POETRY-1 (ENG403) LECTURE – 27

REVIEW JOHN DONNE Love Songs Holy Sonnets

ALEXANDER POPE ( ) o THE RAPE OF THE LOCK

THE AGE OF POPE NEOCLASSICAL AGE AUGUSTAN AGE AGE OF REASON PSEUDO CLASSICAL THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY

ERA OF AUGUSTUS The Augustan Age Roman Ruler 27 B.C – 14 A.D Classical writers Horace, Virgil, Ovid Golden Era of Latin Literature Common sense, moderation Reason for Emotion Elegance for Brevity

NEOCLASSICAL AGE THE AUGUSTAN AGE IN ENGLAND TWO PARTS o The Age of Dryden o The Age of Pope- 1744

BACKGROUND TO THE AGE (1) 17 th century : period of great change Queen Elizabeth James 1 ( ) Scottland Patriotic unity People resented taxes, alliance with Spain Middle Class clashed with monarchy Dissolved 3 parliaments (1604, 1614, 1621) Imposition of customs, money grants, right of speech

17 th CENTURY BACKGROUND (2) Charles 1 Popular Deceitfulness & wrong headedness Henriietta Maria/ France Buckingham as Lord Chancellor Gave in the petition of civil rights (1628) No taxation/imprisonment/billeting 11 years

17 th CENTURY BACKGROUND (3) Archbishops punished Puritans Civil war o Royalists/Cavaliers/Catholics o Parliamentary Forces/Puritans Sentenced to death in 1649 The Common Wealth ( ) o Scotland proclaimed Charles II Cromwell took step & succeeded in 1651 Parliament/dissolved

17 th CENTURY BACKGROUND (4) Cromwell/Lord Protector Strong foreign policy Monarchy by 1658 He died in 1658 Restored monarchy under Charles ll Long conflict between Catholics & Protestants Test Act banned public offices Charle ll died in 1685 James became king

17 th CENTURY BACKGROUND (5) His daughter Mary & William: joint monarchs Protestants The Bill of Rights (1689) Catholics were banned No Catholic king/queen No king could marry a Catholic Places of worship Their own teachers & preachers Government positions & universities

SOCIAL BACKGROUND o Horse racing o Bear baiting o The sport of the cock-pit o Theatrical performance Great Plague of London- 1 million Londoners Isaac Newton escaped- moved away Coffee Houses / Intellectual Huts Centers of commercial & literary activities Knowledge was taken out of libraries Transplanted into the coffee houses

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AGE 18 th Century is characterized for: o Order o Clarity o Decorum o Stability o Reason o Wit o Intelligence o Imagination was replaced by reason.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AGE Appreciation of reason Control of emotions Correctness in life & art

LITERARY GENRES Poetry Birth of Novel Essays Heroic Couplet Satire “literature of manners”

NOTABLE WRITERS OF THE AGE Dryden Pope Swift Addison John Gay

LITERARY INSPIRATION French Model of Writing Nature as Model of Discipline Logic & Reason Long Sentences Difficult Diction

LITERARY MODEL Latin & Greek Writers: o Ovid o Horace o Virgil Imitated Classical Works o Epic o Pastoral o Satire o Pindaric Ode

PRINCIPLES OF LITERARY WORKS Dryden’s An Essay of Dramatic Poesy (1668) Pope’s Essay on Criticism (1711)

ALEXANDER POPE (1) Born in London (1688) Middle class Alexander Pope & Edith Roman Catholic Family Her family; divided along Catholic & Protestant lines Linen trader Repressive legislations & Prejudices No Universities for Catholics No Public employment Uneven education

ALEXANDER POPE (2) Often interrupted Reading books/Father’s library He was 12 years Family moved to Benfield in Windsor Forest Tuberculosis of Bones through infected milk Pott’s disease Became invalid Dwarfish all his life (4.6 feet) Could not travel on bumpy roads

ALEXANDER POPE (3) Also suffered from Asthma, Headaches Humpback: target in literary battles “Hunchbacked toad” Remained a bachelor His religious faith Good educational institution Self educated man Several languages

ALEXANDER POPE (4) Aunt: taught him to read & write Local Priest: Latin & Greek Later learnt French & Italian Read the works of great writers Homer, Virgil, Chaucer Shakespeare, Spenser, Milton, Imitated the works of great writers Resolute to be literary figure Made several visits to London

ALEXANDER POPE (5) Made friendship with learned men William Walsh, Congreve, Wycherly, Garth, 1 st Earl of Oxford, Jonathan Swift Moved to London Published his major literary works “An Essay on Criticism” Discussion based on neoclassical doctrines “Whoever thinks a faultless piece to see, Thinks what ne’er was, nor is, nor e’er shall be.”

ALEXANDER POPE (6) “The Rape of the Lock” (1712) Elegant Satire Helped Swift: Gulliver’s Travels Published “Essay on Man” ( ) Examined human condition Against Miltonic Cosmic background Evocative, dramatic, exciting & concrete Popular for his Satirical Works/witty Translated Illiad & Odyssey Great achievement/ financial support

ALEXANDER POPE (7) Moved to Twichkenham It inspired him to study landscape gardening No notable literary works Revised & edited earlier works His health declined Died at the age of 56 in 1744

THE RAPE OF THE LOCK “The Rape of the Lock” (1712) Elegant Satire Hysterical Battles between the sexes Follies of young It consisted of 2 Cantos Expanded in 1714 Consisted of 5 cantos

THE BASIS OF STORY Based on a quarrel between two families Pope knew both families Lord Petre cut off lock of Miss Arabella Fermor’s hair John Caryll’s suggestion: to write a poem on this incident

STORY OF THE POEM A young lady, Belinda She wakes up Description of her beauty aids She plays cards, flirts, drinks coffee She lost a lock of her hair Stolen by a devoted young man

THE RAPE OF THE LOCK Trivial Incident Mock-heroic treatment Satire on the contemporary society High-society obsessions & concerns It recommends a reform

REVIEW OF LECTURE 27 Background of the Neoclassical Age Characteristics of the Age Literary Genres Notable Writers Biography of Alexander Pope The Rape of the Lock Origin of the Poem Theme & Subject matter of the poem