The Poetic Practice of Alexander Pope: The Authoritative Voice of Reason and the Expulsion of Pride of Man
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literature
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published 23/06/2008
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Alexander Pope was a poet greatly concerned with perception: his perception of God and his fellow man, and how he was perceived by others, both personally and as an artist. Despite his physical maladies, he saw himself as a great poet, destined for the craft and blessed with true talent. Many of his works assume a didactic air, denouncing the vainglorious pride of Man and proffering as a solution his own successful transcendence of this common folly. In his Essay on Criticism, Pope addresses his own literary critics, who, in his opinion, take joy in criticizing his work because they have no talent of their own to nurture.
Table of Contents
- Alexander Pope was a poet greatly concerned with perception.
- The term 'true taste' seems somewhat ambiguous.
- Pope has no qualms about matching every insult given to him with a cutting remark in return.
- Instead of demanding why perfection was not given to man, he argues, we ought to ask why humans were given such abilities as they were.
- Pope, however, seems to have no reservations about violating his own counsel.
- The other characters in Rape of the Lock do not, however, seem to appreciate hearing Clarissa's earth-bound reason.
