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Alexander Pope's Dunciad
Pope’s inclination toward High Church and Tory politics stemmed, in part, from his Catholic upbringing and natural propensity to stand apart from the cultural mainstream. One of England’s foremost literary figures, his renowned skill in wit and satire provided a model for innumerable pamphleteers, seeking to deride the culture and politics that had flourished in Georgian England. Pope was already famous as the translator of Homer when he first published his mock-epic, The Dunciad. In it he parodied Virgil and Homer to satirise what Pope saw as the gradual descent of all arts and letters into ‘Dullness’ resulting from the increasing prevalence of hired authors. In addition, however, to attacking ‘hacks’ and ‘scribblers’, Pope also took aim at the underlying money values of the City and the corruption of the court and its ministers. The deep hostility aroused amongst his victims reputedly caused Pope to fear for his personal safety to the extent that he would not leave home without his dog and pistols in his pocket.
Author: Alexander Pope
Title: The dunciad (London, 1729)
Shelfmark: P.167(1)
