Last class on Pope

The last class on Pope (except there'll be a makeup on the Essay on Man in December). The Dunciad and the reign of Dullness. Theobald as "hero" of first Dunciad, Cibber as hero of second. "Aristarchus" (i.e.: Pope) on the mock epic and its relation to the serious epic: how the parodic versions of wisdom, bravery, and love come to be vanity, impudence, and debauchery. Pope's debauchery in an anecdote in Cibber's letter to Pope: Cibber saves him from peril atop a large prostitute. Pope's cuttingness. (The rhyme of "K *" and "sing".) The fact that depth of soul goes with bitterness and despair, in both the Dunciad and in the amazing psychological acuity of Eloisa to Aberlard.