Many years ago, I was fortunate to have an amazing professor of 18th century lit. He said to him it wasn’t the Age of Reason, but the Age of Exuberance. I so agreed! Still a fan of Pope and Dryden to this day. Even if I was scolded by a grad school prof when I dared to suggest that Dryden’s work was a precursor to Cubism.
Many moons ago, my argument has become a hazy memory now. I somehow saw his couplets as nuggets of reality, their arrangements at once disjointed, yet fluid. Both capture this perception, with the mind absorbing units and assembling these to create a meaningful interpretation.
Pope is wonderful. I didn’t know Byron was so favorably disposed -- but I’m not surprised. Both poets are masters of a craft that doesn’t quite conform to our post-Romantic understanding of “lyric” poetry. Auden was a 20th century successor in some ways -- his “Letter to Lord Byron” owes just as much to Pope as to its titular addressee. And for all his reputation for polish and poise, Pope was capable of both lush romanticism (as indicated by your excerpts) and a vituperation raised to the level of apocalypse (the Dunciad, which, with its explanatory apparatus and personalized eschatology feels quite modern). I was fortunate enough to be exposed to Pope and Dryden in high school -- but we’re a dwindling crowd.
You were very lucky to read Pope and Dryden in school! Most English undergraduates haven't read them! The Dunciad is indeed modern: you could call it an extremely accomplished version of a Twitter spat (I have a long article on the topic that might be worth revisiting).
You're right about Auden, as his technical mastery suggests. Both T.S. Eliot and Ezra Pound learned a lot from Pope, though I think his most filial successor is Peter Porter.
Many years ago, I was fortunate to have an amazing professor of 18th century lit. He said to him it wasn’t the Age of Reason, but the Age of Exuberance. I so agreed! Still a fan of Pope and Dryden to this day. Even if I was scolded by a grad school prof when I dared to suggest that Dryden’s work was a precursor to Cubism.
Many moons ago, my argument has become a hazy memory now. I somehow saw his couplets as nuggets of reality, their arrangements at once disjointed, yet fluid. Both capture this perception, with the mind absorbing units and assembling these to create a meaningful interpretation.
The concord of chaotic fragments is a big theme in Pope’s work. I think you were onto something!
Wonderful! What makes you say that Dryden is a precursor to Cubism?
Pope is wonderful. I didn’t know Byron was so favorably disposed -- but I’m not surprised. Both poets are masters of a craft that doesn’t quite conform to our post-Romantic understanding of “lyric” poetry. Auden was a 20th century successor in some ways -- his “Letter to Lord Byron” owes just as much to Pope as to its titular addressee. And for all his reputation for polish and poise, Pope was capable of both lush romanticism (as indicated by your excerpts) and a vituperation raised to the level of apocalypse (the Dunciad, which, with its explanatory apparatus and personalized eschatology feels quite modern). I was fortunate enough to be exposed to Pope and Dryden in high school -- but we’re a dwindling crowd.
You were very lucky to read Pope and Dryden in school! Most English undergraduates haven't read them! The Dunciad is indeed modern: you could call it an extremely accomplished version of a Twitter spat (I have a long article on the topic that might be worth revisiting).
You're right about Auden, as his technical mastery suggests. Both T.S. Eliot and Ezra Pound learned a lot from Pope, though I think his most filial successor is Peter Porter.
I haven’t read Peter Porter -- now I’m looking forward to it.
You are in for a treat.