| Title | Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot |
|---|---|
| Contributor | William Hutchings (author) |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0372.20 |
| Landing page | https://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0372/chapters/10.11647/obp.0372.20 |
| License | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ |
| Copyright | William Hutchings |
| Publisher | Open Book Publishers |
| Published on | 2023-12-19 |
| Long abstract | Chapter 19. The Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot is Pope’s tribute to one of his closest friends, whose medical ‘art and care’ have preserved him through ‘this long disease, my life’. On Arbuthnot’s telling him that his own illness was now terminal, Pope writes what he called ‘the best memorial I can leave, both of my friendship to you, and of my character’. The antithesis in line 32 of ‘foes’ and ‘friends’ defines the old structure of Pope’s apologia for his ‘idle songs’, as he self-depreciatingly calls his poems. His defence of his career is set against devastating expressions of disgust at human malignity. Integrity is found only in private life: the friendship of Arbuthnot, whose character and presence are the poem’s unifying factor, and his own mother and father, the latter characterised by ‘the language of the heart’. |
| Page range | pp. 207–216 |
| Print length | 10 pages |
| Language | English (Original) |
William Hutchings was formerly Senior Lecturer in English Literature and Director of the Centre for Excellence in Enquiry-Based Learning at the University of Manchester, UK and he is presently Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures at that university. He now lectures regularly to public groups locally and nationally. He has a wealth of teaching experience on English Literature courses at undergraduate and postgraduate level, and is the editor of Andrew Marvell: Selected Poems, the author of The Poetry of William Cowper, and Literary Criticism: A Practical Guide for Students.