1. THE AGE OF POPE BY SADIA ISMAIL SAMOON 2K18/BLENG/49 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

2. OUTLINE SOCIAL, RELIGIOUS & POLITICAL BACKGROUND OF AGE 18 th CENTURY AS A AGE OF REASON OR GOOD SENSE LITERARY CHARACTERISTICS OF THIS AGE THE AGE OF POPE THE POETTRY OF THE AGE OF POPE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE POETRY OF THE AGE OF POPE POETS OF THE AGE OF POPE AND THEIR WORKS PROSE OF THE AGE OF POPE WHY 18 TH CENTURY IS CALLED CLASSICAL AGE 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

3. Political Conditions During the first part of the eighteenth century the direct connection between politics and literature was closer than at any previous period of English life; for the practical spirit of the previous generation continued to prevail, so that the chief writers were very ready to concern themselves with the affairs of State, and in the uncertain strife of parties ministers were glad to enlist their aid. On the death of King William in 1702, Anne, sister of his wife Queen Mary and daughter of James II, became Queen. Unlike King William she was a Tory and at first filled offices with members of that party. 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

4. O n the death of Anne in 1714 Bolingbroke, with other Tories, wasintriguing for a second restoration of the Stuarts in the person of the son of James II (the 'Old Pretender'). But the nation decided for a Protestant German prince, a descendant of James I through his daughter Elizabeth and this prince was crowned as George I amevent which brought England peace at the price of a century of rule by an unenlightened and sordid foreign dynasty. The Tories were violently turned out of office, Oxford was imprisoned, and Bolingbroke, having fled to the Pretender, was declared a traitor. Ten years later he was allowed to come back and attempted to oppose Robert Walpole, the Whig statesman who for twenty years governed England in the name of the first two Georges; but in the upshot Bolingbroke was again obliged to retire to France. How closely these events were connected with the fortunes of the foremost authors we shall see as we proceed. 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

5. Religious and social Background The 18th century is a period of comparatively peaceful development in England, in religious perspective there was quite peaceful environment. Because all popes were Roman Catholics and at Benifield they came to know several neighboring Catholic families who were to play an important part in the poet’s life. After the Glorious Revolution, England entered the Golden Age. The state power passed from the king gradually to the Parliament and the cabinet ministers; therefore, capitalist system was established in England. A vast expansion abroad of British colonies in Asia, Africa and North America and Acts of Enclosure at home caused the Industrial Revolution. 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

6. The 18th-century England is known as the Age of Enlightment & Age of Reason. The Enlightenment Movement was a progressive intellectual movement which flourished in France & swept through the whole Western Europe at the time. The movement was a furtherance of the Renaissance of the 15th & 16th centuries. The development of the literature in this period can be summarized as: the predominance of neoclassical poetry and prose in the early decades of the 18th century; the rise and flourish of modern realistic novel in the middle years of the 18th century; and the appearance of gothic novel and the sentimental and pre-romantic poetry and fiction in the last few decades of the 18th century. 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

7. Age of Reason or Age of Good Sense The eighteen century is called the Age of Reason or the Age of good Sense because: “The people thought that they could stand on their own legs and man is assumed equal in all reasoning power, modern discoveries on the basis of observation and reason” 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

8. Literary Characteristics of this Age 1.Prose In this age, for the first time in the history in English literature Prose occupies the front position The main reason was the political, religious and social conditions of the age The graceful and elegant prose of Addison’s essays, the terse style of Swift’s satires, the artistic perfection of Fielding’s novels Poetry also becomes prosaic. 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

9. Realism and precision were carried to further perfection The development of satires as a form of literature The origin and development of novel Prose is considered on the priority 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

10. 2) Poetry The poetry of this age is called Classical school of poetry The poetry was more practical in nature The poets were far from fanaticism and religious zeal They were deficient on the side of emotion and imagination The poetry was commonly satirical, argument and criticism of politics and personalities 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

11. The poets of this age are more interested in the town and cultural society instead of the life of village In the poetry of this age, form becomes important than theme or substance The closed couplet The emphasise was laid on the imitation of ancient writers 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

12. Poets and their works in the Age of Pope Alexander Pope (1688-1744) Matthew Prior (1664-1721) John Gay (1685-1732) Edward Young (1683-1765) Thomas Parnell (1679-1718) Lady Winchelsea (1660-1725) 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

