Alexander Pope (1688–1744)
Author of The Rape of the Lock
About the Author
Satirical poet Alexander Pope was born in London on May 21, 1688. He was educated by private tutors. Many consider Pope to be the greatest poet of his time, and he also wrote commentaries and translations, he is best known for such poems as The Rape of the Lock and The Duncaid. Pope was the first show more English poet to make a substantial amount of money from his writing. Pope died on May 30, 1744. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Jean-Baptiste van Loo (1684-1745)
Works by Alexander Pope
Memoirs of the Extraordinary Life, Works, and Discoveries of Martinus Scriblerus (1741) 200 copies, 6 reviews
The poetical works of Alexander Pope: Edited with notes and introductory memoir by Adolphus William Ward (1911) 20 copies
Alexander Pope 5 copies
The universal prayer 4 copies
The works of Alexander Pope 4 copies
Selections from Alexander Pope — Author — 3 copies
The Twickenham Edition of the Poems of Alexander Pope - Translations of Homer - Volume VII - The Iliad I-IX — Translator; Translator — 3 copies
The Twickenham Edition of the Poems of Alexander Pope, Volume II: The Rape of the Lock and Other Poems (1962) 3 copies
Poetry And Prose Of Alexander Pope (Riverside Editions) by Alexander Pope (January 2, 1969) Paperback 1 (1700) 2 copies
Homer, 3 vols., London, 1833 2 copies
Pope's Complete Poems 2 copies
Works, 8 vols. Vol. 1&3 missing 2 copies
Works, 6 vols. Vol. 5 only 2 copies
An epistle from Mr. Pope to Dr. Arbuthnot, 1734, and Epistle VII to Dr. Arbuthnot from The works, volume II 1735 (1970) 2 copies
The temple of fame : a vision 2 copies
The Poetical Works of Alexander Pope to which is Prefixed A Life of the Author Two Vols. In One (1849) 2 copies
The Collected Major Works of Alexander Pope: Six Famous Poems & Essays By Alexander Pope: The Annotated Edition (2019) 2 copies
Sober advice from Horace, to the young gentlemen about town. As deliver'd in his second sermon 2 copies
The Works of Alexander Pope, Esq.: In Nine Volumes Complete, with His Last Corrections ... Volume 7 1752 [Hardcover] (2013) 2 copies
The Iliad & The Odyssey 2 copies
Odyssey 1 copy
Poetry volume 1 1 copy
The Rape of the Lock, and Other Poems. Edited With Notes and Introd. by Elizabeth M. King (2015) 1 copy
The Poetical Works of Alexander Pope, Carefully Revised, To Which is Added a Biographical Note (1856) 1 copy
ALEXANDER POPE COMPLETE WORKS ULTIMATE COLLECTION 150 WORKS All Poetry, Poems, Prose, Iliad, Odyssey, Rarities PLUS BIOGRAPHY (2013) 1 copy
The Jliad of Homer 1 copy
The Works of Alexnader Pope, esq Containing his Imitations, Moral Essays, Satires, etc. Volume II 1 copy
Odyssey Volume 5 1 copy
Poems 1 copy
Pope's Homer 1 copy
The Odyssey of Homer - 883.1 1 copy
The poems of Pope 1 copy
Hrdinské úvahy 1 copy
The Iliad of Homer, Books X-XXIV (The Twickenham Edition of the Poems of Alexander Pope, volume VIII) — Translator — 1 copy
OUEVRES DIVERSES DE POPE 1 copy
The Twickenham Edition of the Poems of Alexander Pope, Volume 9: The Odyssey of Homer Books 1-12 1 copy
Epistles of Alexander Pope 1 copy
Odyssey Volume 1 1 copy
Odyssey Volume 2 1 copy
Odyssey Volime 3 1 copy
Odyssey Volume 4 1 copy
Pope Poetry 1 copy
THE WORKS OF ALEXANDER POPE 1 copy
Miscellany poems 1 copy
Pope — Author — 1 copy
The Whole Poetical Works of Alexander Pope ...: Including His Translations of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey (2010) 1 copy
Claremount 1 copy
Ode for musick 1 copy
Pope 1 copy
Essays and Epistles 1 copy
Poems (Everyman's Poetry) 1 copy
The Poetical Works of Alexander Pope, Volumes 1-2 — Author — 1 copy
The Rape of the Lock and Other Poems. Ed. G Tillotson. (The Poems of Alexander Pope, 2) (1962) 1 copy
Poemata selecta Italorum, qui seculo decimo sexto latine scripserunt, nonnullis adnotationibus illustrata (1808) 1 copy
The Works of Alexander Pope, Vol. 9 of 9: With Notes and Illustrations (Classic Reprint) (2017) 1 copy
