Pope

In Our Time

BBC

History

4.6 • 9.2K Ratings

🗓️ 9 November 2006

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the life and work of Alexander Pope. His enemies – who were numerous - described him as a hunchbacked toad, twisted in body, twisted in mind, but Alexander Pope is without doubt one of the greatest poets of the English language. His acerbic wit and biting satire were the scourge of politicians, fellow writers and most especially the critics. He was the first Englishman to make a living from his pen, free from the shackles of patronage and flattery. Indeed, his sharp tongue meant he couldn’t go out walking without his Great Dane and a pair of loaded pistols. He was a ferocious businessman too, striking tough deals with his publishers, ensuring he kept control of his work and was well-rewarded for it. So how did Pope manage to transform himself from a crippled outsider into a major cultural and moral authority? How did he shape our ideas about what a “modern author” is? Does his work still have resonances today or is it too firmly embedded in the politics, cultural life and rivalries of the period?With John Mullan, Professor of English at University College London; Jim McLaverty, Professor of English at Keele University; Valerie Rumbold, Reader in English Literature at Birmingham University.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know.
0:04.7	My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds.
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0:46.5	the program hello his enemies who are numerous described him he was four foot six
0:51.9	as a hunchbacked toad twisted in body twisted in mind
0:55.5	but Alexander Pope is one of the greatest poets in the English language.
0:59.2	His wit and satire were the scourge of politicians and of fellow writers. He was the first Englishman to make a living solely from his pen,
1:06.4	freed from the shackles of patronage. His sharp tongue meant he couldn't go out walking without his great Dane and a pair of loaded pistols. He was a
1:14.4	ferocious businessman and kept full control of his work for which he was
1:17.9	uniquely well rewarded. He was from a young age considered the greatest writer of
1:22.4	his day.
1:23.6	So how did he achieve this?
1:24.6	How did he shape our ideas about what a modern author is?
1:27.9	Does his work still have resonance or is too firmly embedded in the politics, cultural life and
1:32.3	rivalries of the period.
1:33.8	I'm joined by John Mullen, Professor of English at University College London, Valle Rumbold,
1:39.0	reader in English literature at Birmingham University, and Jim McClavity, Professor of English at Koe University.
	...

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