Alexander Pope, Alexander Pope: The Universal Prayer

Pat Rogers (University of South Florida)

Ed. by Nicholas Seager, University of Keele
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.05: English Writing and Culture from the Glorious Revolution to the French Revolution, 1689-1789.
Vol. editors: Paul Baines (University of Liverpool), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Pat Rogers (University of South Florida), Nicholas Seager (University of Keele)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1738

Places

England (Country of Origin; Publication/ performance)

Genres and Modes

Poem

Resources

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Although this poem was originally composed by 1715, Pope chose not to publish it until 1738. It appeared under the imprint of Robert Dodsley as a sixpenny folio of eight pages, attributed to “the Author of the

Essay on Man

”. The printer was John Wright (McLaverty 25). In this form, the work consists of 52 lines, set out in quatrains with alternating rhymes. Four early transcripts are known, though none of them is autograph. They appear to be largely independent of one another, and show a number of different readings throughout, with stanzas added or deleted. The earliest state of the text appears to be represented by a version transcribed by Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. Another state appears in a copy that Pope sent to his friend Ralph Allen in 1736, while further variants emerge in the…

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1319 words

Citation: Rogers, Pat. "Alexander Pope: The Universal Prayer". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 12 October 2022 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=40990, accessed 20 April 2024.]

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