Works of Alexander Pope, Esq., Vol. 6 of 10: With Notes and Illustrations (Classic Reprint) (2017) 1 copy
The works of Alexander Pope, Esq. Volume II. Containing his imitations, moral essays, and satires, etc. Volume 2 of 6 (2010) 1 copy
Works 1 copy
Poems and Translations 1 copy
Poems of Pope - This is One Volume of The Library of Poetical Literature 32 Volume Set) (1930) 1 copy
Selected Poetry of Pope 1 copy
Pastorals 1 copy
The Works of Alexander Pope, Esq., in nine volumes complete ... With the commentary and notes of Mr. Warburton. (2011) 1 copy
Associated Works
The Iliad (0700) — Translator, some editions; Translator, some editions — 47,570 copies, 446 reviews
The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms (2000) — Contributor — 1,472 copies, 9 reviews
The Best Poems of the English Language: From Chaucer Through Robert Frost (2004) — Contributor — 1,250 copies, 3 reviews
Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama (1995) — Contributor, some editions — 1,014 copies, 7 reviews
World Poetry: An Anthology of Verse from Antiquity to Our Time (1998) — Contributor — 499 copies, 2 reviews
Poems Bewitched and Haunted (Everyman's Library Pocket Poets Series) (2005) — Contributor — 230 copies
Out of the Best Books: An Anthology of Literature, Vol. 4: The World Around Us (1968) — Contributor — 28 copies
Iliad, Odyssey, Aeneid, Oedipus, Jason and the Argonauts and Much More - ULTIMATE MYTHOLOGY COLLECTION 50 BOOKS - Complete Works of Homer, ALL Plays by Sophocles, Euripides and… (2011) — Translator, some editions — 23 copies
English Verse: Volume 3: The Eighteenth Century: Swift to Crabbe (Penguin English Verse) (1995) — Contributor — 12 copies
Letters of Abelard and Heloise : To which is prefix'd, a particular account of their lives, amours, and misfortunes, extracted chiefly from Monsieur Bayle. Translated from the… (1729) — Contributor — 7 copies
Edexcel Poetry Anthology for Advanced subsidiary and advanced GCE examinations in English Literature (2000) — Contributor, some editions — 6 copies
Rare THE ODYSSEY OF HOMER Pope Translation John Flaxman Heritage Press in Slipcase [Hardcover] unknown (1777) — Translator, some editions — 4 copies
Verses addressed to the imitator of the First Satire of the Second Book of Horace [i.e. Alexander Pope]. By a Lady [i.e. — Contributor — 2 copies
L'Iliade d'Homère, traduite en françois avec des remarques. Par madame Dacier. Nouv. éd. rev., corr. & augm. Avec quelques réflexions sur la préface angloise de M. Pope. Vol.… — Contributor, some editions — 1 copy
Horace, his ode to Venus : lib. IV, ode I — Translator, some editions — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Pope, Alexander
- Other names
- Barnivelt, Esdras
- Birthdate
- 1688-05-21
- Date of death
- 1744-05-30
- Gender
- male
- Education
- Hyde Park Corner
Twyford School, Twyford, Hampshire, England, UK - Occupations
- poet
translator
satirist - Organizations
- Scriblerus Club
- Relationships
- Finch, Anne (friend)
Montagu, Lady Mary Wortley (friend) - Short biography
- Alexander Pope was the only child of a London linen merchant and his wife, recent converts to the Roman Catholic faith. He was barred from public schools because of his religion, and attended secret Catholic school, but was largely self-educated. He learned Latin, Greek, Italian, and French, and wrote his earliest surviving work, Ode to Solitude, at age 12. That same year he began having symptoms of the debilitating bone disorder that would stunt his growth and cause him much pain and suffering for the rest of his life. He was a central figure in the Neoclassical movement of the early 18th century, known for perfecting the rhymed heroic couplet form and turning it to satiric and philosophical purposes, and his works had a profound influence on others. He was the first full-time professional English writer, supporting himself largely on subscription fees for his popular translations of Homer and his edition of the works of William Shakespeare. He died at age 56 of "this long disease, my life."
