Pope–Theobald controversy
E644532
The Pope–Theobald controversy was an 18th-century literary feud in which Alexander Pope attacked the editor and playwright Lewis Theobald as a dunce and poor critic, most famously in his satirical poem "The Dunciad."
Statements (41)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
literary controversy
ⓘ
literary feud ⓘ |
| characterizedBy |
attacks on critical competence
ⓘ
editorial rivalry ⓘ personal satire ⓘ |
| country | Kingdom of Great Britain ⓘ |
| field | English literature ⓘ |
| genre | Augustan literary controversy NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasCause |
Lewis Theobald’s criticism of Alexander Pope’s Shakespeare edition
ⓘ
rivalry over editorial authority on Shakespeare ⓘ |
| hasCentralTheme |
conflict between poet and scholar
ⓘ
definition of good literary criticism ⓘ standards of editing Shakespeare ⓘ |
| hasEffect |
damage to Lewis Theobald’s literary reputation
ⓘ
satirical attacks on Lewis Theobald in The Dunciad ⓘ |
| hasHistoricalContext |
Augustan age in Britain
ⓘ
rise of professional literary criticism in the 18th century ⓘ |
| hasOutcome | Lewis Theobald replaced as hero of The Dunciad by Colley Cibber in 1743 ⓘ |
| hasPeakPeriod | 1730s ⓘ |
| hasPerspectiveOf |
Alexander Pope, who viewed Theobald as a pedantic dunce
ⓘ
Lewis Theobald, who presented himself as a more accurate editor of Shakespeare ⓘ |
| hasSubject | Alexander Pope’s criticism of Lewis Theobald ⓘ |
| hasWorkAsKeyText |
Shakespeare Restored
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
The Dunciad NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| involvesWork |
Pope’s 1725 edition of Shakespeare
ⓘ
Shakespeare Restored (1726) NERFINISHED ⓘ The Dunciad (1728) NERFINISHED ⓘ The Dunciad Variorum (1729) NERFINISHED ⓘ The Dunciad, 1743 four-book version NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| language | English ⓘ |
| location |
London, England
ⓘ
surface form:
London
|
| mainParticipants |
Alexander Pope
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Lewis Theobald NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| notableFor |
Alexander Pope’s portrayal of Lewis Theobald as the king of dunces
ⓘ
origin of the Dunciad’s dunce-hero ⓘ |
| partOf | broader 18th-century Grub Street literary quarrels ⓘ |
| relatedTo |
Augustan satire
ⓘ
English literary criticism ⓘ The Dunciad NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| startTime | 1720s ⓘ |
| timePeriod | 18th century ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.