THE AGE OF POPE

The eighteenth century in English literature has been called the Augustan
Age, the Neoclassical Age, and the Age of Reason. The major writers of the
age were Pope and John, Dryden in poetry. Dryden forms the link between
Restorations. The literature of this period which conformed to Pope's
aesthetic principles is distinguished by its striving for harmony and
precision. Its representatives were the defining voices in literary circles, and
as a result it is often some aspect of 'neoclassicism' which is used to
describe the era.
Neoclassicism
The desire for improvement was feature of the literature of this age that was
created by middle class writers who were most strongly influenced by the
moral considerations. But the people of this age were quite as hostile, on the
other hand, to the religious. The same temper marks the literature of the age
which exhibits a similar coldness and want of feeling. It is a literature of
intelligence which rarely goes much beneath the surface of things of wit and
of fancy.

THE CLASSICAL OR THE AUGUSTAN AGE:

The period covering the age of Dryden as well as that of Pope (1660-1745) is
sometimes called the Classical and sometimes the Augustan age of English
literature. The poets and critics of this age believed that the work of the
writers of classical antiquity, especially those of Latin writers, presented the
best of models and the ultimate standards of literary taste.

The epithet ‘Augustan’ was applies, to begin with, as a term of high praise,
because those who used it really believed that just as the age of Augustans
was the golden age of Latin literature, the Age of Pope was the golden age of
English literature. But that is not the view of all. In both cases, men of
letters were dependent upon powerful patrons and in the both cases a
critical spirit prevailed. In both cases the literature produced by a
thoroughly artificial society was a literature, not of free creative effort and
inspiration, but of self-conscious and deliberate art.

LIMITATIONS OF THE AGE OF POPE:

The age of Pope has no doubt limitations. Its literature was mostly the
literature of the town, and as such the view of life revealed in it is of a
limited character. The writers cared more for form and rule than for freedom
and spontaneity. But we must not forget the valuable contributions of the
writers of the age. They extended the domain of literature.
THE AGE OF SATIRE;

The Augustan age is chiefly remarkable for the rise of satire. The social and
political conditions of the time were just suitable for the development of
satire. The fashionable society of the day was immoral and corrupt. With all
his keen intelligence Pope could not fail to see the emptiness of the life
around him<and being a satirist by nature, he did not fail to ridicule it.

The second cause for the development of satire the political life of the day. It
was a time of corrupt politics, and dirty party warfare. The great politicians
of the day vied with one another in showering ridicules and abuses on their
opponents. Hence, authors, both of prose and poetry, who could write to
serve this purpose, were in great demand. The literature of this period
therefore became mostly a literature of satire.

POPE AS A REPRESENTATIVE POET OF 18TH CENTURY:

A representative poet is one who presents in his poetry the life and ideas of
the age to which he belongs. Pope wholly accepts the ideas of eighteenth
century poetry. Every line of Pope’s poetry is so well constructed that it is
impossible to improve upon it. Satire is the best expression of the spirit of
the Neo-classical age. He knew his own ideal of literature, could express that
ideal critically, as few could, and express it constructively as could no other
man in the world.

A great work of art, though universal in its appeal, is the most typical
product of its time. It is rooted in the contemporary social and cultural life
and reflects, implicitly or explicitly, that life is in its essence and totality. It
is an indispensable prerequisite for the greatness of a work of art.

Pope fully bears the witticism of its age. In his conception of theme and
selection of the tile, Pope displays his unsurpassable wit. This was the kind
of life led by the fashionable people of the upper classes in the age of Pope,
and Pope has described it in gorgeous colors on the one hand and with
scathing satire on the other. While it shows the grace and fascination of
Belinda’s toilet, he indicates the vanity and futility of it all. There is nothing
deep or serious in the lives and activities of the fashionable people, all is
vanity and emptiness and this Pope has revealed with art and brilliance. The
Rape of the Lock reflects the artificial age with all its outward splendor and
inward emptiness. It is the mirror of a particular aspect of life in the age of
Pope. It was, says, Lowell, a mirror in a drawing room, but it gave back a
faithful image of society.