ABSTRACT
Pope had been fascinated by the large illustrated translation of Homer, put out by John Ogilby. Pope admired in Homer 'that noble simplicity' which went with 'very Copious' diction. It has been well said that 'Pope's accomplishment with Homer is remarkable for its irradiation of poetry by poetry'. Pope's gods are godlike; his verse is always striving to meet Homer at the level of his most elevated inspiration. He ended his account of Homer with the thought that writers might look on the poet's achievement 'with Despair that it should ever be emulated with Success'. Another venture of these years met with mixed results. Much more important was the edition of Shakespeare which he undertook around 1721. Pope had characterized Shakespeare as 'the fairest and fullest subject for Criticism' among English poets. He 'would not omit any occasion' for praising Shakespeare. Pope lays particular stress on the individuality of Shakespeare's characters: their refusal to merge, and their inward life.
