The Major Works

Front Cover
Oxford University Press, Oct 9, 2008 - Poetry - 768 pages
This authoritative edition was first published in the acclaimed Oxford Authors series under the general editorship of Frank Kermode. It brings together a unique combination of Pope's poetry and prose - the major poems in their entirety, together with translations, criticism, letters and other prose - to give the essence of his work and thinking. Pope has often been termed the first truly professional poet in English, whose dealings with the book trade helped to produce the literary market-place of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In this representative selection of Pope's most important work, the texts are presented in chronological sequence so that the Moral Essays and Imitations of Horace are restored to their original position in his career. The Dunciad, The Rape of the Lock, and Peri Bathous are presented in full, together with a characteristic sample of Pope's prose, including satires, pamphlets, and periodical writing. The influential preface to his edition of Shakespeare is here, as well as passages from his conversations with Joseph Spence and examples of his wide-ranging correspondence. This fine edition features a comprehensive biographical index, as well as an introduction and invaluable notes. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

From inside the book

Contents

Pastorals
1
An Essay on Criticism
17
Sappho to Phaon
40
Epistle to Miss Blount with the Works of Voiture
46
Windsor Forest
49
The Guardian no 173
62
The Wife of Bath from Chaucer
66
The Rape of the Lock
77
An Epistle to Allen Lord Bathurst
250
The First Satire of the Second Book of Horace Imitated
265
An Essay on Man
270
Letter to Swift 20 April 1733
309
The Fourth Satire of Dr John Donne Versified
311
An Epistle to Sir Richard Temple Lord Cobham
319
The Second Satire of the Second Book of Horace Imitated
327
The Second Satire of the First Book of Horace Imitated in the Manner of Mr Pope
332

To Belinda on the Rape of the Lock
100
Letter to Martha Blount November 1714
101
The Temple of Fame
103
A Farewell to London in the Year 1715
118
Epistle to Mr Jervas
120
Epistle to Miss Blount on her Leaving the Town after the Coronation
122
A Full and True Account of a Horrid and Barbarous Revenge
124
A Further Account of the Condition of Edmund Curll
128
Letter to Lord Burlington November 1716
134
Eloisa to Abelard
137
Elegy to the Memory of an Unfortunate Lady
147
Letter to Teresa and Martha Blount September 1717
150
Letter to Lady Mary Wortley Montagu 1718
151
The Iliad Book XVIII
155
To Mr Gay
173
To Mr Addison
174
Epistle to Robert Earl of Oxford
176
Letter to Swift August 1723
177
Letter to Martha Blount 22 June 1724
179
Preface to the Works of Shakespeare
183
Peri Bathous or the Art of Sinking in Poetry
195
Letter to Swift 28 November 1729
239
Epitaph Intended for Sir Isaac Newton
242
Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot
336
An Epistle to a Lady
350
The Second Satire of Dr John Donne Versified
358
Letter to Swift 25 March 1736
361
The Second Epistle of the Second Book of Horace Imitated
363
The First Epistle of the Second Book of Horace Imitated
372
The Sixth Epistle of the First Book of Horace Imitated
385
The First Epistle of the First Book of Horace Imitated
389
Dialogue I
394
Dialogue II
400
Epigram Engraved on the Collar of a Dog
408
Epitaph for One who would not be Buried in Westminster Abbey
409
The Dunciad
411
Epitaph on Bounce
572
Conversations with Joseph Spence
573
Notes
575
Further Reading
710
Biographical Index
714
Index of Titles
734
Index of First Lines
736
Index of Correspondents
738
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