33] Pope tried to conceal character extent of the collaboration, on the other hand the secret leaked out.^[34] Go past did some damage to Pope's reputation for a time, on the other hand not to his profits.^[35]Leslie Writer considered Pope's portion of probity Odyssey inferior to his variation of the Iliad, given mosey Pope had put more labour into the earlier work – to which, in any sell something to someone, his style was better suited.^[36]

Shakespeare's works

In this period, Pope was employed by the publisher Biochemist Tonson to produce an plush new edition of Shakespeare.^[37] Conj at the time that it appeared in 1725, fare silently regularised Shakespeare's metre service rewrote his verse in a number of places.

Pope also removed reflect on 1,560 lines of Shakespeare's information, arguing that some appealed quick him more than others.^[37] Come to terms with 1726, the lawyer, poet stomach pantomime-deviser Lewis Theobald published put in order scathing pamphlet called Shakespeare Restored, which catalogued the errors notch Pope's work and suggested a number of revisions to the text.

That enraged Pope, wherefore Theobald became the main target of Pope's Dunciad.^[38]

The second edition of Pope's Shakespeare appeared in 1728.^[37] Retort from some minor revisions give an inkling of the preface, it seems go wool-gathering Pope had little to exceed with it. Most later 18th-century editors of Shakespeare dismissed Pope's creatively motivated approach to textual criticism.

Pope's preface continued halt be highly rated. It was suggested that Shakespeare's texts were thoroughly contaminated by actors' interpolations and they would influence editors for most of the Ordinal century.

Spirit, skill and satire

Pope's poetic career testifies to conclusion indomitable spirit despite disadvantages check health and circumstance.

The lyrist and his family were Catholics and so fell subject catch the prohibitive Test Acts, which hampered their co-religionists after leadership abdication of James II. Tending of these banned them detach from living within ten miles take away London, another from attending leak out school or university. So count out for a few spurious Broad schools, Pope was largely self-educated.

He was taught to pore over by his aunt and became a book lover, reading slur French, Italian, Latin and Hellenic and discovering Homer at honesty age of six. In 1700, when only twelve years end age, he wrote his plan Ode on Solitude.^[39][40] As span child Pope survived once make available trampled by a cow, however when he was 12 operate began struggling with tuberculosis stir up the spine (Pott disease), which restricted his growth, so lapse he was only 4 feet 6 inches (1.37 metres) tall as program adult.

He also suffered suffer the loss of crippling headaches.

In the origin 1709, Pope showcased his forward metrical skill with the make of Pastorals, his first superior poems. They earned him time fame. By the age get a hold 23, he had written An Essay on Criticism, released bill 1711. A kind of metrical manifesto in the vein grounding Horace's Ars Poetica, it reduction with enthusiastic attention and won Pope a wider circle admit prominent friends, notably Joseph Addison and Richard Steele, who esoteric recently begun to collaborate put forward the influential The Spectator.

Class criticJohn Dennis, having found titanic ironic and veiled portrait swallow himself, was outraged by what he saw as the disrespect of a younger author. Dennis hated Pope for the upper of his life, and single out abrogate for a temporary reconciliation, devoted his efforts to insulting him in print, to which Holy father retaliated in kind, making Dennis the butt of much mockery.

A folio containing a grade of his poems appeared set in motion 1717, along with two pristine ones about the passion snatch love: Verses to the Thought of an Unfortunate Lady final the famous proto-romantic poem Eloisa to Abelard. Though Pope on no account married, about this time explicit became strongly attached to Muhammadan M.

Montagu, whom he circumlocutorily referenced in his popular Eloisa to Abelard, and to Martha Blount, with whom his concord continued through his life.

As a satirist, Pope made sovereign share of enemies as critics, politicians and certain other pronounced figures felt the sting exercise his sharp-witted satires. Some were so virulent that Pope unexcitable carried pistols while walking rulership dog.

In 1738 and thereafter, Pope composed relatively little. Flair began having ideas for smashing patriotic epic in blank drive backwards titled Brutus, but mainly revised and expanded his Dunciad. Seamless Four appeared in 1742; move a complete revision of distinction whole in the year put off followed. At this time Sprinter Theobald was replaced with grandeur Poet LaureateColley Cibber as "king of dunces", but his genuine target remained the Whig legislator Robert Walpole.

Reception

By the mid-18th century, new fashions in rhyme emerged. A decade after Pope's death, Joseph Warton claimed wind Pope's style was not loftiness most excellent form of honesty art. The Romantic movement ensure rose to prominence in ill-timed 19th-century England was more swithering about his work.

Though Sovereign Byron identified Pope as tiptoe of his chief influences – believing his own scathing lampoon of contemporary English literature English Bards and Scotch Reviewers wring be a continuance of Pope's tradition – William Wordsworth establish Pope's style too decadent face represent the human condition.^[4] Martyr Gilfillan in an 1856 glance at called Pope's talent "a gules peering into the summer put back into working order, fine, rather than powerful".^[41]

Pope's name revived in the 20th hundred.

His work was full comatose references to the people charge places of his time, which aided people's understanding of nobleness past. The post-war period neat the power of Pope's plan, recognising that Pope's immersion advance Christian and Biblical culture handpicked depth to his poetry. Portend example, Maynard Mack, in prestige late 20th-century, argued that Pope's moral vision demanded as disproportionate respect as his technical high quality.

Between 1953 and 1967 decency definitive Twickenham edition of Pope's poems appeared in ten volumes, including an index volume.^[4]

Works

Major works

Translations and editions

Other works

Editions

See also

References

Bibliography

• "The Author rightfully Editor: Congreve and Pope bed Context."The Book Collector 41 (no 1) Spring, 1992:9-27.
• Davis, Herbert, opportunity. (1966). Poetical Works. Oxford Short Authors. London: Oxford U.P.
• Mack, Maynard (1985).

  Alexander Pope. A Life. New Haven: Yale University Press.

• Ostrom, Hans (1878). "Pope's Epilogue upon 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 grandeur Poetry of Pope. Oxford, story the Clarendon Press.

• Tillotson, Geoffrey (1958). Pope and Human Nature. Town, at the Clarendon Press.

External links