Alexander Pope: A Critical Study of His Major Poems (Hardbound - 2011)

Alexander Pope was a satirist, no doubt, but his attitude to life was not negative. Behind all his writings, there is a coherent philosophy of life. With the advent of the renaissance and rise of humanism, the old ideas of the medieval period were seriously challenged in the second half of the sixteenth century and the first half of the seventeenth century. A compromise was made in the eighteenth century, and the relationship between God, nature and man was defined in a new way. Pope’s Essay on Criticism and An Essay on Man describe the relationship between God, nature, man, art and society. Windsor Forest, The Rape of the Lock, An Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot and The Dunciad are structured on Pope’s philosophy of life and his poetic theory.

This book Alexander Pope: A Critical Study of His Major Poems analyses Alexander Pope’s major poems in light of his philosophy of life and poetics. The poems analysed are:

• The Eclogues and Windsor Forest

• Essay on Criticism

• An Essay on Man

• The Rape of the Lock

• An Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot

• The Dunciad

The first chapter discusses the intellectual background of the eighteenth century and Pope’s view of the relationship between God, nature and art. Apart from taking up the major poems of this celebrated poet, an exclusive chapter has been devoted to his style and technique.

The book has been written in simple language and lucid style to enable the students understand and appreciate Pope better. It will prove useful to the students and teachers of English literature, English poetry, particularly of Alexander Pope and researchers in these fields. It will especially serve the needs of B.A. (Hons) and M.A. students of English Literature.

M.P. Sinha, a scholar of national repute, was Professor and head, Department of English, in Kanpur University, (now Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University) from 1988 to 2002. Besides publishing a good number of research papers in reputed journals, he has chaired academic sessions in national and international seminars. His published works are: W.B. Yeats: His Poetry and Politics; Research Methods in English; Modern Linguistics; and Jonathan Swift: A Critical Study.