Showing results for "The Pope" in Poetry

Homer's epic poem, written near the end of eighth century BC in Greece, follows the hero Odysseus as he journeys home after the fall of Troy. Many scholars believe that The Odyssey was originally composed as an oral tradition and was more likely meant to be heard than read, making it a great listen.

One of the foremost achievements in Western literature, Homer's Iliad tells the story of the darkest episode in the Trojan War. At its center is Achilles, the greatest warrior-champion of the Greeks, and his refusal to fight after being humiliated by his leader, Agamemnon.

Alexander Pope was born on May 21st, 1688 into a Catholic family in London. Over the years and centuries since his death, Pope’s work has been in and out of favour, but with this distance he is now truly recognised as one of England’s greatest poets. This volume comes to you from Portable Poetry, a specialised imprint from Deadtree Publishing. Our range is large and growing and covers single poets, themes, and many compilations.

Alexander Pope was the most influential and most admired writer of his time, famous for satirical and reflective poems such as The Rape of the Lock and the Essay on Man. His lyrical poems are tantalizingly few in number but predictably high in quality, with all the beauty of sound and incisiveness of sense familiar from his other works.

Alexander Pope was celebrated for his command of classical Greek and produced seminal translations of the Iliad and the Odyssey. Prior to the preparation of these translations, Pope took advantage of his mastery of the classical style and also his waspish wit to compose a burlesque epic about the theft of a lock of hair. The incident that inspired Pope was related to him by his friend John Caryll. Lord Petre had cut off a lock of the hair of Arabella Fermor, whom he was courting at the time, without asking the lady's permission.

As the Enlightenment movement was gathering strength in the early 18th century, various challenges to established religious faith were launched. In response, a number of celebrated commentators produced defences of religion and morality, and among these was Alexander Pope, who was inspired to write "some pieces on Human Life and Manners." The result was a collection of poems in rhyming couplets, designated "Epistles", which were published in instalments.

This short poem, first published in 1717, became one of Pope's best-known verse works. The actual history of the lady appears to have been intentionally concealed by the poet under a mysterious veil. Dr. Johnson offers the following details, based on the content of the poem: that the lady was distinguished by her rank, fortune, and beauty; that she was committed to the care of an uncle who was being crossed in her affections by her guardian, who opposed her marriage.

Although most of Windsor Forest was written as early as 1704, it was not published until 1713. The poem was completed after the promulgation of the first peace treaty of Utrecht, which is alluded to in terms of approbation in the body of the poem:

Pope's mastery of the heroic couplet and his perceptive wit are apparent in the many epigrams and epitaphs that he composed. The subjects of these snippets of verse are widely varied, ranging from encomiums to great celebrities like Sir Isaac Newton to witty soupçons, like that attached to the collar of a dog that the poet gave to Prince George (later King George II).

These four poems, which deal with ethical issues, were collated and published in 1751 by William Warburton, seven years after Pope's death.

In the midst of bombs and bullets, trenches and trauma, the soldiers of World War I, and those observing the horrors taking place from home, took pen to paper to record their experiences in verse. These poems - considered the greatest written during WWI and some of the greatest poetry of the twentieth century - show the horror of war but also shine a light on the strength of human courage, bravery, and virtue.