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25.4 an Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot : A Structure Objectives Introductioii What is an Epistle? Dr. Arbuthnot : A Biographical Sketch An Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot : A Background Note Scriblerus Club -ABrief Outline Pope's Life and Works Theme Structure Some Characteristics of the Age Questions 25.0 OBJECTIVES The objectives of this unit are to familiarise you with the form and early growth of the epistle and also provide the background to the poem in terms of all the relevant information about the poet and his age. On reading this unit carefully, you should be able to: 0 understand the theme and structure of the poem; e analyse the poet as a soil and fi-iend; and relate the poem to the specific ethos and conditions of the Augustan period. 25.1 INTRODUCTION In the first place, in this unit, we shall discuss the genre of literary epistles briefly outlining its growth and development. We shall then focus on Dr. Arbuthnot, his friendship with Pope and the genesis of the poem. This is followed by a biographical note on the poet highlighting only those aspects of his life and personality that are directly related to the poem. Then we briefly discuss the theme and structure of the poem. We have prepared some exercises for you. Please complete them before moving on to the next unit. 25.2 WHAT IS AN EPISTLE? Epistle, in its original sense, means simply a letter. Over the ages the term has come to denote only formal letters which though addressed to a particular person are concerned with public rather than personal matters and express a universal feeling on a particular occasion. The epistle is written for an audience with a conscious arlistry, in an elaborate style, to develop an argument or theme. In the classical times the word epistola acquired the additional significance of an imperial decree. The Pauline Epistles of the New Testament represented the 'imperial edicts and rescripts' by which the Roman law grew, Papal encyclical letters, addressed to the whole church, have carried on this apostolic epistolary tradition. In the post-apostolic period the epistle became a communication between branches of the church, rather than between individuals treating specific questions on general principles. ~nthe secular period, epistles developed increasingly into a branch of literature and Pope the ten books of Symmachus' Epistolae were highly esteemed in the 14th century, linking Cicero's letters with the Renaissance literary epistles, superbly exemplified by Petrarch. There are broadly two types of literary epistles : (1) on moral and philosophical themes, e.g. Horace's Epistles and (2) on romantic and sentimental themes, e:g. Ovid's Heroides. ~nthe Middle Ages the Ovidian type was more popular and influenced the theories of courtly love. Samuel Daniel's Letterfrom Octavia to Marctls Arttoliius (1 603) can be quoted as an example. His Letter to Lucy, countess of Bristol, is one of the early examples of the verse epistle in England. During the Reilaissance and thereafter, it was the Horatian kind which exercised greater influence. Petrarch, .kiosto and Boileau wrote such epistles. In England Johnson was perhaps the first to use the Horatian mode in The Forest (1 616) and Underwoods (1640). Vaughan, Dryden and Congreve also wrote in the same mode. Dryden's epistles to Congreve (1694) and to the duchess of Ormond (1 700) are still among the most graceful that we have. The literary epistle soon developed as a vehicle for satire as in Swift's Drnpier's Letters (1724), for religious and contemplative ideas as ln Pascal's Lettres a un Provincial (1656-7),. and for polemics as in The Epistle and The Epitome (1588-9) of Martin Marprelate. Pope proved to be the most successful practitiorier of this form, especially in his Moral Essays (1731-35) and An Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot (1735). In 1721 his Epistle to Robert, Earl of Oxford, was prefixed to his edition of Parnell's Poems. In May 1737 his Epistle to Azigustus was published. After Pope the mode fell into disuse. It revived with Cowper, Samuel Rogers, Keats' Epistle to Charles Clarke (1816), Shelley's Letter to Marie Gisborrze (1820) and Landor's To Julius Hare (1 836). It was not much favoured in the nineteenth century but has been again adopted in the more recent times. Auden's Letter to Lord Byron and Netv Year Letter and Louis MacNeice's Letters from Iceland are some of the notable examples. 