Popes An Essay on Criticism - 4464 Words

Popes An Essay on Criticism When Samuel Johnson ascribed to a new work such extent of comprehension, such nicety of distinction, such acquaintance with mankind, and such knowledge both of both ancient and modern learning as not often attained by the maturest age and longest experience, he was speaking of young Alexander Popes An Essay on Criticism (1711), written when he was about twenty, and published when he was only twenty-three years old (in Mack 177).1 Others have not been as generous in their comments about the prodigys efforts. One history of criticism textbook describes the work rather ingloriously: There are repetitions and inconsistencies, some conventional pronouncements along with injunctions of lasting value;†¦show more content†¦Also, De Quinceys remarks in the seventh edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica (1842) set the pace for many future diagnoses of the work: It is a collection of independent maxims, tied together into a fasciculus [small bundle] by the printer, but having no natura l order or logical dependency: generally so vague as to mean nothing (in Morris 145). John Dennis immediate and hostile response to Popes contribution is perhaps the most celebrated. Clark tells the story (30-31): The `Essay provoked an almost immediate attack and a vitriolic critique by John Dennis in his Reflections Critical and Satyrical, upon a late Rhapsody , cal’d An Essay upon Criticism. This abusive monograph was apparently stands as a monument to the principles of English neo-classical poetics which revered the works of the ancients, recognized the validity of classical criteria and genres, and desired to see the ancient criteria and genres applied to the eighteenth century English literary scene (Isles 262). For this reason and others, many believe that An Essay on Criticism makes an original and significant contribution to the history of critical theory (Morris 146). Pope divided the work into three parts. Part one is an extended theoretical defense of the very possibility of valid criticism which draws on Nature and the tradition of the ancients. TheShow MoreRelatedThe Life of Alexander Pope859 Words   |  3 PagesEnglish poet was born on May 21, 1688 on Lombard Street in London. His father, Alexander Pope, a Roman Catholic, was a linen-draper who afterwards retired from business with a small fortune, and fixed his home on 1700 at Binfield in Windsor Forest. Pope’s education was a purpose to his father’s religion so that excluded him from the public schools. Before he was twelve he had obtained a slight knowledge of Latin and Greek language masters from a priest in Hampshire. Pope also received other mastersRead MoreSusan Sontag s Notes On Camp1945 Words   |  8 Pagesâ€Å"high culture and low culture are minority cultures. The combined influences of both strains constitute mainstream culture†. Before looking at what lo w culture Pope drew upon to produce his own â€Å"high art† it is important to understand the context of Pope’s writing and what was going on in regards to Literary History of that time period. The English Neo-Classical Movement dominated English Literature from the Restoration (1660) to the lyrical ballads of 1798,1800 and 1802. It is conventionally dividedRead MoreEssay about Satire In Swift And Pope1618 Words   |  7 Pagesdigressions Swift asserts that this particular digression can be transferred to any other part of the text if that seems better to the reader. Apart from satirizing hack writers and their shallow works, Swift has also mocked critics and their false criticism in ‘Section III: A Digression Concerning Critics’. He says that unfortunately the only surviving type of critics is that of the â€Å"discoverers and collectors of writers’ faults† who are described as the descendants of the Greek god Momus, the god ofRead MorePope as a Satirist2417 Words   |  10 Pagesmade its own fashion in literature. Horace in his work satires the human race, Persius reveals angry in his portrayal of man, and Juvenal is cynical in his approach, because he hates and dislikes mankind. Though Pope’s satire is similar to Horace in terms of tone, sometimes his criticism is filled with anger, critical, and strong hate like that of Juvenal. During the middle ages, church and women become the objects of satire. This type of satire can be seen in the works of Langland and Chaucer, WilliamRead MorePope Alexander was a Beautiful Writer643 Words   |  3 PagesAlexander Pope – a poet, landscape gardener, translator, and a satirist – is a famous public figure of the Enlightenment Era. One of his famous satires would be â€Å"An Essay on Criticism† where Pope rebukingly criticizes people who wrongly criticize. The work of a satire which has a blend of humor and wit for the improvement of humanity and the use of these characteristics were a very popular way of writing literature in the EnlightenmentRead MoreThe Epistolary Form Of Writing1926 Words   |  8 Pagesfrom one writer to another. This mode of writing was extremely popular in the Eighteenth Century, taking on different contexts for different purposes. An epistle can be a co mplex genre of writing. The Epistle can be a collection of poems, a satirical essay, a response to an author’s works or a raging sparring of words. Although quite constraining in format, an epistle addressed to someone, be it explicit or not can capture the minds of many. The epistle is notably an ancient form of writing, originatingRead MoreHow Does One Define Progress?1738 Words   |  7 Pagessame â€Å"odious Animal,† (Swift 481) with the same â€Å"odious qualities† (Swift 470) he wished to abolish from his own selfhood. Therefore, the protagonist’s loss of human dignity portrays the ills of what society views as progress and uncovers Swift’s criticism of human pride, vanity, and arrogance. Swift seems to imply that a life based on unrealistic expectations frequently leads to bitter disappointment, and thus attempts to free humanity from the futile denial of its basic nature. Indeed, the satiristRead MoreTragedy : A Great Topic1061 Words   |  5 Pagesfor as in bodies, thus in souls, we find what wants in blood and spirit, swelled with wind: Pride, where Wit fails, steps in to our defence, and fills up all the mighty Void of sense.† (Page 702 Lines 1-10). This is a quote from Alexander Pope’s An Essay o n Criticism. Alexander Pope wrote poetry. His favorite topic was informative. In this poem the first fourteen lines are about pride, stanza two is about the lack of learning. He also talks about wit, judging a book by the cover, how hard it is to pleaseRead More Optimism vs. Pessimism in Popes Essay on Man and Leapors Essay on Woman2015 Words   |  9 PagesOptimism vs. Pessimism in Popes Essay on Man and Leapors Essay on Woman     Ã‚   Both Alexander Popes Essay on Man, Epistle 2 and Mary Leapors Essay on Woman expound the fatalist contention that neither man nor woman can win, as each individual exists in a world of trade-offs. Yet, by each authors singular technique of sculpting his ideas with the literary tools of contrast, argument, and syntax, the cores of the two essays turn back to back, evolving into distinct, but contrary perspectivesRead MoreA Modest Rape : The Eighteenth Century And The Power Of Satire1715 Words   |  7 Pagessatire, they both focused on the ludicrous aspects of British nobility, and found ways to point out their morally corrupt standards of living. In Alexander Pope’s poem The Rape of the Lock, he criticizes the fallacies of vanity in the upper class, and how socialites used religion as a commodity. The story was actually based on an incident among Pope’s friends in which Robert, Lord Petre cut off a lock of Aranella Fermor’s hair, which caused a dispute among their families (Olsen 218). A mutual friend