Satire in English Literature Following Alexander Pope - Essay Example

Satire in English literature following Alexander Pope In English literary circles eighteenth century is referred to as the Age of Augustan, Age of Reason and the Neo Classic Age. Early 1700s was a critical time for England’s political and social scenario, which directly influenced the literary culture and norms. It was an era of rising self-consciousness and collective awareness. Writers learned about the role literature can play in modelling the society and public in the right direction. Satire was deemed as the perfect genre for detailing the inner feelings of resentment and dissatisfaction without narrating everything in plain black and white. Augustan literature is a product of this evolutionary and somewhat revolutionary phase of English literature, which transformed conventional dramas, prose and poetry into an amalgamation of mockery, bold themes, and exploratory urges. The Augustan age spanned over half a century and various prominent writers contributed in this movement, however, Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift were the pioneers. This paper is an attempt to explore satire in English literature during Augustan age focusing on Alexander Pope. The Augustan Age: Augustan Age in English literature refers to the period that initiated with the reign of Queen Anne (1702-1714) and ended with the deaths of its pioneers Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift in 1744 and 1745 respectively. The term Augustan was derived from the famous Roman emperor Gaius Octavius Thurinas whom history remembers as the great Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (27BC – 14AD). (Okie 5) English writers, reformists and socialists drew inspiration from the ideals of Roman Empire specifically under the reign of Augustus, which is termed as the golden era of Rome. The core ideals derived from the time of Caesar, which embodied elements like civic responsibility, demureness, and self-discipline, were incorporated in English society and primarily literature. Georg Ludwig or George I, the Elector of Hanover, was often represented in paintings as Augustus and his son George II was named George August. (Okie 6) The mid-seventeenth century political revolution in France and industrial revolution in England paved the way for an era of rapid socio-economic changes as well as more intense conflict of ideas. (Daiches 590) During the early half of the 18th century, Neo-Classic style was adopted in literature, architecture and furnishing. As far as literature is concerned, the influence of Augustus’ era was monumental since just like the Roman literary preferences during that phase, English literature also heavily comprised of satirical and political themes. Artists responsible for uprooting and popularising Augustan style of writing utilized the Roman culture of literature which required decorum, poise, clearness, and seriousness in writing (Daiches 591). The exemplary artists from ancient Rome’s Augustan literature were Cicero, Horace and Virgil while in the 18th century Jonathan Swift and Joseph Addison in literature and Alexander Pope and John Dryden in poetry stood out. The 18th century English literary norms can be categorised as an extension of the ancient Augustan age style of literature. One of the chief tasks during Augustan age was to preserve the English language in its true form and prevent its decay (which means protection from change). It was in this era when genres were distinguished on the basis of class and the form and content of classic genres such as Tragedy, Epic, Lyric and Comedy was determined. English novels also saw its origination and flourishing during this phase. Augustan age is also known as the Age of Reason and Age of Enlightenment because it was during this particular timeframe when people started analysing the world from beyond the stigmatic notions of superstitions and witchcraft. (Larsen 197) Religious apprehensions were tranquilised and numerous scientific inventions in the field of astronomy, medicine, biology, physics, chemistry, and navigation, etc., changed the public perception towards life, universe and traditions. Emergence of institutions like the Royal Society added more depth to this approach. The best feature of such sudden technological advancements was that print media and printing technology were amplified and expanded. Since books were being published rigorously and in better outlook, therefore, the demand for inexpensive books increased and public interest grew. (Larsen 198) Works on eliminating social and economic ills began to appear more frequently and a trend of periodicals originated giving birth to several key journals such as The Gentleman’s Magazine (1731), The London Post (1699), The Tatler, 1709 and The Spectator (1711). Ghost writers were required for providing written content, which was a trend soon adopted by eminent writers like Alexander Pope. Hence, it can be said that Augustan age was a period of social, scientific, literal and political renaissance in tradition-bounded English society. Alexander