POETRY-1 (ENG403)

LECTURE – 27

REVIEW

• JOHN DONNE

• Love Songs• Holy Sonnets

• ALEXANDER POPE (1688-1744)

o THE RAPE OF THE LOCK

THE AGE OF POPE

• NEOCLASSICAL AGE• AUGUSTAN AGE• AGE OF REASON• PSEUDO CLASSICAL• THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY

ERA OF AUGUSTUS

• The Augustan Age• Roman Ruler• 27 B.C – 14 A.D• Classical writers• Horace, Virgil, Ovid• Golden Era of Latin Literature• Common sense, moderation • Reason for Emotion• Elegance for Brevity

NEOCLASSICAL AGE THE AUGUSTAN AGE IN ENGLAND

• TWO PARTSo The Age of Dryden- 1700o The Age of Pope- 1744

BACKGROUND TO THE AGE (1)• 17th century : period of great change• Queen Elizabeth- 1603 • James 1 (1603- 1625)• Scottland• Patriotic unity• People resented taxes, alliance with Spain• Middle Class clashed with monarchy• Dissolved 3 parliaments (1604, 1614, 1621)• Imposition of customs, money grants, right of speech

17th CENTURY BACKGROUND (2)

• Charles 1• Popular• Deceitfulness & wrong headedness• Henriietta Maria/ France• Buckingham as Lord Chancellor• Gave in the petition of civil rights (1628)• No taxation/imprisonment/billeting• 11 years

17th CENTURY BACKGROUND (3)

• Archbishops punished Puritans• Civil war 1642- 1648

o Royalists/Cavaliers/Catholicso Parliamentary Forces/Puritans

• Sentenced to death in 1649• The Common Wealth (1649- 1653)

o Scotland proclaimed Charles II

• Cromwell took step & succeeded in 1651• Parliament/dissolved

17th CENTURY BACKGROUND (4)

• Cromwell/Lord Protector• Strong foreign policy• Monarchy by 1658• He died in 1658• Restored monarchy under Charles ll• Long conflict between Catholics & Protestants• Test Act 1673- banned public offices• Charle ll died in 1685• James became king

17th CENTURY BACKGROUND (5) • His daughter Mary & William: joint monarchs • Protestants• The Bill of Rights (1689)• Catholics were banned• No Catholic king/queen• No king could marry a Catholic• Places of worship• Their own teachers & preachers• Government positions & universities

SOCIAL BACKGROUND o Horse racingo Bear baiting o The sport of the cock-pito Theatrical performance• Great Plague of London- 1 million Londoners • Isaac Newton escaped- moved away

• Coffee Houses / Intellectual Huts• Centers of commercial & literary activities• Knowledge was taken out of libraries• Transplanted into the coffee houses

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AGE

• 18th Century is characterized for:o Ordero Clarityo Decorumo Stability o Reasono Wito Intelligence o Imagination was replaced by reason.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AGE

• Appreciation of reason• Control of emotions• Correctness in life & art

LITERARY GENRES

• Poetry• Birth of Novel • Essays • Heroic Couplet• Satire • “literature of manners”

NOTABLE WRITERS OF THE AGE

• Dryden• Pope• Swift• Addison• John Gay

LITERARY INSPIRATION

• French Model of Writing• Nature as Model of Discipline• Logic & Reason• Long Sentences• Difficult Diction

LITERARY MODEL

• Latin & Greek Writers:o Ovido Horaceo Virgil

• Imitated Classical Works

o Epico Pastoralo Satireo Pindaric Ode

PRINCIPLES OF LITERARY WORKS

• Dryden’s An Essay of Dramatic Poesy (1668)• Pope’s Essay on Criticism (1711)

ALEXANDER POPE (1)

• Born in London (1688)• Middle class• Alexander Pope & Edith• Roman Catholic Family• Her family; divided along Catholic & Protestant lines• Linen trader• Repressive legislations & Prejudices• No Universities for Catholics• No Public employment• Uneven education

ALEXANDER POPE (2)

• Often interrupted• Reading books/Father’s library• He was 12 years• Family moved to Benfield in Windsor Forest• Tuberculosis of Bones through infected milk • Pott’s disease• Became invalid• Dwarfish all his life (4.6 feet)• Could not travel on bumpy roads

ALEXANDER POPE (3)

• Also suffered from Asthma, Headaches• Humpback: target in literary battles• “Hunchbacked toad” • Remained a bachelor • His religious faith • Good educational institution• Self educated man• Several languages

ALEXANDER POPE (4)

• Aunt: taught him to read & write• Local Priest: Latin & Greek• Later learnt French & Italian• Read the works of great writers• Homer, Virgil, Chaucer• Shakespeare, Spenser, Milton, • Imitated the works of great writers• Resolute to be literary figure• Made several visits to London

ALEXANDER POPE (5)

• Made friendship with learned men• William Walsh, Congreve, Wycherly, Garth, 1st Earl of

Oxford, Jonathan Swift• Moved to London• Published his major literary works• “An Essay on Criticism”• Discussion based on neoclassical doctrines

“Whoever thinks a faultless piece to see,Thinks what ne’er was, nor is, nor e’er shall be.”

ALEXANDER POPE (6)

• “The Rape of the Lock” (1712)• Elegant Satire• Helped Swift: Gulliver’s Travels• Published “Essay on Man” (1733-34)• Examined human condition• Against Miltonic Cosmic background• Evocative, dramatic, exciting & concrete• Popular for his Satirical Works/witty• Translated Illiad & Odyssey• Great achievement/ financial support

ALEXANDER POPE (7)

• Moved to Twichkenham• It inspired him to study landscape gardening• No notable literary works • Revised & edited earlier works• His health declined• Died at the age of 56 in 1744

THE RAPE OF THE LOCK

• “The Rape of the Lock” (1712)• Elegant Satire• Hysterical Battles between the sexes• Follies of young• It consisted of 2 Cantos• Expanded in 1714• Consisted of 5 cantos

THE BASIS OF STORY

• Based on a quarrel between two families• Pope knew both families• Lord Petre cut off lock of Miss Arabella

Fermor’s hair• John Caryll’s suggestion: to write a poem on

this incident

STORY OF THE POEM

• A young lady, Belinda• She wakes up• Description of her beauty aids• She plays cards, flirts, drinks coffee• She lost a lock of her hair• Stolen by a devoted young man

THE RAPE OF THE LOCK

• Trivial Incident• Mock-heroic treatment• Satire on the contemporary society• High-society obsessions & concerns• It recommends a reform

REVIEW OF LECTURE 27

• Background of the Neoclassical Age• Characteristics of the Age • Literary Genres• Notable Writers • Biography of Alexander Pope• The Rape of the Lock• Origin of the Poem• Theme & Subject matter of the poem