13. Pope’s Life ( 1688-1744) Alexander Pope was one of he greatest writers of 18 th century & master of the classic school was born in London on 1688. He was a son of linen-draper. He was a catholic person so he got his education from the family of priest and catholic schools till 12 years. He was not physically well because of tuberculosis so at the age of 12 kept him at home, reading, writing and drawing; and kept him small. He is the first professional non-dramatic poet in England. He dedicated his whole life to the art and poetry. 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

14. Pope is considered as the greatest poet of the classical age. He is ‘prince of classicism’( Prof. Etton) He is known as the supreme master of the epigrammatic style of condensing an idea into a line or couplet In spite of his physical appearance, he was highly intellectual, extremely ambitious and capable of tremendous history The main quality of his poetry is correctness 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

15. List of Pope’s works 1709 Pastorals 1711 An Essay on Criticism 1712 The Rape of the Lock (in two Cantos) 1713 Windsor Forest 1715 The Iliad (trans.) 1719 Verses to Lady Mary Wortley Montagu 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

16. 1726 The Works of Shakespeare, The Odyssey (trans.) 1728 The Dunciad 1733 Essay on Man 1735 Epistle to Arbuthnot 1334 Horation translations, imitations, satires, Moral Epistles 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

17. Works of Alexander Pope We may separate Alexander Pope's work into three groups: Early, middle, and later period of his life. In the first group, he has written: Pastorals,Windsor Forest Messiah, Essay on Criticism, Eloise to Abelard and the Rape of the Lock. In the second group he has written Translations of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey In the last group he has written his famous works: "Essay on Man" and the "Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot," 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

18. Essay on Criticism This work is considered as a Pope’s first major literary venture. It was published on 1711 It has art of poetry as taught first by poet Horace, then by Boileau and the eighteenth century classicists. It is written in heroic couplets, we hardly consider this as a poem but rather as a storehouse of critical maxims. "For fools rush in where angels fear to tread"; "To err is human, to forgive divine"; "A little learning is a dangerous thing, These lines have found their way into our common speech, and are used, without thinking of the author, whenever we need quotation. 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

19. Rape of the Lock It is also one of the major and masterpiece works of Pope, it was published in 1714. Its complete form is a mock-heroic poem which satirists the fashionable society of 18 th century. There was a fop at the court of Queen Anne, one Lord Petre, snipped a lock of hair from the abundant curls of a pretty maid of honor named Arabella Fermor. The young lady resented it, and the two families were plunged into a quarrel which was the talk of London. Pope did not construct a ballad, as the Cavaliers would have done, nor an epigram, as French poets love to do, but he had created a long poem in which all the mannerisms of society are pictured in minutest detail and satirized with the most delicate wit. 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

20. Essay on Man Essay on Man is the best and well known and the most quoted works of Pope. In form it is not poetry, and when one considers it as an essay and reduces it to plain prose then it is found to consist of numerous literary ornaments without any very solid structure of thought to rest upon. The purpose of this essay is to "vindicate the ways of God to Man”, and as there are no unanswered problems in Pope's philosophy, the vindication is perfectly accomplished in four poetical epistles, concerning man's relations to the universe, to himself, to society, and to happiness. 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

21. we came to know the final result of poem is summed up with these lines: 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. 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

22. The Dunciad “Iliad of the Dunces” It is a poem which is written by Alexander Pope that was published in different forms from 1728 to 1743. It is written in heroic couplet, it means every two lines rhyme and every line has ten syllables. This work began originally as a controversy concerning Shakespeare, but turned out to be a coarse and revengeful satire upon all the literary men of the age who had aroused Pope's anger by their criticism or lack of appreciation of his genius. Though brilliantly written and immensely popular at one time, its present effect on the reader is to arouse a sense of pity that a man of such acknowledged power and position should abuse both by devoting his talents to personal spite and petty quarrels. 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

23. Translations In the Life of Pope, Johnson gave much attention to Pope’s translation of Homer, judging the Iliad as a ‘the noblest version of poetry the world has ever seen’ and ‘a performance which no age or nation can pretend to equal’. Homer was the basis of classical education, both the standard author in Aristotle’s Poetics and Virgil’s model for the Æneid. English education was Latin-based, but better Greek had brought Homer within reach. Pope wrote of Virgil in the Essay on Criticism that ‘Homer and Nature were, he found, the same.’ This was true of Pope too, whose favourite reading as a boy was Ogilby’s 1660 version of the Iliad. He spent his best ten years of translating Homer and earned a financial independence. 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

