1688-1744. roman catholic could not vote inherit or purchase land attend a public school or...
TRANSCRIPT
Alexander Pope1688-1744
Roman CatholicCould not vote inherit or purchase
land attend a public school
or university live within ten miles
of London hold public office openly practice
religion
Religion
Tuberculosis of the spine ◦ stunted his growth (4’6”)◦ rendered him hunchbacked
and deformed◦ left him with pain, migraines,
and frequent nausea◦ required assistance for daily
activities
Rival critics called him a “hunch-backed toad”◦ believed his ugly exterior
reflected mental and moral corruption
Illness and Disability
Spent his adolescent years reading the greatest writers of Europe and England
Self-taught Latin and Greek Staunch Tory Financially successful poet Mistrusted and manipulated
publishing business Member of the Scriblerus
Club with Gay and Swift
Inspired and determined
Poetry: a major cultural form
Essay on Criticism (1711) Rape of the Lock (1711, 1714) Windsor-Forest (1713) Iliad (1715-1720) Odyssey (1726) Shakespeare edition (1725) Dunciad (1728, 1742) Essay on Man (1733)
Inspired by true events
Mock-epic Heroic couplets
Rape of the Lock
Division into books Invocation of the
muse Use of gods to
commence, oversee and influence events
Dream message from the gods
Arming the heroes Sacrifice to the gods
Sea voyage Exhortation to the
troops Single combat Epic feast Journey to the
underworld General combat Apotheosis
Elements of Epics
Born in Dublin, Ireland
Raised around Glorious Revolution
Secretary to William Temple - 1688-1699
Church of Ireland clergyman
Relationship with Esther Johnson
Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)
Frequent travels to England
Ménière's disease First Whig then Tory –
editor of The Examiner Part of Tory governments
of Queen Anne Pushed for clergy rights in
Ireland British oppression of
Ireland in 18th C. After fall of Tory gov’t,
given Deanery of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin
Swift’s Context
Member of Scriblerus Club, friend of Pope
Author of numerous satires circulated as pamphlets:◦ Tale of a Tub (1704)◦ The Battle of the Books
(1704)◦ A Modest Proposal
(1729) – Irish famine of 1729.
Author of many poems Much of his work dealt
with current events and/or people.
Swift’s Literary Career
Began 1713-1720 in Scriblerus Club
Published in 1726, then in amended (and controversial) edition in 1735.
Fear of prosecution led to some editing – restored portions in 1735.
Genre: Satire◦ Travel narrative◦ Anti-Whig politics◦ Irish question◦ Human nature◦ Novel?
Gulliver’s Travels