Alexander Pope

1688-1744. English poet and satirist. He was born in London on 21 May 1688 and died in Twickenham (near London) on 30 May 1744. Pope is best known for his works An Essay on Criticism (1711), The Rape of the Lock (1712-1714), The Dunciad (1728) and An Essay on Man (1733-1734).

Life

Pope was the only son of Edith Turner and Alexander Pope. His father was a successful and wealthy linen merchant but had to retire in the year of his son's birth. The family were Catholics and suffered from anti-Catholic laws passed after the Glorious Revolution. After the father's retirement the family moved to Binfield in Windsor Forest in 1692.

Because of his Catholic background, Pope was denied admission to the formal educational system. He was therefore mainly taught at home by Catholic priests and also went to Catholic schools for some time. However, he was mainly self-educated. He was eager to learn and taught himself classical as well as modern languages such as Greek, Latin, French and Italian.

While developing his mental skills, Pope's health became increasingly impaired. Due to a curvature of the spine and Pott's disease, his growth was limited. The deformity of his body made him suffer abnormally from physical pain. In contrast to his physical condition, Pope's mind was extremely active and demanding so that he was drawn to reading and writing.

In 1716 the Pope family moved from Blinfield to Twickenham, a small country town and favoured place for retirement of Londoners. Pope stayed on the villa on the Thames for the rest of his life.

Works

Even though the family had moved away from London, Pope was still able to make frequent visits there to meet former members of John Dryden's cirlce, and got acquainted with Thomas Betterton, William Mannock and various Catholic families. Other important people that influenced his literary career in his early life were also William Wycherley, Henry Cromwell and William Walsh.

By 1705 his "Pastorals" had been read by the best literary judges of the day and were published in 1709. Until the publication of the "Pastorals" Pope was already working on An Essay on Criticism, which dealt with the art of writing and was published in 1711.

Only one year later the first version of The Rape of the Lock was published, consisting of two cantos. The mock epic was revised in 1714, when another three cantos (and the delightful tiny nymphs) were addded.

The Dunciad was a collection of poems and other works, first published in Pope's first volume of Works in 1717 and constantly expanded and worked on. This collection also included his translation of Homer.

In 1733-1734 Pope published his book An Essay on Man, in which he examined the relations of man, nature and society.

References

"Alexander Pope." Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2013, <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/470015/Alexander-Pope>. Accessed 19 December 2013.

Baines, Paul. The Complete Critical Guide to Alexander Pope. London: Routledge, 2001.

Gordon, Ian. "Alexander Pope." The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 03 March 2002, <http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5169. Accessed 19 December 2013.>

Howard Erskine-Hill. "Pope, Alexander (1688–1744)." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. OUP, 2004. Web. Jan 2008, <http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/22526>. Accessed 19 December 2013.