- Nationality
- England
- Birthplace
- London, England, UK
- Places of residence
- London, Middlesex, England, UK
Binfield, Berkshire, England, UK
Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK - Place of death
- Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK
- Burial location
- Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Twickenham, London, Middlesex, England, UK
- Map Location
- England, UK
Members
Reviews
An excellent collection by Damrosch; brilliantly edited, formatted and notated. As for Pope himself, almost every poem here is incredible, save for "Epistle to a Lady" which I find quite chauvinist albiet well composed, and Book IV of "The Dunciad" which I find a little too frought with allegory and not as strong as Books I-III, now among my favourite poems of all time. Pope's insistance on heroic couplets never gets stale since he is so adept at manipulating them around whichever topic or show more even genre he chooses - romanticism in "Eloisa to Ableard", satire in "Imitations of Horace" or epic in "The Dunciad" & the book's namesake, it feels like reading an anthology of boundless length and scope despite comprising barely twenty poems. A stunning book. show less
Who am I to pass judgment on an author who, according to the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations is the third most quoted figure in human history (after Shakespeare and Tennyson)? Who am I but an unappreciative boor? Well, I’m a generally educated reader who invested several weeks of reading time to explore the man and his writing—no more, no less. Judge the merit of my comments for yourself, based on my body of reviews.
I had managed to unhappily wade through this entire book until I started show more trying to read the last included work: The Dunciad, which is a satire (I think), and is, more to the point, Pope’s attempt to settle the score with every critic and foe he ever encountered. What a sad, pathetic subject for a crowning life work! What a sorry personality he must have been to have chosen such a motive to drive him. I literally could not read more. There is a class of people who I can’t stand, and he’s a prime example of them—people who seek to entangle themselves with others (get in other people’s faces) for the sole purpose of giving their empty lives some desperate sense of meaning. They see no more pressing purpose to life than to derive energy from the process of bickering and quibbling—the ebb and flow of ‘reputation’ and ‘appearance’, of ‘status’ and ‘opinion’. This is so alien to my own sensibilities that I simply had to put the book on the shelf without finishing it.
Frankly, it’s the first book I ever wanted to burn. I felt like ripping the offending pages out, spitting on them, trampling them under foot, and eviscerating each printed word. Pope attracted me because of a few selected quotes that have become immortal. The quotes are fine—taken out of context. But the mind that produced them is undeserving. I can only imagine that the world in which he lived was so lacking in true talent that his ability to find favor in high places vaulted him into that vacuum. And in 54 years of life he managed to accidentally vomit out a few memorable phrases amid volumes of tripe. A monkey at a keyboard could scarcely do worse.
No, I’m being excessively dramatic. It’s my anger at the Dunciad that is driving this. I did enjoy a few selected works—when he chose subjects of a bit more substance (still perilously abstract for modern tastes). I enjoyed his lyrical rendering of a comparison of virtue and vice in his ‘Epilogue to the Satires: Dialogue 1’ (page 399). But really—to wade through 737 pages to find a few pages worth reading? I wish I hadn’t. show less
I had managed to unhappily wade through this entire book until I started show more trying to read the last included work: The Dunciad, which is a satire (I think), and is, more to the point, Pope’s attempt to settle the score with every critic and foe he ever encountered. What a sad, pathetic subject for a crowning life work! What a sorry personality he must have been to have chosen such a motive to drive him. I literally could not read more. There is a class of people who I can’t stand, and he’s a prime example of them—people who seek to entangle themselves with others (get in other people’s faces) for the sole purpose of giving their empty lives some desperate sense of meaning. They see no more pressing purpose to life than to derive energy from the process of bickering and quibbling—the ebb and flow of ‘reputation’ and ‘appearance’, of ‘status’ and ‘opinion’. This is so alien to my own sensibilities that I simply had to put the book on the shelf without finishing it.