Pope: Alexander Pope (1688 –1744) holds an influential position in the list of the most innovative and trendsetting literary geniuses of all times and is regarded as “the greatest English poet of the eighteenth century” (Barnes and David 246). Such huge was his literary stature that after William Shakespeare and Alfred Tennyson, Pope is the third poet whose verses were frequently quoted in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. Pope was the “most important English poet as well as an essayist, satirist, and critic” who became famous for his extensive use of satire and beyond perfection blending of heroic couplet in his works (Barnes and David 246). Pope was among the first poets to utilize this relatively new genre of poetry known as the Heroic Couplet and his claim to fame turned out to be the Pastorals that were included in the sixth edition of Tonson's Poetical Miscellanies during 1709. (Barnes and David 247) From then on there was no looking back for him as Alexander Pope produced back to back masterpieces. His poem Rape of the Lock, which was a mock-heroic epic, is termed as his best poetic endeavour. (Stephen 63) His famous poems include Essay on Criticism (1711), Rape of the Lock (1712), The Dunciad and Moral Essays (1731–35), and Essay on Man (1732-1734). Pope was also a great admirer of Homer which particularly influenced him to translate Homer’s most celebrated literary classic Illiad. (Stephen 63) He published the Translation of Illiad between 1715 and 1720, followed by the Translation of Odyssey in 1726. (Stephen 64) Pope also wrote for The Guardian and The Spectator. One of the best examples of Pope’s usage of satire is found in Imitations of Horace and An Epistle to Doctor Arbuthnot, which he wrote during 1733-1738. Afterwards, Pope’s health deteriorated due to which he could not write much and focused on revising his earlier masterpiece The Duncaid. He died on 29 May, 1744 and with his death not only a great chapter in English literature came to an end but also the Augustan age of literature was replaced by the Romantic movement of the late 18th century. (Stephen 64) Satire in Augustan Age and Alexander Pope’s contribution: Satire is the most prominent genre that encircled Augustan literature of the 18th century. It was used by writers to highlight evils, idiocies, exploitations, and flaws plaguing the society through their writings in a humoristic manner with the intent of shaming the wrongdoings and corrupt approaches. (Okie 6) Satire occurred in all its forms during the Augustan age, that is, political and personal and was used in every category of literature from journalism and poetry to drama and novel or narrative fiction. Authors like Pope and Swift laid down the basic rules and norms of Augustan age literature with works like The Battle of the Books (1704), The Rape of the Lock (1714), Gulliver's Travels (1726), and The Dunciad (1728). Satire was used by authors and poets to connect the socio-political scenario with literature since the region’s state of affairs were never as highly concerning as it was in this particular period. (Okie 6) Writers and poets during the Augustan age created awareness among public about the prevailing social evils and also to mock the system without pointing fingers. More than abstract themes and imagination, nature and imitation of classic Roman literature dominated the literary atmosphere of that era. Alexander Pope’s contribution in this regard cannot be overlooked. Professor Henry Beers stated that “Pope did hold the mirror up to Nature [....] it gave back a faithful image of society, powdered and rouged, to be sure, yet still as human in its own way as the heroes of Homer” (Lowell 393). In that era poetry was required to be elegant and civilized but Pope merged elements like wit, humour, mock with the idiosyncrasy of poetry. (Daiches 591) He wrote satirical poetry in iambic lines having heroic couplets which rhymed as aa, bb, cc (Rogers 12). Style wise “the ingredients that Pope harnessed to express thought, feeling and observation were pure diction, clean syntax and smooth versification” (Rogers 12). He preferred using four-lined stanzas called the quatrains. The Rape of the Lock is a perfect example in this regard where he developed delicate satire with slanted wisdom to prove that “perfect poetic achievements were possible” through incorporating elements of satire to change the social atmosphere (Daiches 592). The fair [the lady] each moment rises in her charms, Repairs her smiles, awakens ev'ry grace, And calls forth all the, wonders of her face [….] Here Files of Pins extend their shining Rows, Puffs, Powders, Patches, Bibles, Billet-doux (Pope 28) It was a mock-epic that pointed out the idiocies and vanities of the 18th century aristocratic upper-class in a shrewd but polished style. Through Belinda and Baron, Pope presented a true picture of English society where men were civilized but objectified the females as weaker beings and women were only interested in fashion, vanity, makeup and gossips. Pope’s poetry primarily focused on presenting a reflection of 18th