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Alexander Pope (1688 1744) Class: xxx Name:xxx Student Number:xxx Alexander Pope is a famous eighteenth century English poet, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. He is the third most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare and Tennyson. Pope is famous for his use of the heroic couplet. Born: 21 May 1688 Birthplace: London, England Died: 30 May 1744 Brief Introduction Alexander Pope was born in a Roman Catholics family. His religion prevented him from a formal course of education, since Catholics were not admitted to the universities. He was mainly self- educated. He taught himself Latin, Greek, French, and Italian. At age of 12, he began to write verses. He suffered Potts disease (结核性脊椎炎 ) which limited his growth and his full-grown height was 1.37 meters. He was a lifelong sufferer from headaches, and his disease made him sensitive to physical and mental pain. Alexander Pope Neoclassicist five cantos, 1714) （ An Heroi-Comical Poem 英雄滑稽诗 ） 1713, Windsor-Forest 温莎林 1728, The Dunciad 愚人志 1731-1735, Moral Essays 道德论 1734, An Essay on Man 人论 1735, Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot 与阿布斯诺博 士书 The translations of Homers Iliad 伊利亚特 and Odyssey 奥德赛 (poet laureate) The edition of Shakespeares plays. The Dunciad The Dunciad, generally considered Popes best satiric work, took him over ten years for final completion. It is a powerful satire in poem on Popes rival writers which ridicules the dull works of the dull poets of his day. An Essay on Criticism An Essay on Criticism was the first major poem written by Alexander Pope. It is a didactic poem written in heroic couplets. It consists of 744 lines and is divided into three parts. It is primarily concerned with how writers and critics behave in the new literary commerce of Popes contemporary age. The poem covers a range of good criticism and advice. It also represents many of the chief literary ideals of Popes age. The three parts of An Essay on Criticism I. General qualities needed by the critic (1-200) : The poet first laments the dearth of true taste in poetic criticism of his day and calls on people to turn to the old Greek and Roman writers for guidance. II. Particular laws for the critic (201-559): After a detailed account of the various problems in literary criticism, he offers his own ideas and presents the classical rules. III. The ideal character of the critic (560-744): At the end of the poem, he also traces the history of literary criticism from Aristotle down to Boileau and Roscommon. Essay on Man The Essay on Man is a philosophical poem, written in heroic couplets and published between 1732 and 1734. Pope intended this poem to be the centrepiece of a proposed system of ethics that was to be put forth in poetic form. It was a piece of work that Pope intended to make into a larger work; however, he did not live to complete it. The Essay on Man is an attempt to justify the ways of God to Man, and that man is not himself the centre of all things. The essay is not solely Christian; however, it makes an assumption that man has fallen and must seek his own salvation. The Essay on Man consists of ten epistles that are addressed to Lord Bolingbroke. Pope presents an idea or his view on the Universe; he says that no matter how imperfect, complex, inscrutable and disturbing the Universe appears to be, it functions in a rational fashion according to the natural laws. The natural laws consider the Universe as a whole a perfect work of God. To humans it appears to be evil and imperfect in many ways; however, Pope points out that this is due to our limited mind set and limited intellectual capacity. Pope gets the message across that humans must accept our position in the Great Chain of Being which is at a middle stage between the angels and the beasts of the world. If we are able to accomplish this then we potentially could lead happy and virtuous lives. Essay on Man is an affirmative poem of faith: life seems to be chaotic and confusing to man when he is in the center of it, but it really according to Pope is a divinely ordered. In Popes world God exists and is what he centers the Universe around in order to have an ordered structure. The limited intelligence of man can only take in tiny portions of this order and can experience only partial truths, hence man must rely on hope which then leads into faith. Man must be aware of his existence in the Universe and what he brings to it, in terms of riches, power and fame. It is mans duty to strive to be good regardless of other situations: this is the message Pope is trying to get across to the reader. Some quotations from Pope Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed. 无所求的人是幸福的，因为他永远也不会失望。 An honest man is the noblest work of God. 诚实的人是上帝创造的最佳作品。 A little learning is a dangerous thing. 一知半解是危险的。 For fools rush in where angels fear to tread. 智者裹足不前 ,愚者铤而走险。
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