Pope's Lyrical Beauty and "Evaluation of His Augustan Age"

THE FIRST EPISTLE OF THE SECOND BOOK OF HORACE, IMITATED. [bound with] THE SECOND EPISTLE OF THE SECOND BOOK OF HORACE, IMITATED.

POPE, ALEXANDER.

(London: Printed [by Henry Woodfall] for T. Cooper, at the Globe in Pater-noster-Row [and] for R. Dodsley, at Tully's Head, in Pall-Mall, 1737). 363 x 223 mm. (14 1/2 x 8 3/4"). 2 p.l., 29, [1] pp.; 19, [1] pp. FIRST EDITIONS ("Second Epistle" with footnote on p. 12 misnumbered 16 [for 15]; line 16, p. 4 reading "Godfry").

Modern retrospective quarter polished calf over blue marbled boards, smooth spine with red morocco label. With wood-engraved ornaments on title pages and headpieces at start of texts those used by Henry Woodfall. Foxon P-881; Griffith 458, 467; ESTC T5663; Foxon P-955; Griffith 447; ESTC T5738. ◆First work with repair at inner margin and extending slightly under the titling (but with no text affected), perhaps (or perhaps not) lightly washed and pressed, a couple minor stains or smudges, but an excellent copy, clean and fresh internally, with extremely ample margins, in an unworn sympathetic binding.

Pope's imitations of Horace are marked by satirical commentary and brilliant re-creation of Horace's style. "No other verses in English," Day tells us, "have so captured the conversational ease and polished sophistication of the Roman poet." The "First Epistle," sometimes called "Epistle to Augustus," is what Day calls "Pope's definitive evaluation of his own Augustan age and its standards of life and art." He discusses the works of his contemporaries and the writers of the previous century, "balancing the claims of correctness with poetic fire." As a consequence of this approach, the present item is not only a remarkable satire, but also an important piece of criticism. Pope does not confine his commentary to literature: in casting George II as Augustus, he provides a subtle political message, referencing the king's well-known indifference to the arts. In the "Second Epistle," cleverly adapting Horace's "Refutation of Lyric Poetry," Pope describes his own problematic relationship with his muse. He claims to be losing his ability to write more poetry, but, as literary scholar William Hutchings points out, Pope uses the poem itself to refute this: "this is certainly not 'plain prose.' It brings something Pope is not usually recognized for: sheer lyrical beauty." (ST19922e)

Price: $700.00