Alexander Pope

Alexander Pope

Though opinion on Alexander Pope has frequently been divided, he is now regarded as the most important poet of the early 18th century. An invalid from infancy, he devoted his energies towards literature and achieved remarkable success with his first published work at the age of 21. A succession of brillant poems followed, including "An Essay on Criticism" (1711), "Windsor Forest" (1715), and his masterpiece, "The Rape of the Lock". A second period of great poetry was begun in 1728 with the appearance of the first "Dunciad". All these works, which exhibit Pope's human insight, his wide sympathies, and powers of social observation (displayed to greatest effect in his talent for satire), are to be found in this selection of poetry. In his introduction, which amounts to an eloquent defence of Pope's poetic practice, Pat Rodgers argues that the romantic conception of poetry as a record of fleeting and subjective states must be abandoned if readers are to understand Pope fully. Instead, he must be seen as an accomplished practitioner of the poetry of ideas and of satirical reflection on human society.
Rogers also edited "The Oxford Illustrated History of English Literature" and "An Outline of English Literature".