Alexander Pope was born in London on May 22, 1688 into a Roman Catholic family. He was the only child of Alexander Pope, Sr., a linen-draper, and Edith Turner Pope.
Alexander Pope died at Twickenham on May 30, 1744. He is believed to have suffered from poor health caused by asthma and tuberculosis.
Alexander Pope once wrote: "They dream in courtship, but in wedlock wake." While he never married, Pope valued his friendship with Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (while it lasted).
Alexander Pope is reknowned as a poet, crtic, and essayist. He was a self-taught scholar and satirist. Among his most well-known works is "The Rape of the Lock" (1712-1714), and "An Essay on Criticism" (1711). He translated the "Iliad" (1715-1720) and the "Odysey." Other works include: "The Dunciad" (1728, 1742), the "Epistle to Doctor Arbuthnot" (1735), "Essay on Man," and more. Alexander Pope was one of the greatest writers of the Enlightenment.
Alexander Pope was an essayist, poet, critic, translator, and satirist.
"Whoever thinks a faultless piece to see,
Thinks what ne'er was, nor is, nor e'er shall be."
- "An Essay on Criticism"
"True ease in writing comes from art, not chance,
As those move easiest who have learn'd to dance.
'Tis not enough no harshness gives offence,
The sound must seem an echo to the sense."
- "An Essay on Criticism"
"Who shall decide when doctors disagree?"
"Men should be taught as if you taught them not, And things unknown proposed as things forgot."
"Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed."
"True friendship's laws are by this rule express'd, Welcome the coming, speed the parting guest."
Alexander Pope is famous for his use of the heroic couplet, and also for his satire.
Alexander Pope was a poet, essayist, and critic. Although his early education was irregular, he still managed to learn Latin, Greek, French, and Italian. He was self-taught from the age of 13; and from an early age, he began to write verses, aspiring to be a poet. His first works were "Pastorals" and "January and May," which appeared in 1709. His famous "Essay on Criticism" appeared in 1711. In 1712, the first edition of "The Rape of the Lock" appeared in "Miscellany."
In addition to his translation of the "Odyssey," which he completed with Broome and Fenton in 1726, Pope published "Elegy to the Memory of an Unfortunate Lady" and the "Epistle of Eloïsa to Abelard" in 1717. Also, in 1725, he published an annotated edition of William Shakespeare.
Other works include: "Essay on Man" (1715),"Epistles" (1732- 34), "Moral Essays," and other epistles, all of which explore the philosophy and metaphisics.
Pope was acquainted with many of the literary men of the day. With Swift, Arbuthnot, and others, Pope took part in the Scriblerus Club, a literary society.
