Alexander Pope Research Paper

Biography of Alexander Pope

One of the most popular poets during the Enlightenment period was Alexander Pope. He wrote many of his poems based on satires and themes of philosophy that explored the purpose for reason. Alexander Pope was born on May 21, 1688, to Alexander and Edith Pope in London, England. His father was a wealthy linen merchant that was Catholic, this caused problems as soon as Pope was born because a Protestant was throned, making it illegal for people of the Catholic religion to hold office, practice their religion, or attend public schools (Poetry Foundation). This would cause problems for Pope’s publicity in his future career as a poet. Because of the discernment of his religion, Pope grew up in Windsor Forest, mostly self-taught, but also taught by private tutors and priests already writing poetry in his teenage years. His life was not only looked down upon because of his self-taught education and his unfavorable religion, but also

When he was in his early twenties, Pope had written a draft of his “Pastorals” and in 1709 they were published in Jacob Tonson’s Poetical Miscellanies. This wasn’t the only piece that he was working on though. When he was 23, Pope published his first major work which was An Essay on Criticism which “articulates many of the central tenets of 18-century aesthetic and moral philosophy” (Poetry Foundation). As his success began to grow, he became associated with many other literary figures. This included a group called the “Scriberlous Club” with members such as John Gay and Jonathan Swift, who encouraged Pope to release many editorial translations such as Homer’s Iliad and some of Shakespeare's works (Poetry Foundation). This earned him much of his wealth, but also caused many controversies. One of these controversies leading him to write his most popular work, The Dunciad completing it in