The Eighteenth Century

Paper Summary:

The Eighteenth Century was a time of profound change and upheaval in the Western world. Alexander Pope, Samuel Pepys, and Jonathan Swift were among the most prominent of 18th century writers, and each left his mark on literature. This paper examines how the 1700s were characterized by the impact of social stratification on all aspects of life, including food, fashion, society, furnishings, and even literature.

From the Paper:

"Born in 1688, Alexander Pope is a well-known 18th century writer perhaps most famous for his works The Rape of the Lock, An Essay on Criticism, and a translation of Homer's Iliad. He was well known for his controversial stands, and often attacked other writers, and his satire was well known. The Rape of the Lock is simply the story of a young woman who has a lock of hair stolen, despite the intimation of the title. He uses literary allusion in the poem, largely making it a sometimes seemingly bizarre writing on a trivial theft in the style of a great epic poem. In sum, "Pope will still stand out, not perhaps as a master-genius, but as the typical man of letters and as the great representative English poet of the first half of the eighteenth century" (Malaspina Great Books)."

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