century society without making it utterly grotesque or compromising on the literary requirements, which is why his works stood out amongst all other writers of Augustan Age. In The Essay on Man, he clearly declared the importance of being reasonable, logical and peaceful instead of being egoistic, proud and violent. To do what was right and to channel one’s energies in the right direction should be a man’s utmost goal in the world. All Nature is but Art, unknown to thee; All Chance, Direction, which thou canst not see; All Discord, Harmony, not understood; All partial Evil, universal Good: And, spite of Pride, in erring Reason's spite, One truth is clear, "Whatever IS, is RIGHT. (Pope 53) Pope adopted a naturalistic tone in his poetry on the lines of prose, which was different from the prevailing norms of poetry where imaginative process, finesse and word-smithing were highly important. In An Essay on Criticism, he explicitly targets the literary norms of that era when the purpose of poetry was to create rhyming verses only. What crowds of these, impenitently bold, In sounds and jingling syllables grown old, Still run on poets, in a raging vein, Ev'n to the the dregs and squeezings of the brain, Strain out the last dull droppings of their sense, And rhyme with all the rage of impotence! (Pope 19) In this way most of Pope’s works focused on pinpointing the various societal, political, moral and literal traditions that he deemed unreasonable, change-worthy and hard to overlook. His poetry was heavily inspired by the Horatian style of writing and references to ancient Roman poets like Horace, Homer, Aristotle, Virgil, and Longinus are evident in his works. Alexander Pope gave English language and literature various iconic phrases that are still valued and commonly used. For instance, An Essay on Criticism introduced English speaking world to lexicons and quotations like “A little learning is a dangerous thing”, “'Is pride the never-failing vice of fools,” “To err is human, to forgive divine,” and "Fools Rush In Where Angels Fear to Tread," etc. (Pope 20) Hippolyte Taine believed that “Pope did not write because he thought, but thought in order to write. Inky paper, and the noise it makes in the world, was his idol.” (198) Pope mocked at the artificial approaches in ways of living adopted by the female segment of 18th century English society where education was not as important as was accessorising themselves. In Epistle II: To a Lady on Characters of Women he wrote the famous lines: Nothing so true as what you once let fall, "Most Women have no Characters at all." Matter too soft a lasting mark to bear, And best distinguish'd by black, brown, or fair (Pope and Johnson 88) This pointed out that women were not recognized and distinguished on the basis of their literacy level, achievements and/or intellect but as mere painted dolls set apart by their skin tone only. Pope targeted everyone from the government to the society and its absurd customs, and corrupted ideologies. To express satire in his poems, Pope chose irony as the prominent element and thrashed every sort of social, personal and cultural ill that he considered as challenging the structure of a morality-driven English society. Conclusion: Augustan age represents the efforts from a group of farsighted intellectuals like Alexander Pope who favoured change and reformation in the perceptions of the nation and restoration of true English culture. Post the industrial revolution, English society, which outwardly appeared as elegant, cultured and conservative, was actually plagued by corruption, social ills, hypocrisies, and discriminatory notions. The need to challenge the prejudiced ways and to eliminate the superciliousness brought forth by aristocracy was deemed the need of the day. Therefore, the efforts of Alexander Pope and his counterparts can never be forgotten and undervalued. It was due to their collective efforts that people opened up to newer, literal, logical and productive perspectives on life both as individuals and as a society. Works Cited Barnes, Harry E, and Henry David. The History of Western Civilization. 2. Harcourt, Brace, 1935. 240-246. Print. Daiches, David. A Critical History of English Literature: The Restoration to 1800. 3. Allied Publishers, 1979. 591. Print. Larsen, David L. The Company of the Creative: A Christian Reader's Guide to Great Literature and Its Themes. Kregel Academic, 1999. 197-200. Print. Lowell, James R. My Study Windows. Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1913. Print. Okie, Laird. Augustan Historical Writing: Histories of England in the English Enlightenment. University Press of America, 1991. Print. Pope, Alexander, and Samuel Johnson. The poems of Alexander Pope. Press of C. Whittington, 1822. 85-90. Print. Pope, Alexander. Essay on Man and Other Poems. Courier Dover Publications, 1994. Print. Rogers, Pat. The Major Works. Oxford University Press, 2006. Print. Stephen, Leslie. Alexander Pope. Cambridge University Press, 2011. 62-65. Print. Taine, Hippolyte. History of English literature. 2. Nabu Press, 2011. 235-240. Print. Read More