Page "Alexander Pope" Paragraph 39

Modern criticism of Pope focuses on the man, his circumstances and motivations, prompted by theoretical perspectives such as Marxism, feminism and other forms of post-structuralism.

Brean Hammond focuses on Pope's singular achievement in making an independent living solely from his writing.

Laura Brown ( 1985 ) adopts a Marxist approach and accuses Pope of being an apologist for the oppressive upper classes.

Hammond ( 1986 ) has studied Pope's work from the perspectives of cultural materialism and new historicism.

Along Hammond's lines, Raymond Williams explains art as a set of practices influenced by broad cultural factors rather than simply the vague ideas of genius alone.