Frankly, it’s the first book I ever wanted to burn. I felt like ripping the offending pages out, spitting on them, trampling them under foot, and eviscerating each printed word. Pope attracted me because of a few selected quotes that have become immortal. The quotes are fine—taken out of context. But the mind that produced them is undeserving. I can only imagine that the world in which he lived was so lacking in true talent that his ability to find favor in high places vaulted him into that vacuum. And in 54 years of life he managed to accidentally vomit out a few memorable phrases amid volumes of tripe. A monkey at a keyboard could scarcely do worse.
No, I’m being excessively dramatic. It’s my anger at the Dunciad that is driving this. I did enjoy a few selected works—when he chose subjects of a bit more substance (still perilously abstract for modern tastes). I enjoyed his lyrical rendering of a comparison of virtue and vice in his ‘Epilogue to the Satires: Dialogue 1’ (page 399). But really—to wade through 737 pages to find a few pages worth reading? I wish I hadn’t. show less
This is an illuminating and humorous poetic guide on how one should go about critiquing and reflecting on their own writing. I often found myself grinning while reading this due to how Pope--with his polished heroic couplets--deftly spears the heart of many issues that plague all manner of writers; the brevity and quick wit of which is stunningly apt and makes for a good laugh.
Pope here is mainly concerned with caution and moderation; don't be too lenient, but don't be too harsh. He show more lambasts critics that focus too much on one aspect of a work and tear it down while neglecting the sum of its parts, or critics that overly praise a work on account of an author's established reputation. Pope also points out that when you write, make sure there is substance to what you're saying, and be wary of your creative boundaries, as this stanza highlights:
"But you who seek to give and merit fame,
And justly bear a critic's noble name,
Be sure yourself and your own reach to know
How far your genius taste and learning go.
Launch not beyond your depth, but be discreet
And mark that point where sense and dullness meet."
I've certainly been guilty of trying to write beyond my limits, and also of judging certain works too harshly based on one part of the whole thing. Though it can be painful to acknowledge mistakes, Pope encourages us with the famous line, "To err is human; to forgive, divine", and implores people to, "...with pleasure, own your errors past,/ And make each day a critique on the last."
Although it's a struggle to critique your own actions each day, the general principles and timelessness of these lines ring true. It's a refreshing read, especially nowadays. There is also a good deal of criticism on contrarianism and hypocrisy, which part of this stanza in Part II shows:
"The vulgar thus through imitation err;
As oft the learned by being singular.
So much they scorn the crowd that if the throng
By chance go right they purposely go wrong:
So schismatics the plain believers quit,
And are but damned for having too much wit.
Some praise at morning what they blame at night,
But always think the last opinion right.
A muse by these is like a mistress used,
This hour she's idolized, the next abused;
While their weak heads, like towns unfortified,
'Twixt sense and nonsense daily change their side.
Ask them the cause, they're wiser still they say;
And still to-morrow's wiser than to-day.
We think our fathers fools, so wise we grow;
Our wiser sons, no doubt, will think us so."
But my favorite few lines are these in which Pope eloquently explains "true expression":
"But true expression, like the unchanging sun,
Clears and improves whate'er it shines upon;
It gilds all objects, but it alters none."
Pope never lets his lines go on for too long; he says precisely what he means to say, and in short fashion. The language flows and often contains powerful imagery, doubling in effect. Another similarly impactful part is when Pope talks about how there is always something new to conquer; always something grander just beyond the horizon. It's funny to think how even though Pope's work sits at such a creative height, Pope himself thought the same of great writers that had written prior to his own time.
On many levels, this work is a masterful example of poetry, 18th century writing and criticism. From the cadence to the robust creative expression, Pope so effortlessly writes about serious topics and yet still finds time to crack some jokes along the way. It's just too damn good.
