
How did Alexander Pope become the greatest poet of the eighteenth century? Modern scholarship has typically taken Pope's rise to greatness and subsequent remoteness from lesser authors for granted. As a major poet he is treated as the successor of Milton and Dryden or the precursor of Wordsworth. Drawing on previously neglected texts and overlooked archival materials, Alexander Pope in the Making immerses the poet in his milieux, providing a substantial new account of Pope's early career, from the earliest traces of manuscript circulation to the publication of his collected Works and beyond. In this book, Joseph Hone illuminates classic poems such as An Essay on Criticism, The Rape of the Lock, and Windsor-Forest by setting them alongside lesser-known texts by Pope and his contempories, many of which have never received sustained critical attention before. Pope's earliest experiments in satire, panegyric, lyric, pastoral, and epic are all explored alongside his translations, publication strategies, and neglected editorial projects. By recovering values shared by Pope and the politically heterodox men and women whose works he read and with whom he collaborated, this book constructs powerful new interpretive frameworks for some of the eighteenth century's most celebrated poems. Alexander Pope in the Making mounts a comprehensive challenge to the 'Scriblerian' paradigm that has dominated scholarship for the past eighty years. It sheds fresh light on Pope's early career and reshapes our understanding of the ideological landscape of his era. This book will be essential reading for scholars and students of eighteenth-century literature, history, and politics.
How did Alexander Pope navigate the literary and political landscape of the early eighteenth century to establish his position as a preeminent poet? Joseph Hone, a scholar of eighteenth-century literature, utilizes previously neglected archival materials and manuscript evidence to re-evaluate Pope's early career. The book challenges the long-standing 'Scriblerian' paradigm, arguing that Pope's development was deeply intertwined with a broader, often overlooked network of contemporary writers and political collaborators.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Scholars in the field of eighteenth-century studies recognize this work as a significant intervention in the established understanding of Pope's career trajectory. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose and the depth of the archival research presented throughout the text.
Page Count:
240
Publication Date:
2021-01-01
Publisher:
OUP Oxford
ISBN-10:
0192580914
ISBN-13:
9780192580917
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