AlexanderPope

AlthoughPope'sreputationasapoethasneverbeenhigheramongscholarsandacademics,changesinourattitudestothewritingofpoetryandtotraditionalliteraryvaluesandfashionsinversificationhavecreatedbarriersbetweenhisgeniusandthegeneralreader.Pope'spoetryhastostruggleagainsttheassumptionsthatversetwocenturiesago,filledwithallusionstoforgottenmythsandcontemporarypersonalities,canhavelittletosaythatis'relevant'.ProfessorGooneratne'sstudyeffectivelyshowshowthesebarrierscanbesurmountedbythereader,allowingPope'sworktomakeitsimpactupontheimaginationinitsownway,astheexpressionofapowerfulpoeticpersonalitywhichdevelopedoverfortyyearsofcontinuousauthorship.EverymajorpoeminthePopecanonisfullyandcriticallydiscussed,relatedtosocialcircumstancesthatgoverneditscompositionandconsideredbothasanexampleofgenericwritingandasanexpressionofpersonalfeelingsandconvictions.ThroughdetailedanalysisofPope'sdictionandpoetictechnique,ProfessorGooneratneshowshowhisbestandmostdeeply-feltverseexpressesthelivingvaluesoftheAgeofEnlightenmentanddemonstrateshowagoodwritercansimultaneouslyextendandcriticisethestandardsofhissociety.