“the better half of Criticism, namely the pointing out an Author's…” — Alexander Pope | V2Melody

“the better half of Criticism, namely the pointing out an Author's excellencies.”

Arguing that criticism should recognise excellence rather than merely expose faults · Preface to Shakespeare, 1725

About Alexander Pope

Alexander Pope

21 May 1688–30 May 1744

Alexander Pope, born on 21 May 1688 and dead on 30 May 1744, was the supreme English poet of the Augustan age and one of the most technically accomplished writers in the language. His verse made the heroic couplet seem at once inevitable, conversational, polished, and inexhaustibly flexible. In his best work, a pair…

More by Alexander Pope

Poems by Alexander Pope

More remarks by Alexander Pope

“I writ because it amused me; I corrected because it was as pleasant to me to correct as to write; and I publish'd because I was told I might please such as it was a credit to please.”

Describing writing, revision and publication as distinct pleasures · Preface to The Works of Alexander Pope, 1717

“His characters are so much men, that they are perfectly natural, and their sentiments are so just, that they are perfectly intelligible.”

Emphasising the recognisable humanity of Shakespeare's characters · Preface to Shakespeare

“I am altogether uncertain, whether to look upon my self as a man building a monument, or burying the dead?”

Wondering whether collected works preserve writing or merely entomb it · Preface to The Works of Alexander Pope, 1717