Abstract

In the last three decades, the best work on Alexander Pope has been contextual and biographical. Without relegating the understanding of Pope gained by such study, this volume seeks to point the way back from context to text - from Pope's world to a fresh exploration of his verbal artistry, and the subtle porcesses of his composition and revision, from manuscript to the various stages of print.The six papers in this volume focus on topics and issues important to Pope but rarely discussed. They range from Howard Erskine-Hill's exploration of Pope's work in relation to slavery, to Hester Jones's subtle examination of the non-sexual relation between male and female. The book explores several quite new aspects of Pope, as well as looking afresh at features of his work which are perenially important.The papers arise from a symposium held at the Academy in May 1994.