Alexander Pope
James Adams, Amanda Korz, Josiah Ng, Amanda
Villarreal, Brian Welsh, Audrey Hwang
Biography and Works
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Born May 21st, 1688 to Alexander and Edith Pope.
1698- went to Twyford School (Before he was taught by his aunt)
1700- his family moves to a small estate in Popeswood (Formal education
ends and has to teach himself through books
May 1709- Pastorals was published as part of Tonson's Poetical
Miscellanies
May 15th, 1711 An Essay on Criticism is published
1712- Rape of the Lock is published
1713- Windsor Forest is published
Contributed to the play Cato by Addison. Pope also wrote for The
Guardian and The Spectator
Between 1716-19 Lived with his parents in Chriswick
Biography and Works Cont.
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1715-1720 Translated Iliad
1719- With money earned from translating Homer, He buys a villa in
Twickenham
1728-Dunciad (Published anonymously in Dublin, but everyone knew it
was his)
1731- publishes "Epistle to Burlington", Moral Essays 1731-34
1732-34 Essay On Man
1733-38 Imitations of Horace
May 30th,1744 Pope Dies
Alexander Pope's Personality
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Being Catholic, Pope was uninterested in university education
and public employment.
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Devoted to His mother and his closest friends; Arbuthnot, Gay,
and Swift.
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Pope always had the courage of saying about his beliefs, writing
strongly to the end.
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Pope was not straightforward in his business dealings,
unfortunately, and made enemies quickly.
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He was deeply interested in his relationship with God, but his
interest was primarily poetic, not philosophical.
Historical Context and Environment
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Test Act (1673) - severely limited Pope's education
Strong anti-Catholic sentiment and laws in English territory
George I ascends to the throne, then afterwards George II; Rampant
corruption, "moral, political, and cultural deterioration"
Coffee: The fuel of minds!
Literary Boom - The Rise of Satire
Rising conflict between England and France
Rising tension between Britain and Ireland
Historical Context Cont.
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Whigs and Tories
Most of his friends and colleagues were Whigs, until the Whig party
disbanded in 1710
Whig friends: William Walsh, Richard Steele, Joseph Addison, etc.
Whig party largely disbands
Tory friends: Jonathan Swift, John Gay (Beggar's Opera), Thomas Parnell
Rise of the moneyed wealth as opposed to landed wealth
Increasing gap between low income classes and high income classes
The Rape of the Lock
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Pope writes of a dire offense
Ariel warns of an impending trouble
The Baron intends on cutting a lock of
Belinda's hair
He does so on his third try
Umbriel gives Belinda a bag & a vial
A fight breaks out
Belinda's lock will live forever
The Rape of Lock - Satire
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Satirization of trivial real life situations
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Heroic-verse & Epic cliches
The Rape of the Lock
Symbolism
Sylphs
- a connection between earth and heaven
- Canto 1, 75-77
- element of air
- Aristotlean elements
- Sky/air is the bridge between God and man
- seem to orchestrate everything
- Canto 1, 104-5
- Pope can communicate with Sylphs?
- Canto 4, 165
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The Rape of the Lock
Symbolism
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Allusions to classic tradition, chivalry
- altars = tables
- Canto 3, 107
- metaphor to knight hood
- Canto 3, 127-134
- Belinda is constantly surrounded by mythological spirits
- Canto 4, 11-16
- Canto 4 and 5 are loaded with Greek mythological figures
- Canto 4: 52, 83, 93
- Canto 5: 2, 5, 47 (four gods! FOUR)
- Canto 5, 48-52: An Olympian overreaction
- gods are linked to resolution