Considered the preeminent verse satirist in English, Alexander Pope
(1688-1744) brought wide learning, devastating wit and masterly
technique to his poems. Models of clarity and control, they exemplified
the classical poetics of the Augustan age.
This volume contains a rich selection of Pope's work, including such
well-known poems as the title selection -- a philosophical meditation on
the nature of the universe and man's place in it -- and The Rape of the
Lock, a mock-epic of rare charm and skill. Also included are Ode on
Solitude, The Dying Christian to His Soul, Elegy to the Memory of an
Unfortunate Lady, An Essay on Criticism, Epigram Engraved on the Collar
of a Dog, Epistle [IV] to Richard Boyle, Earl of Burlington: Of the
Use of Riches, Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot; or, Prologue to the Satires and
more.
Taken together, these poems offer an excellent sampling of Pope's
imaginative genius and the felicitous blending of word, idea and image
that earned him a place among the leading lights of 18th-century
literature.