Alexander Pope - Research Paper Example

? Alexander Pope (1688 – 1744) is one of the best admired in the history of English literature. Unlike Shakespeare who was strictly a poet and a playwright, Pope balanced his writing with more formal notions drawn from educated circles. These were forces in his society, that were not open to him because he was a Catholic and considered an outsider. However, one of the more messages of Pope's criticism, is that literary genres are not fixed and static, rather, they intertwine and mix with others. Shakespeare might have been writing with 'tragedy' as a form, but his knowledge of Julius Ceasar, all of the King Henry's or King Richards, was unquestionably informed by the genre of history writing. Indeed, for people with little exposure to the stories, it can be said that Shakespeare himself is doing history even though we do not conventionally read him as a historian. As will be argued in the following, Pope wrote in many genres precisely as an act that intended for us to question the nature or the notion of genre itself. The following will examine his life's works alongside his lifelong concern with genre. Alexander Pope arrived in London in 1705, and was in that early period, a member of the Kit Kat Club. The members of the Kit Kat Club were all writers and included figures of the age, like, William Walsh and Lord Landsdowne [Dennis 200]. While only seventeen at the time that he moved to London, it would not be long before he started to make a mark for himself as a writer. His earliest publications was the Pastorals and An Essay on Criticism which was published second. While his first work did seem receive some praise, it was his work on criticism that first drew significant attention to himself. A well known critic of the time, referred to Pope's “rising genius” in relation to his criticism, but his poetry was his primary or most consuming passion as far as writing goes [Bateson and Joukovsky 154]. As the title itself indicates, a 'pastoral' concerns nature, and the individual struggle or relationship with nature. While his ambitions were to be admired and respected as a great poet, it can be argued that the respect he sought was realized more as a consequence of his early book of criticism, or the publication of An Essay on Criticism which was first published in 1711 [Dennis 249]. Pope was a formalist in the eighteenth century sense of the term. As a writer, he was arguably more concerned with the 'form' of the work than the content. There were incredible transformations occurring in his age in terms of challenges being made to traditional or conventional forms or genres of writing. Poetry, in general, was being redeveloped or experimented on with the aid of odes, ballads, elegies, satire, parodies, song, and finally, lyrical poetry. As with all genres, there are often areas of cross-over, but for Pope, and many of his contemporaries, the inter-mixing of genres can be described as almost an obsession [Sitter 106]. For Pope, this obsession was fueled or furthered by his interest in translation. Moreover, his interest in a wide variety of writing including Shakespeare. With regard to translation, he rendered into Latin some Greek texts or originally, Greek texts, like Homer's Iliad and the Odyssey. Likewise, the Roman or Latin poet Virgil was a constant source of inspiration for him, but in terms of influencing his literary style, but also as someone whose writings embodied ethical or moral virtues that he admired or could identify with. Following the publication of 'An Essay on Criticism', Pope struck a balance between his study of literature and his exposition of it. His focus on those years, was largely directed toward writing poetry even though criticism became an ongoing source of study for him. In 1714, 'The Rape of the Lock' was published and it was for Pope, the most impactful piece that he had produced by this time. The first run or first printing, yielded a sale of over three thousand copies, and when it was reprinted in the following year, the response by the book buying populace was equally enthusiastic [Griffin 60]. One of the critics that obviously had some influence over the tremendous surge in sales, Thomas Blackwell, said “can anything of its kind surpass the Rape of the Lock?” [Barnard 9] . In terms of what 'kind' that Blackwell is referring to, 'The Rape of the Lock' was a cutting and obviously, poetic, look at the manners and customs of his age. One of the aspects about his age in social terms, was his religious background. In the period following the 'Rape of the Lock', Pope turned his attention to the translation of Homer from the Greek into the Latin. The act of translating in his time, was significantly more political than it is in contemporary society. Latin was the language of the Romans, and for Pope, it was the language of his Roman Church. It is, of course, in the Vatican of Rome where the real Pope sits, and Alexander Pope's admiration and practice of Catholicism was shaped in response to some of what he endured. Pope's era is the post-Reformation epoch. The Reformation was an internal revolt within the Catholic Church that brought about the first major division in modern European Christianity. Large due to Martin Luther's challenge to the Church over the authority or divinity of the priest in the performance of the sacraments, Protestantism is characterized as a challenge to religious authority. Or, at least the religious authority of the Church based in Rome. The division that emerged in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, resulted in devastating wars that posited Protestant European countries against their Catholic counter-parts. For Pope, the act of translating Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, is an act that has to be understood within the post Reformation