The Dunciad (revised first edition)Description |
The Dunciad in Four Books of 1743 was the culmination of the series of Dunciads which Alexander Pope produced over the last decade and a half of his life. It comprises not only a poem, but also a mass of authorial annotation and appendices, and this authoritative edition is the only one available which gives all the verse and the prose in a clearly laid-out form, with a full modern commentary. Accessibly presented on the same page as Pope’s text are explanatory notes, written in a style adapted to the needs of undergraduate readers, but still comprehensive enough to address the interests of scholars. The many books and pamphlets to which Pope refers have been examined in detail, and the commentary takes advantage of the fifty years’ scholarship on literary, bibliographical, cultural and political aspects of the period which has accumulated since James Sutherland’s The Dunciad, volume five of the Twickenham Edition. A substantial introduction offers a stimulating and helpful approach to the work, and the bibliography includes extensive suggestions for further reading.  |
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Features |
- Explanatory notes are included on the same page as Pope's text and are written in a clear style
- The prose sections - an integral part of the work - have been annotated as fully as the verse
- A substantial introduction offers a stimulating and helpful approach to the work, and the bibliography includes suggestions for further reading
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New to this Edition |
| Reissued as part of the Longman Annotated Texts series, this new edition contains updated annotations and useful extra information for students and scholars. |
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Table of Contents |
CONTENTS Acknowledgements vi Frontispiece viii Introduction 1 Map: The London area in the 1740s 20 THE DUNCIAD IN FOUR BOOKS (1743) Advertisement to the Reader 25 By Authority 27 Epigraphs 29 A Letter to the Publisher 31 Testimonies of Authors 43 Martinus Scriblerus of the Poem 69 Ricardus Aristarchus of the Hero of the Poem 75 Book I 87 Book II 143 Book III 215 Book IV 265 Appendix 361 I: Prefixed to the first Editions 363 II: A List of Books, Papers, and Verses 367 III: Advertisement to 1729 372 IV: Advertisement to the Fourth Book 374 V: The Guardian on Pastorals 376 VI: Of the Poet Laureate 384 VII: Advertisement, 1730 388 VIII: A Parallel 390 By the Author A Declaration 396 Index of Persons 398 Index of Matters 401 Bibliography 409 Selective index to editorial matter 442 |
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Back Cover |
General Editors:
Charlotte Brewer, Hertford College, Oxford
H. R. Woudhuysen, University College London
Daniel Karlin, University of Sheffield
The Dunciad in Four Books of 1743 was the culmination of the series of Dunciads which Alexander Pope produced over the last decade and a half of his life. It comprises not only a poem, but also a mass of authorial annotation and appendices, and this authoritative edition is the only one available which gives all the verse and the prose in a clearly laid-out form, with a full modern commentary. Accessibly presented on the same page as Pope’s text are explanatory notes, written in a style adapted to the needs of undergraduate readers, but still comprehensive enough to address the interests of scholars. The many books and pamphlets to which Pope refers have been examined in detail, and the commentary takes advantage of the fifty years’ scholarship on literary, bibliographical, cultural and political aspects of the period which has accumulated since James Sutherland’s The Dunciad, volume five of the Twickenham Edition. A substantial introduction offers a stimulating and helpful approach to the work, and the bibliography includes extensive suggestions for further reading.
Valerie Rumbold is a Reader in English at the University of Birmingham. She has published a range of articles on Pope and on eighteenth-century women writers and is a member of the editorial team on the five volume The Poems of Alexander Pope in the Longman Annotated English Poets series. Her book Women’s Place in Pope’s World (1989) was awarded the Rose Mary Crawshay Prize by the British Academy. |
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Author |
| Valerie Rumbold is a Reader in English at the University of Birmingham. She has published a range of articles on Pope and on eighteenth-century women writers and is a member of the editorial team on the five volume The Poems of Alexander Pope in the Longman Annotated English Poets series. Her book Women’s Place in Pope’s World (1989) was awarded the Rose Mary Crawshay Prize by the British Academy. |
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