The Dunciad

Alexander Pope’s success, modest wealth, and association with famous individuals, he still could not escape the oppression of the protestant law. Being of Catholic faith, Pope and his parents were forced to sell their property at Binfield and settle at Chiswick, London in 1716. A year later, Pope’s father died, yet with his increasing wealth was able to move to Twickenham, London; a friendlier location for Catholics to reside. After many more translations and other editorial work (Parnell’s Poems, Duke of Buckingham’s Works, translations of William Shakespeare’s works), in 1728 Pope with Jonathan Swift, fellow poet and satirist, created “The Dunciad”. This four part satiric poem [books] celebrates the goddess, Dulness, and the progress of her chosen agents as they bring decay, imbecility, and tastelessness to the Kingdom of Great Britain. The Dunciad is best known as a personal satire from Pope’s life aimed at individuals who scolded him for his previous works and endeavors. This is evident as the protagonist, Thoebald in the first book, was inspired by Lewis Theobald, textual editor and author, as he mocked Pope of poor edits and explanatory notes calling them “capricious” or impulsive and unscholarly. So how would a person, like Pope, who would rather twist the words of others and achieve retribution through satire find himself writing an essay toward religious faith. It really falls upon the times and events that happened throughout Alexander Pope’s life until 1734, where…

Pope wrote many works over the course of his life. “Pope’s principal works are—Pastorals, published in 1709; Essay on Criticism, 1711;Pollio, 1712; Rape of the Lock, 1714; Translation of Homer’s Iliad, 1715–18; Edition of Shakspeare, 1725; Translation of Homer’s Odyssey, 1726; Dunciad, 1st form, 1728;Epistle to the Earl of Burlington, 1731; On the Use of Riches, 1732; Essay on Man, Part I, 1732; Horace, Sat. 2. 1. imitated, 1733; Epistle to Lord Cobham, 1733; Epistle to Arbuthnot, 1735; Horace,…

St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin and remained so for the last thirty years of his life. Swift wrote “Gulliver’s Travels” in 1726 and “A Modest Proposal” in 1729. “Swift’s last days were sad: he suffered from a disease of the inner ear which made him dizzy, deaf, and disoriented.” (“Jonathan” 427). Alexander Pope was another author of the Restoration Era whothat followed the satirical trend of the time. Pope was born in 1688 and passed away in 1744. He was the most important poet of the…