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Alexander popes works
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In the article, “A Mock-Biblical Controversy: Sir Richard Blackmore in the Dunciad,” Thomas Jemielity calls Blackmore “the Everlasting Blackmore” for two reasons: one, because Blackmore’s favourite form was the epic (he wrote at least four epics between 1695 and 1723), and two, because Alexander Pope’s ridicule of Blackmore in Peri Bathous immortalizes him as a prominent figure in Eighteenth-century poetry (265). Unlike most poets who perfected the lyric and pastoral first, Blackmore ambitiously began his poetic career with an epic called, Prince Arthur: An Heroick Poem in Ten Books (1695), and this decision, as Samuel Johnson indicates, left him “that much more open to criticism” (Solomon 43). Johnson’s prediction was unequivocally accurate, and no one criticized Blackmore more than Pope, who included Blackmore’s poetry in Peri Bathous, Or the Art of Sinking in Poetry (1727), a “how-to” manual on writing bad poetry. This essay will begin with a discussion of the possible causes behind the Blackmore-Pope, followed by an analysis of Peri Bathous, a comparison between Prince Arthur, and Creation, and finally a brief look at Pope’s Essay on Man (1734) and Blackmore’s Creation. Ultimately, this essay will show how Pope’s ridicule of Blackmore in Peri Bathous was not fully justified as Pope initiated their feud, unfairly chose Blackmore’s first work instead of his best work to criticize, and failed to acknowledge Blackmore for his contributions to An Essay on Man, Pope’s greatest work.
The cause of the Pope-Blackmore feud is by no means easy to explain, especially with so many speculations as to why their antagonism started in the first place. One possible explanation comes from Abigail Williams who claims that Pope and Blackmore’s c...
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...re if he knew how he would respond? After all, Pope decided to write a poem mocking a biblical text, so he understood the backlash he would receive from critics like Blackmore. By writing such a blasphemous poem, if he intended to publish it or not, Pope was asking for trouble, which places the blame entirely on his shoulders.
Peri Bathous is a mock Ars Poetica, or Art of Poetry, a parodic treatise on how not to write poetry. It is a humorous inversion of Longinus's classical treatise, Peri Hupsous: or, The Art of the Sublime (1st century AD). Pope takes Longinus's description of the five sources of the sublime – grandeur of thought; inspired passion; the effective use of rhetorical figures; nobility of diction; and the dignity of the overall composition – and ironically advocates their opposites as guidance in the modern poet's quest to achieve true profundity.
Frank, Roberta. “The Beowulf Poet’s Sense of History.” In Beowulf – Modern Critical Interpretations, edited by Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.
Marie De France’s Lanval is a remarkable short narrative that engages the reader into a world filled with unrealistic elements, but enhances on the true meaning of romance, chivalry and nature during the years that King Arthur reigned. “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight” unfortunately does not have an author that can be recognized but this epic poem demonstrates the ghastly adventure of a knight who decides to defend the honor of young King Arthur against a supernatural being in this malicious game of cat and mouse. Both of these pieces of literature have enchanting characteristics that define them as a masterpiece of their era and that’s why they both are easily compared and contrasted. In addition, both Lanval and “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight” can be classified as similar through their themes, style and plots, although they are different through their language and diction. Even though both of these literatures can be viewed as similar as well as contrasting, in the end, each of these tales have illuminated the realm of fantasy throughout the court of King Arthur.
Although Phillis?s poetry was well received throughout New England, there were people who did not believe all of the poetry was actually written by Phillis. Her expertise with the heroic couplet form perfected by her literary hero Alexander Pope and the allusions to classic Greek and English poetry caused the speculation. In order to prove the validity of her poetry, Joh...
This satire first begins with Pope's invocation to the muses, a higher power, emphasizing that the tragedy about to occur is above mere worldly issues, and a debate that belongs amongst the gods. Hence, Pope writes: "What dire offense from amorous causes springs, / What mighty contests rise from trivial things, I sing-This verse to Caryll, Muse! is due" (English,1110). It is comical that the "dire offense" is the cutting of Belinda's hair rather than a life-threatening...
Carleton- Munro, Dana. The Speech of Pope Urban II. At Clermont, 1095. The American Historical Review. 11. no. 2 (1906): 231.
Anonymous. “Beowulf.” Beowulf: A New Verse Translation. Seamus Heaney, trans. New York: W.W. Norton &Company Ltd. 2001. 2-213. Print.
