... Return of censorship and the dawning of the "Age of Reason" influenced theme, form and content of the poetry created. John Dryden and Alexander Pope are those poets most remembered from this age and their poems are prime examples of what distinguishes this period. John Dryden was poet laureate ... because he was a Roman Catholic. It distances itself from arbitrary political opinion by showing judgement and distance when required. The Age of Pope It was Alexander Pope who perfected the heroic couplets which Dryden preferred. Being a Roman Catholic he was excluded from patronage and earned ...

• Word Count: 1687
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... traditional Augustan poet, and his comments on the ideals and morals of his contemporaries have provided us with a valuable insight into Augustan lifestyles. Alexander Pope's "The Rape of the Lock" has its foundation in an amorous joke played by the young Lord Petre on Miss Arabella Fermor. The ... are the four elements; gnomes from earth, nymphs from water, salamanders from fire and sylphs from air. Further to the Rosicrucian beliefs, Pope suggests that these beings were once human females, who in death reverted to the elemental beings who most match their personality. It is with ... is...

• Word Count: 2068
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... of this poem, the setting is symbolic. Written in heroic couplets, it is also a prelapsarian, a more perfect world than what we have. The author, Alexander Pope, turned this poem into a mock epic, a form of social poetry, attacking imperialism and mercantilism. Others see it as a sexually liberated, comical poem that ... and he uses many metaphors relating darkness with sight. Milton's sentences also end late, known as left branching, to create uncertainty and suspense. Pope's concern is social corruption and begins to attack this using a restrictive poetic style of heroic couplets. He d...

• Word Count: 1760
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

Dehumanizing Women Women are portrayed as commodities in both Alexander Pope's "The Rape of the Lock- and in William Congreve's "The Way of the World-. However in Congreve's "Rape of the Lock- women play a more active and cognizant role wrangling a suitable marriage than in Pope's poem. In both texts elite society is portrayed as a group that have complex social interactions. The stakes are quite ... witty parries replacing the clash of metallic swords and armor. However despite the similarities of the subject matter there is a crucial difference between the two authors: the depiction of wome...

• Word Count: 1903
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School