What can a study of Pope tell us about the eighteenth century? Was Pope the poet of reason, or an anti-establishment prophet? So many questions surround the key figures in the English literary canon, but most books focus on one aspect of an author's life or work, or limit themselves to a single critical approach. The Complete Critical Guide to Alexander Pope is part of a unique series of comprehensive, user-friendly introductions which: offer basic information on an author's life, contexts, and works ; outline the major critical issues surrounding the author's works, from the time they were written to the present ; leave judgments up to you, by explaining the full range of often very different critical views and interpretation ; offer guides to further reading in each area discussed. This series has a broad focus but one very clear aim: to equip you with al lthe knowledge you need to make your own new readings of crucial literary texts. -- Book cover.