"The learn'd reflect on what before they knew:
Careless of censure, nor too fond of fame,
Still pleas'd to praise, yet not afraid to blame,
Averse alike to flatter, or offend,
Not free from faults, nor yet too vain to mend." show less
Pope here is mainly concerned with caution and moderation; don't be too lenient, but don't be too harsh. He show more lambasts critics that focus too much on one aspect of a work and tear it down while neglecting the sum of its parts, or critics that overly praise a work on account of an author's established reputation. Pope also points out that when you write, make sure there is substance to what you're saying, and be wary of your creative boundaries, as this stanza highlights:
"But you who seek to give and merit fame,
And justly bear a critic's noble name,
Be sure yourself and your own reach to know
How far your genius taste and learning go.
Launch not beyond your depth, but be discreet
And mark that point where sense and dullness meet."
I've certainly been guilty of trying to write beyond my limits, and also of judging certain works too harshly based on one part of the whole thing. Though it can be painful to acknowledge mistakes, Pope encourages us with the famous line, "To err is human; to forgive, divine", and implores people to, "...with pleasure, own your errors past,/ And make each day a critique on the last."
Although it's a struggle to critique your own actions each day, the general principles and timelessness of these lines ring true. It's a refreshing read, especially nowadays. There is also a good deal of criticism on contrarianism and hypocrisy, which part of this stanza in Part II shows:
"The vulgar thus through imitation err;
As oft the learned by being singular.
So much they scorn the crowd that if the throng
By chance go right they purposely go wrong:
So schismatics the plain believers quit,
And are but damned for having too much wit.
Some praise at morning what they blame at night,
But always think the last opinion right.
A muse by these is like a mistress used,
This hour she's idolized, the next abused;
While their weak heads, like towns unfortified,
'Twixt sense and nonsense daily change their side.
Ask them the cause, they're wiser still they say;
And still to-morrow's wiser than to-day.
We think our fathers fools, so wise we grow;
Our wiser sons, no doubt, will think us so."
But my favorite few lines are these in which Pope eloquently explains "true expression":
"But true expression, like the unchanging sun,
Clears and improves whate'er it shines upon;
It gilds all objects, but it alters none."
Pope never lets his lines go on for too long; he says precisely what he means to say, and in short fashion. The language flows and often contains powerful imagery, doubling in effect. Another similarly impactful part is when Pope talks about how there is always something new to conquer; always something grander just beyond the horizon. It's funny to think how even though Pope's work sits at such a creative height, Pope himself thought the same of great writers that had written prior to his own time.
On many levels, this work is a masterful example of poetry, 18th century writing and criticism. From the cadence to the robust creative expression, Pope so effortlessly writes about serious topics and yet still finds time to crack some jokes along the way. It's just too damn good.
"The learn'd reflect on what before they knew:
Careless of censure, nor too fond of fame,
Still pleas'd to praise, yet not afraid to blame,
Averse alike to flatter, or offend,
Not free from faults, nor yet too vain to mend." show less
A charming Rabelasian squib, which also looks forward to Tristram Shandy, only written by a bunch of fabulous people instead of one fabulous person. The first few chapters (very proto-Shandyan) are satires on The Learned Man who has no idea what he's doing, and could be of interest to those who dislike mansplaining; Cornelius Scriblerus' advice to his wife and wet-nurse on the art of breast-feeding is particularly hilarious. We all know that guy, although our version of 'that guy' is show more probably less well read. There then follow the Rabelasian chapters on Scriblerus' education, in which he and his punning friend Crambe raise hell (the bad, and some very good, puns are combined with corpse humor) and pronounce on themes anatomical ("Ocular demonstration... seems to be on your side, yet I shall not give it up") with some asides against the eighteenth century editor/critics and on themes metaphysical (with rips on both Descartes and materialists). Finally, and less easy to get through, parodies on popular romance (in which Scriblerus discovers the love of his life, one of conjoined twins who share one set of sexual organs), then a parody of the legal profession (is Scriblerus a bigamist? an adulterer?) and finally some Swiftian nonsense, not as funny as Swift's own works, which ends the book on a down note. But wildly entertaining otherwise. show less
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- 340
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- 49
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- Popularity
- #3,996
- Rating
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