英美文学课件An Essay on Criticism.pptVIP

An Essay on Criticism Alexander Pope I About the Poet 1) Alexander Pope (1688-1744), born of a draper’s family, weak and sick when young 2) well-learned, of, admired for his extraordinary wit and extensive learning, considered as the highest authority in matters of literary art 3) well-acquainted in the circle of literature, and encouraged by Swift, he devoted 13 years to the ambitious translation of Iliad (finished in 1720) and Odyssey ( finished in 1726) 4) His works: Pastorals (1709) An Essay on Criticism (1711) Windsor Forest (1713) 5) Deeply impressed and inspired by Nicolus Boileau-Despreaux (布瓦洛), a French literary theorist of Neo-classicism. An Essay on Criticism Alexander Pope II About the Poem Issued in 1711, “An Essay on Criticism” expresses the poetic principles of Neo-classicism. The whole poem consists of three parts. Part One is a preface, which expounds the rules of “grace and elegance”. Pope thinks that only nature deserves our study and description, a poet should go to nature, the value of poetry lies in the imitation of nature, and the ancient Greek and Roman works, especially the poems of Homer and Virgil, are the best representatives of poetic art, and therefore, we should model after them. Pope contributed to the theory of Neo-classicism by elaborating certain regulations for the style of poetical works and making popular the so-called heroic couplets (iambic pentameter rhymed in pairs/couplets). Poetic diction An Essay on Criticism Alexander Pope Part Two enumerates some reasons, which leads to incorrect criticism, such as pride and boundedness of learning. Part Three discusses the principles of critics’ manners of conduct. Following is an excerpt from Part Two, of which many sentences are so well-known that they are often quoted by people. An Essay on Criticism Alexander Pope II Heroic Couplet A little learning is a dangrous t