historical climate [Dennis 51]. Homer's works in his age were essential reading. Most of the educated individuals at the time, would be considered educated by virtue of being very familiar with Homer. It can be said that when you take on a work as widely read as Homer, you are subjecting yourself to a potentially difficult audience under circumstances where you know that the audience has familiarity with the subject, the material, and even the style in a nuanced or critical way. Beyond the concern with this literary forms or qualities that he knew were going to fall under rigorous assessment, the language he chose to transpose this work, made it accessible to Catholics. In Pope's age, by virtue of being Catholic which was the losing side in England, he was barred or banned from a lot that any Protestant would by contrast, have access to. For instance, in Pope's age, the crown of Protestant England made the obtainment of education illegal for Catholics. Keeping an entire social group systemically ignorant, meant that they were also placed in a position of disadvantage [Dennis 51]. Pope's translation helped to bridge this form of discrimination. By bringing Homer to the Catholic people of his time, he helped to erode some of the effects whose causes were discriminatory in nature. However much Pope saw how important that the translation of Homer was on a personal level, he also listened to the advice of one of his contemporaries named, Bolingbroke, who said: “You owe a great deal more of yourself, your Country, to the Present Age, and Posterity”. [Barnard 150] While he looked to the distant past for his heroic translations, he also looked to the near past at the very same time. Pope was one of the first real champions of William Shakespeare, and among the many works of his that continue to be examined, his analysis of Shakespeare continues as one of the most significant. Pope is responsible for compiling one of the first standardized editions of Shakespeare. The publication of the complete works in 1725, is one of the landmark events in literary history insofar as the complete folio is assembled for the very first time in one place. To date, the study of Shakespeare had flourished to some extent, but lacked a common body as far as referencing went. Like his translations of Homer, there was also a political dimension to the Shakespeare work that was commissioned by the publisher “Jacob Tonson” [Barnard 7]. While Pope had so far in life been admired and mostly, praised by critics, his Shakespeare work presented a very different reaction. Normally, an author or a scholar hopes that a large project is going to stand the test of time. With his Shakespeare effort, this did not come to fruition as he was more or less forced to put together a new edition which was published only three years after, or in 1728. As a contemporary friend of Pope's remarked: “Pope had his first experience of a critick without malevolence, who taught it as much as his duty to display beauties as expose faults; who censured with respect, and praised with alacrity” [Barnard 12]. One of the stronger aspects of his translations of Homer that was recognized, was his ability or capacity to convey or “display beauties”. While his ability or success at capturing some of the beauty of Shakespeare was acknowledged, there were a number of formal or technical problems with his edition. This lead to the revision of the work, and the eventual abandonment of it as one that is regarded as a standard in the very study of Shakespeare. As Spence notes in the quote above, this is one of the first times that he had encountered a “critick” who was not motivated by sheer “malevolence”. Pope saw that the limitations expressed about his edition of Shakespeare, were far more than the typical personal or malevolent forms of expressions typical of the age. He understood the criticisms on the very basis of their technical merit. While he did not devote as much time to the Shakespeare edition as he had the translations, he did try and make a comprehensive edition that brought together the famous playwrights work with an eye toward presenting some uniformity. He tried to standardize or note where the meter of the works were presented so that they could be studied alongside one another. That is, where the study of the works would be placed on the 'form' rather than just the content. However, it is this very emphasis that many of the critics pointed to as deficient, and this had a severe impact on Pope. However much he did not take the criticisms with malice or malevolence, he was motivated enough to revise his addition and then, eventually abandon it altogether. He turned his attention away from Shakespeare because of his critics, but got his revenge on them in a satire which he published called the Dunciad. Once again, his interest in bending the preconceived writing genres of his era, met with some harsh criticism. Satire it was believed in his time, should attack or present a critical view of a 'type' of person and not an actual one. However, one could argue that took a lesson from the Greeks who knew so well. The satirist that is best associated with the Greek canon, is Aristophanes. In a play titled 'The Clouds', Aristophanes presents a satire about a 'type', namely, the philosopher. However, the philosopher as a type is satirized using an actual person, namely, Socrates. Surviving from the period of the Greeks down to Pope's age, were only two authors who were contemporaries with Socrates that wrote fiction about him. While Plato is probably known best as Socrates mouthpiece, so to speak, it is the portrayal of him as living in the 'clouds' that is probably one of the most memorable and enduring. It is true that the Duciad was a satirical work that took on some of his critics directly, but it can be argued that Pope