Alexander Pope

Born in London in 1688, Alexander Pope became one of the leading poets of the early 18th century. Britannica describes him as a major poet and satirist of the English Augustan period, while Poetry Foundation also highlights his work as a translator and wit. Because he was Roman Catholic in a time of legal restrictions in England, he was largely educated outside the usual institutions and developed his learning through wide reading.

Pope built his reputation early with An Essay on Criticism and The Rape of the Lock, then went on to produce the ambitious satirical poem The Dunciad and the philosophical An Essay on Man. He was also widely admired for his verse translations of Homer, a huge undertaking that helped secure both his fame and his financial independence.

His poetry is celebrated for its precision, balance, and sharp intelligence, especially in the heroic couplet, which he helped make central to English verse. He died in 1744 near Twickenham, but his lines and ideas have remained deeply woven into the history of English literature.