25.3 DR. ARBUTHNOT - A BI[OGRABHI[CALSKETCH Scientist, antiquary and an admirable writer, Arbuthnot (1667-1735) created the nickname, John Bull, for the patriotic Englishman and in The History ofJohn Bull (1712) wittily attacked the war policy of the Whigs. He was a member of the: Scriblerus Club and one of the chief contributors to The Memoirs of Martinus Scriblerus, first published in 1741. He took part with Pope and Gay in writing Three Hours afler Marriage, a farce satirizing the antiquarian Woodward, pradueed in - 1717. In 1700 he published an Essay on the UsejJness of Mathemal7cal Learning, won high reputation as a man of science and was elected a fellow of the Royal Society, His genius and generosity were acknowledged by almost all his contemporaries. A very distinguished doctor of medicine as well, he was made Physician Extraordinary to Queen Anne and was Pope's personal physician and close @end. It was in 17 12-1 3 that Pope had first made acquaintance of Gay, Parnell, Swift, Arbuthnot, Jervas and Fortescue, The Neoclassical Poets Alexander Pope Arbuthnot died on 27 February 1735, two months after the Epistle was published. Arbuthnot is given the persona of a patient listener and prudent adviser in the Epistle: Good friend forbearl you deal in dang'rous things, I'd never name queens, ministers, or kings (lines 75-76) He again advises Pope not to name his mighty adversaries for fear of prosecution for libel: Hold; for God-sake - you'll offend, No names - be calm - learn prudence of a Eriend : (lines 101 -102) He is a temperate, restraining influence on the poet's angry impetuosity and counsels patience and caution. .'But why insult the poor, affront the great?'(line 360). Later however, Arbuthnot himself gets involved, becomes a satirist and lashes Sporus as a mere white curd of ass's milk? (line 306). This once friendly dissuader has become actively involved with the protection of virtue and battle against vice. His plea that Pope should not waste his fire on a mere 'butterfly' (line 308) seems to give the,poet the cue for a full-scale treatment of Hervey as an insect. 25.4 AN EPISTLE TO DR. ARBUTHNOT : A BACKGROUND NOTE I An Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot was published on 2 January, 1735. Pope did not so much compose it as compile it. It consists of a series of fragments composed and published over a period of twenty years by snatches (Pope's Advertisement). Pope rearranges events of his life for the putpose of presenting a public view of his best self. For example, in lines 406-13 Pope dedicates himself, in moving terms, to the care of his ageing mother, The poem came out in 1735 while Mrs. Editha Pope had died in 1733. The passage was obviously written before her death and its inclusion in the Epistle may seem a deception. Dates are however, irrelevant to the persona Pope is adopting. What is relevant is the disposition he expresses towards his mother. Known later as The Prologue to ihe Satires, the Epistle was addressed to Pope's old friend when in 1735 he was dying. It is at once at apologia for Pope's own life and art, and an affectionate tribute to the old Scriblerian who had also doctored him: The muse but serv'd to ease some friend, not wife, Pope To help me thro' this long disease, my life, To second, Arbuthnot! thy art and care And teach the being you preserv'd to bear. (lines 13 1-134) The Epistle rightly concludes with the poet wishing his friend health, wealth and happiness: May heav'n, to bless those days, preserve my fiend Preserve him social, cheerful, and serene, And just as rich as when he serv'd a queen. (lines 415-417) The immediate provocation for the Epistle was the composition jointly by Lord Hervey and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu of Verses Addressed to the Imitator of Horace wherein Pope was told that he was dull. John, Lord Hervey, son of the Earl of Bestol, was attached to the Court of George 11, - in the capacity of Vice-Chamberlain. He was a Whig and a favourite at Court. His loyalty towards his patron, Queen Caroline was well-known. He was emotionally attracted towards his own sex but normal enough to marry the beauty of the Court, Molly Lepell and have 8 children by her, and also seduce the mistress of the Prince of Wales, Miss Wade. Though permanently invalid, he was brave enough to risk his life in a duel forced on him by an insult. A nhiny-piminy official at Court, he was all airs and graces and intrigue but very intelligent. he tal1,elegant and beautifbl Lady Mary, his one-time friend, had become estranged from Pope, her neighbour at Twickenham, in about 1725, possibly because he had made her a declaration of love which she had met with a fit of immoderate laughter, a cruelty she was capable of. Earlier she had responded civilly but coolly to Pope's heated epistolary passion. Pope had met her in 171 5 and formed an instant infatuation for her. The ending of their relationship is marked by his repeated characterisation of her as Sappho (line 369).
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