had a pretty good allie in the form of Aristophanes: “drawn from Ancient history” [Sitter 68]. When elements of 'genre' fall into question, such as the nature of 'satire' which it did for Pope with the Duciad, a defense can be mounted using the same classical sources. However much he might have challenged the manners of his era by directly referring to, or making it obvious who he was referring to in the Dulciad, he at least had a good classical defense to counter his critics with: “(Pope) began to yield to what we now call literary history, and literary history necessarily became inseparable from history as a whole” [Sitter 52]. Following the Dulciad, Pope wrote and published two of the works that he is best known for. First, came the 'Ethic Epistles' and that was followed by An Essay on Man which was first published in 1733 [Dennis 247 ]The title of this latter work is misleading, as it is a poem rather than a formal essay. However, by calling it an essay the notion of 'genre' is again called to attention. The reader of the work is drawn in by the title precisely because it articulates a type of writing or genre other than poetry. The first question that the reader asks, is why he would call something which is clearly a poem, an essay. Considering the following passage, some of an answer to this question of genre can be seen: “Know then thyself, presume not God to scan The proper study of Mankind is Man. Placed on this isthmus of a middle state, A Being darkly wise, and rudely great: With too much knowledge for the Skeptic side,With too much weakness for the Stoic's pride, He hangs between; in doubt to act, or rest; In doubt to deem himself a God, or Beast; In doubt his mind or body to prefer” [Dennis 8]. Pope is articulating a divide between the divine realm and the realm of nature. Skeptics are those who challenge the truth of what is perceived, while Stoics are those who physically or literally challenge that which is perceived by the senses. On the one hand, a skeptic is someone who questions nature and on the other hand, a Stoic is someone who subjugates nature. Stoicism is a denial of the passions and is an act that is similar to skepticism on one level, but arguably, goes further as a form of daily practice. While the proper study of men would include some of the behaviors such as the self denial of the body by the Stoics, it is important that he places 'mankind' ahead of the study of men. The study of humankind or mankind as Pope says, is properly done when there is a contrast between the ream of matter and the realm of spirit. While humans spend a great deal of time contemplating the divine, even if they deny it like the skeptic, what is important is the division itself. For Pope, the realm of the divine is something that is beyond humans and beyond, therefore, their capability of knowing. How can something or someone who is finite and changing, possibly understand the nature or essence of that which is not changing? This is a proto-criticism that might suggest to the reader that he is not a champion of all practices or beliefs that are Catholic. In an era when his fellow Catholics are denied material access to education, it can be said that the turn away from the immediate toward the notion of divine might seem to be a logical next step. If this realm is confused by prejudice and the subjugation of people on the basis of belief, then, it would seem an obvious tact to look beyond for answers. Or, at least look beyond as something that is more highly prized than the material or physical conditions [Dennis 167]. Pope seems critical of that as he attempts to draw a sharp divide between the study of 'mankind' and the study of 'man'. Man is a particular sensible thing, whereas 'mankind' is an essential or transcending type of explanation. It transcends particular individuals as an attempt to articulate what is common to the whole 'kind'. The notion of kind or type, is once again, a concern that Pope had with genre. The 'Essay on Man' is an essay and not a poem or it is a 'poetical essay'. By virtue of this twist, it challenges genre. The content of the work too challenges the very notion of a genre of mankind or the 'kind' in question. It can be said that it is a work that challenges genre both in 'form' and in 'content' with respect to these two characteristics. If Alexander Pope was anything, he was revolutionary. A revolution is a turn or transition that generally describes an inversion. Pope sought inversion with regard to writing. He wrote poems that were really essays, and even translated books (Homer) or edited them (Shakespeare) with an eye toward conveying more than mere representation. Often, it has been the case that he was motivated by the politics of his age. He lived in a world where he was directly subjected to one of the irrational prejudices of his time – the discrimination that found its ground in the banning of Catholics from formal and less formal forms of social life. And, it is his taking on the “manners” and mannerisms of his time that he is best known for. However much he wanted to convey the limitations of the manners of some that he experienced first hand, it was always with an eye toward understanding the whole of the problem. He balanced the study and articulation of mankind with some very particular depictions of man, and this is the appeal in Pope that has become so universal. Or, why he is read as a classic. Bibliography: Barnard, John (Ed.). (2005). Alexander Pope. The Critical Heritage. London: Routledge. Bateson, Frederick Wise and Joukovsky, Nicholas. (1970). Alexander Pope. A Critical Anthology. Harmondsworth: Penguin. Dennis, John. (2003). The Age of Pope. London: Waterstones. Sitter, John E. (1971). The Poetry of Pope's Duciad. Minnesota: The University of Minnesota Press. ALEXANDER POPE: HIS LIFE AND WRITINGS. Read More