SELF PORTRAIT

Alexander Pope (1688-1744)

POPE AND NEOCLASSICAL POETRY

ANALYSIS

Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot has been described as one of Pope's "most striking achievements, a work of authentic power, both tragic and comic, as well as great formal ingenuity, despite the near-chaos from which it emerged. An epistle is a literary creation in the form of a letter. It is meant to be read by the person to whom it has been addressed as well as by the readers in general. This epistle was written by Pope to Dr. Arbuthnot.  He has presented some varied views in the epistle. However, all the views have been presented to suggest that it was his duty to expose impudence and that he was not afraid of serious opposition if he was performing his duty as a writer.

Pope decided to write this epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot as a gratitude for the concern shown by the latter towards him. Arbuthnot had cautioned him about the possible dangers of naming people openly while ridiculing them, particularly the influential ones. Although pope responded to his concern in the form of this epistle but he did not show any sign of agreement with his concern. Pope took this occasion to express his fearlessness openly. He did not even avoid mentioning some people openly in this work as well whom he disliked. The only assurance he has given to the doctor is that he is not afraid of anyone and that he is satisfied with his own position in the society.

Pope wrote this epistle after Arbuthnot had written to him about the lethal disease he was suffering from. It was published in 1735. The poem includes 419 lines, and has been written in heroic couplets. He has established himself as a fearless and responsible writer through this poem. Pope has used personal views, personal experiences, personal wishes and personal advices to convince Dr. Arbuthnot that the way he treated his satires was the best thing for him to do.

Alexander Pope is well known writer of neoclassical poetry. Neoclassical poetry is characterized as the ideas of the neoclassical period in history, which occurred in the 17^th and 18^th centuries. Some of the major themes during this period included the importance of reason, morality, and order. In both content and form, these themes were emphasized in neoclassical poetry.

Another belief during the neoclassical period was that human nature is unchanging. This is one of the reasons that the works of the classical Greek and Roman writers became popular once again as well as how the time period got its name. Rather than focusing on individual expression, the content of much neoclassical poetry was an imitation or revision of classical works. In other words, writing about new ideas was not encouraged but finding new ways to express classical ideas was.

Another common feature of neoclassical poetry is the importance of subject matter. It was also important for neoclassical authors to focus on generalities as opposed to specifics. This type of poetry was written with the intention that it would be public, not a private expression of ideas or emotion. The purpose of literature, and poetry specifically, during this time was to provide moral instruction to readers.

Alexander Pope was born in London to a Roman Catholic family. A childhood sickness left him with stunted height, a curved spine, and ill health for the rest of his life. Pope earned fame and great financial success as a poet, satirist, and translator. He is perhaps best remembered for his mastery of the heroic couplet, as in An Essay on Man and The Rape of the Lock. 

Born in 1688, Pope grew up as a catholic at a time when Catholics were barred from many professions, subject to punitive taxes, and banned from owning land near London. Afflicted in childhood with tuberculosis of the bone, pope never grew taller than four feet six; he also had frequent headaches, joint pain, fatigue, and a spiralling hunchback. Kind parents encouraged his talent for writing, as he did the literary luminaries he met in his teens. Pope lived in a great age of literary feuds, and soon found himself at the centre. His first big success, The Essay on Criticism (1708), embroiled him in his first controversy: this long, clear, amusing poem about how to write the volatile older critic John Dennis, who may have resented the young man's nerve, attacked poetry (taking cues from Horace). Financial security would not come until 15 years afterwards, when pope's sale by subscription of his translation   of Homer's Iliad did an end run around profile-taking booksellers, much as when today's rock or rap artists successfully set up their own labels. Pope likely became the first poet in English who could comfortably live off his earnings from his books.

From the age of 12, he suffered numerous health problems, such as Pott's diseases (a form of tuberculosis that affects the bone) which deformed his body and stunted his growth, leaving him with a severe hunchback. His tuberculosis infection caused other health problems including respiratory difficulties, high fevers, inflames eyes, and abdominal pain. He never grew beyond 1.37 m (4 ft 6 in) tall. 'Pope was already removed from society because he was Catholic; his poor health only alienated him further. Although he never married, he had many female friends to whom he wrote witty letters. He did not have one alleged lover, his lifelong friend, Martha Blount.

Critical Analysis and Summary of Text

An Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot, poem by Alexander Pope, completed in 1734 and published in January 1735. Addressed to Pope’s friend and physician John Arbuthnot, the epistle is an apology in which Pope defends his works against the attacks of his detractors (knockers), particularly the writers Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, Joseph Addison, and John, Lord Hervey.

Pope wrote this poem in imitation of the Roman poet Horace, skilfully modulating the natural tempo (pace/the rate of moving) of the rhymed couplets with enjambment, caesuras, and other forms of varied rhythm. The poem satirizes cowardly critics, hypocritical pedants (bookworms), insipid (lacking taste) patrons (supporters) of the arts, and corrupt sycophants (a person who tries to please someone in order to gain a personal advantage), and it caricatures Pope’s contemporaries. This poem takes the form of verse letter from pope to his friend and physician John Arbuthnot, spells out Pope's satirical principles- or, at least, how he would like them to be interpreted. The English poet Alexander pope wrote many epistles (letters), verse- letters meant at once for particular friends and for his reading public. One of the best-"Epistles to several persons: Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot" (1735)-is about being famous the admiration, envy (admire enviously), and bile (bitterness) he found on opening his mail.

Written in verse letter form this poem talks of various ills, especially related to writing poetry. The speaker says that he coughs like Roman poet and satirist Horace. He also criticizes Alexander the Great, Ammoris great son, whose one shoulder had too high. He also comments on Ovid, Virgil and physician Arbuthnot as well. He also poses a question "why I write?"

Pope attracted such attacks- a lot of them, in fact- because he specialized in satire, attacking corrupt politicians, lousy poets, and even (by subtle implication) the king. Dr. John Arbuthnot- a scriblerian himself, a long time friend of Pope's, and physician- had asked Pope in a private latter to moderate his satires, especially to stop naming those names that might land him in jail.

In claiming that he is no danger, pope is mostly joking. He (and Arbuthnot) knew that bad writer and titled lords could feel injured enough by pope's critiques to attack him- even if they hadn't taken those critiques to heart. (In fact, pope felt sufficiently afraid that after he published Dunciad[1728-29], he walked around London protected by two loaded pistols and a Great Dane.) Pope's jokes here about his writings' reception show a facet of his character- his determination to say what he believes. His real worries, he claims, came not from enemies but from slavish fake friends, who flatter him with absurd comparisons: "I cough like Horace, and though lean, and short". (Horace was short and fat.)