Extensive work has been done on this alliterative four-part poem written by an anonymous contemporary of Chaucer. Feminists have attacked his diatribe against women at the end, or analyzed the interaction between Gawain and the women of Bercilak’s court; those of the D. W. Robertson school seek the inevitable biblical allusions and allegory concealed within the medieval text; Formalists and philologists find endless enjoyment in discovering the exact meaning of certain ambiguous and archaic words within the story. Another approach that yields interesting, if somewhat dated, results, is a psychological or archetypal analysis of the poem. By casting the Green Knight in the role of the Jungian Shadow, Sir Gawain’s adventure to the Green Chapel becomes a journey of self-discovery and a quest – a not entirely successful one – for personal individuation. The Jungian process of individuation involves “.... ...
Pope's disease apparently tuberculosis of the bone became evident when he was about twelve. Later in Pope's life, Sir Joshua Reynolds described him as "about four feet six high; very humpbacked and deformed. Pope was also afflicted with constant headaches, sometimes so severe that he could barely see the paper he wrote upon, frequent violent pain at bone and muscle joints shortness of breath, increasing inability to ride horses or even walk for exercise. William Wycherley, impressed by some of Pope's early poetry, introduced him into fashionable London literary circles in 1704. Public attention came with the publication of Pastorals in 1709. The Rape of the Lock helped secure Pope's reputation as a leading poet of the age.
The Newspaper Account of an Anti-Catholic Riot in Philadelphia expresses how much ethnicity and religion affected the eventual “consolidation of Philadelphia County in 1854” (Schrag 1). The riots were initiated by Protestants who wanted to prevent America from conforming to Romanism. This need of Protestants to prevent the spread of Romanism in America comes from the attitudes of Nativist against Catholic Immigrants. In reading the Newspaper Account of an Anti-Catholic Riot in Philadelphia, the reader can infer that the purpose of this article is to tell how the Nativists Riots caused by Catholic Immigrants killing an off-duty watchman, Catholic Immigrants objection to Protestant teachings in public schools and Catholic Immigrants motives to suspend Bible readings led to the “consolidation of Philadelphia into a
In this brief monograph, we shall be hunting down and examining various creatures from the bestiary of Medieval/Renaissance thought. Among these are the fierce lion of imperious, egotistical power, a pair of fantastic peacocks, one of vanity, one of preening social status, and the docile lamb of humility. The lion and the peacocks are of the species known as pride, while the lamb is of an entirely different, in fact antithetical race, that of humility and forgiveness. The textual regions we shall be exploring include the diverse expanses, from palace to heath, of William Shakespeare, the dark, sinister Italy of John Webster, and the perfumed lady's chambers of Ben Jonson and Robert Herrick.
An interesting aspect of the famous literary work, "The Canterbury Tales," is the contrast of realistic and exaggerated qualities that Chaucer entitles to each of his characters. When viewed more closely, one can determine whether each of the characters is convincing or questionable based on their personalities. This essay will analyze the characteristics and personalities of the Knight, Squire, Monk, Plowman, Miller, and Parson of Chaucer's tale.
There are three main issues that Pope talks about in his long poem "An Essay on Man." First, the poet evokes a timeless vision of humanity in which the universe is connected to a great chain that extends from God to the tiniest form of life. Secondly, Pope discusses God's plan in which evil must exist for the sake of the greater good, a paradox not fully understandable by human reason. Thirdly, the poem accuses human beings of being proud and impious. Pope feels that man claims more insight into the nature of existence then he possesses.
- - -. “Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800.” http://go.galegroup.com. N.p., 1988. Web. 9 Dec. 2010. .
Sidney’s The Defense of Poesy is considered a great Elizabethan literary criticism. It illustrates a vivid defense of fiction against its critics and creates a lasting impression on how we view literature in today’s world. “Poesy” or poetry is about fiction and Sidney’s defense is about the separation of fiction and song before the Enlightenment. Sidney’s argument is that poesy is an art form created for educating and showing audiences the world of creativity and imagination that is different than historical and philosophical works.
In the end, a story that appears to poke fun at the carefree lives of upper class women actually gives great appreciation to the subtle powers women hold over men. It could be argued that one of the most important powers of women is that of controlling men with their trivial problems and needs. Perhaps Pope was demonstrating women's skill in controlling men by simply playing the part of the vain shallow debutant. Whatever his intentions were it is clear that Alexander Pope did not in fact find the women of his time to be completely powerless, instead they were the driving forces of the household and of society.