Alexander Pope
The dominant English poet of the early 18th century, Pope wrote in heroic couplets of extraordinary precision and wit. An Essay on Criticism and An Essay on Man are his major philosophical poems; The Dunciad is the greatest satire in the language. His translation of Homer made him rich and famous.
Works
- The Rape of the LockMock-heroic poem satirizing aristocratic vanity through a trivial lock of hair
- The DunciadSatiric poem attacking literary dullness and poor writers with mock-heroic energy
- Essay on ManPhilosophical poem arguing that all human knowledge serves divine order and purpose
- Iliad (trans.)Heroic couplet translation of Homer's Iliad adapting ancient epic for eighteenth-century readers
- Epistle to Dr ArbuthnotSatiric epistle defending the speaker against critics and displaying wit and reputation
- An Essay on CriticismVerse essay on literary criticism establishing rules for good taste and poetic judgment
- An Essay on ManPhilosophical poem arguing that all human knowledge serves divine order and purpose
- The Iliad (translation)Heroic couplet translation of Homer's Iliad adapting ancient epic for eighteenth-century readers