Pope was born into a Roman Catholic family. Because British law at the time stipulated that schools must enforce the Anglican Church, he did not go to school. He studied at home since he was a child, learning Latin, Greek, Numerous works in French and Italian. He suffered from tuberculous spondylitis in his childhood, which caused him to have a hunchback. His height did not exceed 1.37 meters, and he died prematurely (died at the age of 56). Pope began publishing poems at the age of 12. At the age of 17, he was introduced by the dramatist William Wycherley (1640-1716) and met some famous literati in London at the time. With the encouragement of Swift, Pope It took thirteen years to translate the ancient Greek epics "Iliad" (translated in 1720) and "Odyssey" (translated in 1726). At the age of 21, Pope published Pastorals (1709), and in the following years he published the poem "An Essay on Criticism (1711)" and the narrative poem "Winsor Grove" that elaborated on his literary views. (Windsor Forest, 1713) etc.
His brilliant satirical poems mocked the people of Queen Anne's time and the customs and beliefs of the time; while his philosophical and moral poems are a collection of ideas from all ages. Pope's poetry, like that of other neoclassical poets, is formal and unimaginative, but is praised for its refinement, elegance, and simplicity.
Pop's achievements in the creation of heroic couplets are extraordinary and no one can surpass them. This poetic form suited the formal ethos of the neoclassical period. It consists of two lines of verse, each with five accented beats and an additional rhyme at the end. A couplet expresses a complete thought clearly and accurately, and each couplet is essentially independent. One of the most famous heroic couplets in the history of literature is Popper's "On the Essence of Humanity":
To know yourself, you do not have to rely on God. The most suitable thing for human beings to study is human beings themselves.
Pope is a small man, only 4 feet 6 inches tall (1.37 meters). A childhood illness left him stooped. He was short-tempered and irritable, and eventually turned against most of his friends, often assuming that others had offended him. Pop is very afraid of the cold and wears three pairs of socks and several coats when going out. His physical condition was always poor and his mood was always in a low mood. He called his life "one long illness."