Alexander Pope as a Poet || Pope as a Satirist || Pope as a Neoclassical and Representative Poet

 

ALEXANDER POPE AS A POET

John Dryden once rightly remarked that every age is known by a genius who represents all its ideals and spirit. Alexander Pope (1688 – 1744) is as  representative of his  age as Chaucer was of the  late 14th century and  Tennyson  of the  Victorian Age or 19^th century. Pope was a poet par excellence who wrote poetry during the first half of the 18^th century. Pope is best known for his following works. 

1.  An Essay on Criticism (1711)

2.  The Rape of the Lock (1712–14)

3.  The Dunciad (1728)

4.   An Essay on Man (1733–34)

“WAS POPE A POET?” A CONTROVERSY:

Ever since the romantic movement of the early 19^th century, scholars started asking, “Was Pope a poet?” Pope’s place among his contemporaries has been a matter of great controversy. There are critics who deny to him the title of a poet while others place him in the first rank of poets.

Critics Against Pope:

Pope’s contemporary Warton was the first critic who raised this question, “Was Pope a true poet?” Warton asked this because the largest portion of Pope’s works “is of the didactic, moral and satirical kind, and consequently not of the most poetic species of poetry.” There are so many other critics who agree with Warton. Lesliie Stephen writes:

“Much of his work may be fairly described as rhymd prose not in substance or tone of feeling, but only in the form of expression.”

Having examined Pope’s poetry, Matthew Arnold too concluded:

“Dryden and Pope are not classics of our poetry; they are the classics of our prose.”

Critics in Favour of Pope:

Swift, Addison, Johnson and many others have defended Alexander Pope as the greatest poet of his century. Johnson places Pope on the highest pedestal in his ‘Lives of the Poets’ and asks:

“If Pope be not a poet, where is poetry to be found?”

He argued that if a critic restricts himself to his own limited definition of poetry and tries to examine someone’s poetry by those norms only is the fault of the critic, not of the poet.

Mactail remarks:

“Pope gave to his age the kind of poetry it needed.”

Voltaire also appreciates him in the following words:

“Mr. Pope is the best poet of England and at present of all the world.”

Lord Byron who himself was a renowned poet said:

“As to Pope, I have always regarded him as the greatest name in our poetry. Depend upon it, the rest are barbarians.”

Prof. Saintsbury also defends him and avers:

“That to deny poetry to Pope is absurd.”

DISCUSSION:

If we believe that true poetry is highly full of emotions, imagination, lyrical qualities, lofty sentiment etc. and if we try to judge Pope’s poetry considering these elements, our judgment is likely to be a wrong judgment. Pope’s poetry cannot be judged by these parameters as he was a different poet, not in the popular romantic sense. He may be termed as the greatest poet of his times by considering the following facts.

1.   His poetry is universal; it appeals all, in all times and at all places.

2.   He has used satire as a weapon to mock at the follies of mankind. He has exposed the society with a view to reform it.

3.   Regarding the use of language, he has left an indelible mark on English language as strongly as Shakespeare and Bacon. Several lines of Pope’s poetry have become immortal in English language.

·       A little learning is a dangerous thing.

·       To err is human, to forgive divine.

·       Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.

·       The proper study of mankind is man.

·       An honest man is the noblest work of God.

4. Pope is a great painter of his age as Chaucer was during the 14^th century. In terms of minute and realistic representation of the people and society, there is no other poet during his times.

5. Pope was a master of using heroic couplets in his poetry. Pope's use of heroic couplets emphasizes the importance of balance, order, and rationality.

CONCLUSION:

In this way, we may summarize by saying that Alexander Pope was a great poet not in the popular romantic sense. He was a poet of a different kind. Pope being a staunch follower of classicism writes poetry with balance, order and rationality. He was not a lover of nature and he never romanticized the ideas. He presented his thoughts in their hard, crude forms. He was a man of reason and intellect. He was a poet who gives a realistic representation of the social anomalies and entertains the reader with his masterly use of heroic couplets.

A critic rightly opined:

“Pope’s first and most important claim to greatness is the fact that he is pre-eminently the poet of his age.”

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