大学英语alexander-pope.ppt

Alexander Pope(1688-1744)Alexander Pope:A forerunner of the Enlightenment MovementAlexander Pope:Points of ViewvPolitically,Pope was a bourgeois conservative.He cherished and admired the traditional and socially approved values and behaviors of the polite class.vHe upheld the existing social system as an ideal one,saying that“whatever is,is right.”vOrdercosmic order,political order,social order,aesthetic order,etc.was of supreme value to him.Popes literary propositionsvLiterarily,pope was a representative of the Enlightenment Movement.vHe assumed the role of champion of traditional civilization and took upon himself the task of“enlightening”the mass through his poetry.vHe emphasized that literary works should abide by and judged by classical rules of order,reason,logic,restrained emotion,good taste and decorum.The Rape of the LockSatirizes the triviality and foolish,meaningless life of the lords and ladies in the aristocratic bourgeois society of the 18th-century England.A representative work of Popes satireAn Essay on Man:a philosophical poem which probes mans relation to the universe,to himself,to the society and to happiness.It emphasizes the importance of reason,virtue and a balance between self-love and restraint.An Essay on Criticism:A didactic poem as a comprehensive study of the theories of literary criticism.It exerts tremendous influence over Popes contemporary writers in advocating the classical rules and popularizing the neoclassicist tradition in England.It is a manifesto of English neoclassicism.Special features of Popes poetryvPope always worked painstakingly on his poems and developed a satiric,concise,smooth,graceful and well-balanced style.vHis works are marked by careful diction,a remarkable rhythmical variety of patterns,precision of meaning,harmony of language and structure,and firm control of the form.vLimitations:too formal and too polished;lack vitality and imagination.