24. Mathew Prior (1664-1721) He was diplomat and active politician and a true humanist His work include Solomon on the Vanity of The World and Alma or Progress of the mind John Gay (1685-1732) He was the master of vivid description He was full of humour and good temper His best known works are: Rural Sports, Trivia, The Art of walking the streets of London, Black Eyed Susan and some Fables 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

25. Edward Young ( 1683-1765) He is a person who has written in various style, including satires in pope’s manner and tragedies. His work “ Night Thoughts” is a gloomy and unwholesome poem full of copybook moralisings couched in florid and pompous verse. Robert Blair ( 1699-1746) He was a scotch poet. His work “The Grave” is the Somber production of the same churchyard. It is written in Blank verse 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

26. William Somerville (1675-1742) He was also a contemporary writer of Alexander Pope. He has written “The Chase”, it is a descriptive poem. Sir Samuel Garth ( 1661-1719) He was born in 1661. He has written a satirical work “The Dispency”. It is written in mock-Heroic verses. 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

27. Prose of The Age of Pope By the growth of new middle classes, there were an increasing demand for the printed word and writing become profession The most famous magazines and newspapers started at this time The greatest prose writer of this age was; Defoe, Addison, Steele and Swift 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

28. Daniel Defoe (1661-1731) He is the earliest journalist in the English language and brought about 250 publications He mostly writes about the lives of the famous people who had just died, and about adventures and criminals His first fiction novel was Robinson Crouse, his masterpiece Other books are The Memoirs of a cavalier, Captain Singleton and others His all fiction is written in biographical form 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

29. Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

30. Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) He was most powerful and genius of his age He is known as the master of prose-style due to his simple, direct colloquial way He was a great satirist and his great weapon was irony, as in his pamphlet- The Battle of Books His best known work is Gulliver’s Travel, which is a bitter attack on contemporary political and social life in particular and on the meanness and littleness of man in general His another book is The Tale of Tub, which is written in the form of an allegory, and exposes the weakness of the main religious beliefs opposed to protestant religion, and is also satire upon all science and philosophy 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

31. A Tale of a Tub This book is written in the form of a parable, an old man died and left a coat, i.e. the Christian doctrine, to each of his three sons, Peter, Martin and Jack. The three sons stand for Roman Catholics, Protestants and Puritans. They evade their father’s will, interpret it each in his own way, and change the fashion of their garment. This is a satire upon all religious sects. Swifts satire becomes an attack on Christianity itself. 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

32. Gulliver’s Travels The First Voyage In the first part Gulliver describes his shipwreck in Lilliput where the tallest people were 6 inches high. The two parties in this country were distinguished by the use of high and low heels, Swift satirizes the Tories and the Whigs in England. Religious disputes were laughed at in account of a problem which divided the people: “Should eggs be broken at the big end or the little end?” 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

33. The Second Voyage The voyage to Brobdingnag is described in this part. Gulliver now found himself a dwarf among men 60 feet in height. The King regarded Europe as if it were an anthill. The Third Voyage The third part is a satire on philosophers and projectors who were given to dwelling in the air, like the inhabitants of the Flying Island. 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

34. The Fourth Voyage In the last part, Gulliver’s satire is of the bitterest. Gulliver was now in a country where horses were possessed of reason, and were the governing class, while the Yahoos, though in the shape of men, were brute beasts with such vices as stealing and lying. This work gives an satirical depiction of the vices of his age. 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

35. Joseph Addison (1672-1719) 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

36. Joseph Addison (1672-1719) and Sir Richard Steele (1672-1729) The both worked in collaboration and known as the originators of the periodical essay The tattler and The Spectator was their best periodical essays They both were quite opposite in nature, Steele was an emotional reckless and dissipated but honest and good man, Addison, on the other hand was an urbane polished gentlemen with shy, pious and righteous man 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

37. Continue… Their purpose of writing was ethical. They try to reform the society through the medium of periodical essay They try to break down the two opposed influences; profligate Restoration tradition of loose living and loose thinking and on the other hand, of Puritan fanaticism Their aim was moral as well as educational, so they discuss art, philosophy, drama, and poetry Addison wrote 18 articles on Milton’s Paradise Lost The both are considered as the great master of prose 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

38. Why 18 th Century Called Classical Age “The term ‘classic’ refers to writers of the highest rank in any nation. The writers try to follow simple and noble methods of great ancient writers. In every national literature if writers produce work of great merit the period called as classical age. During this period English writers rebelled against exaggeration and fantastic style and demanded that poetry and prose should follow exact rules” 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE

39. THANKYOU 22/8/20THE AGE OF POPE