1、Alexander Pope,(1688-1744),1. Life and career,Born into a Roman Catholic family At the age of 12, a severe illness ruined his health Little regular schooling No university, no voting, no public office for him Turn to poetry in his early life,2. Points of view,It is his duty to “correct“ and enlighte
2、n people through poetry Upheld the social system as an ideal one, saying “Whatever is, is right.“,3. Features of his works (1) A talent of wit, saying in a sparkling way, For fools rush in where angels fear to tread. To err is human, to forgive, divine A little learning is a dangerous thing. Get pla
3、ce and wealth, if possible, with grace;If not, by any means get wealth and place Read Pope for knowledge and rhythms, not for emotion,(2) A great verse satirist Used satire to fight against social corruption (3) Heroic couplet Lines of iambic pentameter rhyme in pairsa faithful follower of classicis
4、m,4. Major works An Essay on Criticism (1711) The Rape of the Lock (1712-14) The Dunciad (1728-42) The Essay on Man (1733-34),5. The Rape of the Lock,(1) The finest mock heroic poem in English Mock epic To satirize by treating unimportant things as though they were larger than lifeEpic centers aroun
5、d heroic strife, quite often around great battlesThe great battle in this mock epic is - a card game,(2) Based on an actual episode Robert, Lord Peter, cut a lock of hair from the head of a Miss Arebella Fermor Pope try to restore peace between the two families,Arabella Fermor,(3) Purpose To pacify
6、the lady by finally making holy the lock of hair To ridicule the trivial incident To emphasize the pettiness of the quarrel, the foolish, meaningless life of the lords and ladies in the aristocratic bourgeois society of the eighteenth century England,(4). Major characters Belinda The Baron Caryl God
7、dess Clarissa Thalestris Sir Plume,Belinda,Canto 1,Belinda at her rich, shining toilet table Belinda recollects a dream in which a sylph (angel) by the name of Ariel has informed her that is she is being guarded by thousands of spirits, and that something horrible will happen today,Canto 2,Belindas
8、beauty, especially her two golden locks The Baron, one of Belindas admirers covets a lock of Belindas hair Ariel gathers together the sylphs to protect Belinda as he knows there will be some catastrophe today Belinda and others are on their way to Hampton Court,At Hampton Court, a game of cards is g
9、oing on (Ombre), which is brilliantly described as a mock epic battle the Baron tries to cut her lock. Three times the sylphs prevent it. Suddenly Ariel finds that Belinda is in danger of falling in love. Amazed and confused, his power expires The Baron cuts off Belindas lock of hair just as she ben
10、ds to sip her coffee, thus causing Belindas downfall,Canto 3,Canto 4,Belinda cries and laments her loss and demands that the lock should be restored All sides in parties begin the attacks,Canto 5,Both factions are beyond such moral considerations by now and rush instead to mortal combat The Muse saw
11、 the lock of hair rise upward and become a constellation in the heavens,Major themes,A humorous indictment of the foolish personal vanities and idleness of 18th-century high society The ridiculousness of a society in which values have lost all proportion,6. An Essay on Criticism An English literary
12、criticism,Part one talks about the vital importance of literary criticism and the growth of a good critic,Part two locates the causes of poor judgments, and traces the major reasons for deficient criticism Pride that causes blindness; Inadequate learning that impairs a balanced comprehension of a po
13、em (“A little learning is a dangerous thing”).,Part three discusses the ideal character of a critic and the principles of literary criticism,7. Essay on Man His political and philosophical views on human nature and mans relations with the universe, the society and himself,Part I: the basic concept i
14、n Europe at that time,God Creates the world in a system of gradation Man stands in the middle Mans knowledge and perception power are limited Man can be happy if he is ignorant and hope for a better future,Part II: human nature and human condition,Man possesses both virtue and vice Mans reason makes
15、 him do good to others Mans weakness contributes to mutual dependence,Part III: man role in society,All is inter-related in the chain of being All should share his happiness and responsibility Love himself and love others Self love and social love linked together to harmony Superstition and tyranny
16、disrupt natures order,Part IV: mans happiness,God intends all in his chain to be equally happy Mans happiness depends on health, peace, and competence Virtues reward is not earthly and external Virtue and love of God and man lead to the happiness of one and all Self love is a blessing when it devotes itself to social and divine love,This essay is a cogent justification of the gradation or hierarchy of Gods creation and also of the 18th century emphasis on order and harmony,
