 Roman Catholic Could not  vote  inherit or purchase land  attend a public school or university  live within ten miles of London  hold public office  openly practice religion

 Tuberculosis of the spine ◦ stunted his growth (4’6”) ◦ rendered him hunchbacked and deformed ◦ left him with pain, migraines, and frequent nausea ◦ required assistance for daily activities  Rival critics called him a “hunch-backed toad” ◦ believed his ugly exterior reflected mental and moral corruption

 Spent his adolescent years reading the greatest writers of Europe and England  Self-taught Latin and Greek  Staunch Tory  Financially successful poet  Mistrusted and manipulated publishing business  Member of the Scriblerus Club with Gay and Swift

 Essay on Criticism (1711)  Rape of the Lock (1711, 1714)  Windsor-Forest (1713)  Iliad ( )  Odyssey (1726)  Shakespeare edition (1725)  Dunciad (1728, 1742)  Essay on Man (1733)

 Inspired by true events  Mock-epic  Heroic couplets

 Division into books  Invocation of the muse  Use of gods to commence, oversee and influence events  Dream message from the gods  Arming the heroes  Sacrifice to the gods  Sea voyage  Exhortation to the troops  Single combat  Epic feast  Journey to the underworld  General combat  Apotheosis

 Born in Dublin, Ireland  Raised around Glorious Revolution  Secretary to William Temple  Church of Ireland clergyman  Relationship with Esther Johnson

 Frequent travels to England  Ménière's disease  First Whig then Tory – editor of The Examiner  Part of Tory governments of Queen Anne  Pushed for clergy rights in Ireland  British oppression of Ireland in 18 th C.  After fall of Tory gov’t, given Deanery of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin

 Member of Scriblerus Club, friend of Pope  Author of numerous satires circulated as pamphlets: ◦ Tale of a Tub (1704) ◦ The Battle of the Books (1704) ◦ A Modest Proposal (1729) – Irish famine of  Author of many poems  Much of his work dealt with current events and/or people.

 Began in Scriblerus Club  Published in 1726, then in amended (and controversial) edition in  Fear of prosecution led to some editing – restored portions in  Genre: Satire ◦ Travel narrative ◦ Anti-Whig politics ◦ Irish question ◦ Human nature ◦ Novel?