Pope didn't go to school because of his body and family beliefs, and taught himself a lot of works in Latin, Greek, Italian and French at home.
He was also closely related to many famous writers of his time, such as jonathan swift and Thomas parnell. Together, they founded a club to satirize hypocrisy in literature, science, philosophy and life.
Pope is a representative figure in English neoclassicism, and he introduced rationalism to Britain.
He believes that the existing social system is ideal, but there is undeniable rapid degradation in morality, politics and culture. Commercialization and money worship have penetrated into every aspect of life.
For him, the greatest value lies in order: cosmic, political, social, literary and artistic order, which is reflected in all his works.
His works are full of rational, logical, precise, polite and elegant wording, wit and humor, aiming at enlightening and correcting people's thoughts and behaviors.
His major works include Essays on Comments, Rape by Locks, and Duncia. In addition, he translated the Iliad and the Odyssey, and edited some Shakespeare's works.
Among them, The Story of Hair Loss is regarded as the highest level of satirical poetry, and the translation of Iliad and Epic of Fools has always been controversial.
Taking the second chapter of his work Criticism as an example, this paper discusses Pope's poems.
This is a sermon poem written in heroic two lines. The whole work does not have the passion and brilliance of Renaissance poets, but it is exemplary in rhythm and wording, and the beauty of rigorous and simple wisdom shines between the lines.
The second chapter mainly discusses the creation and criticism of poetry.
He pointed out that some people's hobbies are limited to fancy, and each poem is cleverly arranged with "funny" witticisms, but they don't know that such works are useless.
Just like poor poets and painters, they can't describe vivid natural scenery, so they can only pile up gold, silver and jewels to cover up their poor skills.
The real punch line is to dress naturally, which can make us believe at first sight and truly reflect the image in our hearts. Simplicity can make quips more interesting. Too many "one-liners" are like too much blood in a person's body, which will lead to casualties.
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When talking about the "flashy" quip, he thinks that rhetoric is like a prism, which scatters colorful colors everywhere, but prevents us from seeing the truth of the world clearly.
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As for how to express, he said: expression is the clothes of thought. The more appropriate, the more elegant, and flashy, like a clown in a purple robe.
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Finally, a suggestion for poets: writing and clothes are the same, and should not be too novel or too conservative. Don't be the first person to try new things, and don't be the last person to abandon old things.
The language of the whole poem is plain and clear, as if a serious and kind teacher had explained poetry writing, with less lyricism and imagination and more rigorous wisdom.
Pope has left us for three centuries, but when he closes his eyes, he can still hear his sharp comments:
Mean conceit expressed in grandiose language
Like a clown in a real purple dress:
Sorting according to different themes and styles,
As the costume of several countries, towns and courts.
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The beauty of poetry is varied, imagination is beautiful, Wang Yang's wanton creation is beautiful, and so is his rigorous and honest wisdom.