Alexander Pope: Satire and Classicism in 18th-Century English Poetry

Alexander Pope (London, May 21, 1688 – Twickenham, May 30, 1744) is a towering figure of English literature, known for satire and classicism. Born into a Roman Catholic family during a period of anti-Catholic sentiment following the Glorious Revolution of 1688, Pope was barred from public education and office under the Test Act. He studied privately with an aunt and moved to Windsor, inspiring his poem 'Windsor Forest' (1713). His literary debut came in 1717 with 'The Rape of the Lock,' a mock-heroic poem parodying Homer's Iliad, based on a real incident where Robert Lord Petre cut a lock of hair from Arabella Fermor (Belinda). Pope's satirical eye mocked aristocratic pastimes. He also wrote 'An Essay on Criticism' (1709-1711) and 'An Essay on Man' (1733-1734), both in heroic couplets. 'An Essay on Man' presents a Leibnizian providential worldview. Pope's lines from 'Eloisa to Abelard' (1717) inspired the film 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.' He is considered a key figure of the Augustan Age, alongside Tennyson and Shakespeare as one of the most quoted British poets.