The Works of Alexander Pope
The Works of Alexander Pope Esq. in Nine Volumes Complete, with His Last Corrections, Additions, and Improvements; as They Were Delivered to the Editor a Little Before His Death, Together with the Commentaries and Notes of Mr. Warburton
by Alexander Pope
| The Works of Alexander Pope | |
 Title page from The Works of Alexander Pope, volume one, George Wythe Collection, Wolf Law Library, College of William & Mary. | |
| Author | Alexander Pope |
| Editor | William Warburton |
| Published | London: Printed for J. and P. Knapton {etc.} |
| Date | 1751 |
| Language | English |
| Volumes | 9 volume set |
| Desc. | 8vo (22 cm.) |
His first major poem was the Pastorals (1705), which began his foray into pastoral poetry. In 1712 he started to write mock epic poetry with the Rape of the Lock, which he followed with a famous verse translation of Homer’s Iliad that took him six years to complete.
Pope explored the intellectual and emotional reach of poetry within formal composition rules, satirizing the poet’s dedication to these rules in his famous poem An Essay on Criticism (1711).
During the 1720s, Pope published multiple versions of a mock heroic the Dunciads, cementing his reputation as a satirist.[3] However, his poem An Essay on Man (1734-35) marked a move away from satire back to the poetic essay.[4] In this poem he explored the relationship between religion and human life.[5] He continued to write poetic epistles, as well as the Books of Horace, until his death in 1744.[6]
Pope first published his Works in 1717, while he was working on his translation of Homer. The Works of Alexander Pope Esq. In Nine Volumes Complete was published in 1751, and became the primary edition of Pope’s works.[7]
Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library
Listed in the Jefferson Inventory of Wythe's Library as Pope’s works. 9.v. 8vo. and given by Thomas Jefferson to his daughter Martha. The precise edition of the set owned by Wythe is unknown. George Wythe's Library[8] on LibraryThing indicates as much, adding "Numerous nine-volume editions in octavo were published, the first at London in 1751." The Brown Bibliography[9] lists the first edition (1750-1751) published in London and this was the edition purchased by the Wolf Law Library.
Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy
Bound in nineteenth century hard-grained morocco, spines and edges gilt, with silk markers in each volume. Ownership inscription in each volume of J. Barnard; bookplates of Charles and Mary Lacaita on each front pastedown. Purchased from Christopher Edwards.
View this book in William & Mary's online catalog.
External Links
Read volume one of this book in Google Books.
Read volume two of this book in Google Books.
References
- ↑ Howard Erskine-Hill, “Pope, Alexander (1688–1744)”, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press, 2004), accessed October 3, 2013. Unless otherwise noted, all biographical details are from this source.
- ↑ “Alexander Pope (1688-1744),” Luminarium, excerpted from Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Ed., XXII (Cambridge University Press, 1910), 87.
- ↑ Maynard Mack and Duncan Robinson, “The World of Alexander Pope,” The Yale University Library Gazette, 62, No. 3/4 (Yale University, 1988), 108.
- ↑ Ibid, 111.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Ibid, 117-120.
- ↑ Ibid, 135.
- ↑ LibraryThing, s. v. "Member: George Wythe," accessed on November 18, 2013, http://www.librarything.com/profile/GeorgeWythe
- ↑ Bennie Brown, "The Library of George Wythe of Williamsburg and Richmond," (unpublished manuscript, May, 2012) Microsoft Word file. Earlier edition available at: https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433
