The Works of Alexander Pope, Volume 1: Poetry - Volume 1Pope, Alexander
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The Works of Alexander Pope, Volume 1: Poetry - Volume 1
Pope, Alexander
English poetry -- 18th century
The shepherd climbs the cliff, and sees from far
The wasteful ravage of the wat'ry war.]
[Footnote 93: Dryden's Virg. Geor. i. 652:
Bore houses, herds, and lab'ring hinds away.]
[Footnote 94: Statius represents Polynices as terrified by the tempest.
Pope appears to have thought that this was derogatory to the character
of the fugitive king, and he calls him, when gazing on the ravages
caused by the storm, "the intrepid Theban," which conveys the impression
that he was undaunted by the spectacle. In the same spirit Pope at ver.
527, has the line, "Thus still his _courage_ with his toils increased,"
where the original says that the stimulus which urged him on was fear.
But while Pope has obliterated the alarm which was generated by the
tempest he has introduced in its place an alarm which had no existence.
In the midst of the havoc worked by the elements the recollection of his
brother "wings the feet" of the intrepid Theban "with fears," though he
is beyond his brother's reach, and has no suspicion at present that he
designs to break the compact to reign alternately. The influence which
the remembrance of Eteocles exercised over the mind of the wanderer is
expressly distinguished by Statius from the fear, and means no more than
that since Polynices was an exile from Thebes, he was compelled to
proceed onwards till he could find an asylum in another state.]
[Footnote 95: A mountain on which stood the citadel of Argos.]
[Footnote 96: The temple at Prosymna was dedicated to Juno.]
[Footnote 97: Pope took the expression from Dryden, Virg. Æn. vii. 79:
One only daughter heired the royal state.
And ver. 367:
Only one daughter heirs my crown and state.]
[Footnote 98: Strictly his sons-in-law.]
[Footnote 99: That is, he ordained that the oracles should be incapable
of interpretation before it was fulfilled.]
[Footnote 100: Calydon, of which his father Oeneus was king.]
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