Dunciad

Dunciad, THE, by Alexander Pope, was published in 1728, in three books, to which a fourth was added in 1742. Pope had been, during the greater part of his career, afflicted by a host of critics and detractors. His own genius had not been spared; the worst motives, personal and literary, had been imputed to him; and he resolved to mete unto his enemies the measure which had been meted unto himself. This he did in the Dunciad. Never was chastisement more complete. On its publication, a universal howl of rage and pain arose. The satire conferred immortality on his opponents. Pope was a good later, and his hatred and contempt defy the tooth of time more completely than all the balsams of the Pharaohs.