Pope and plagiarism

Abstract

Pope is the poet of the English Augustan age whose peace of mind and posthumous reputation were most disturbed by allegations of plagiarism. This article discusses his general sensitivity to the ethics of literary borrowing and the numerous accusations of plagiarism that were made against him in his lifetime. It also considers Pope's use of the plagiarism allegation as part of his own satiric practice. Finally, I explore the way that critical writing in the later eighteenth century, especially in the aftermath of Joseph Warton's influential critique, comes to define the nature of Pope's achievement in terms of an inherently plagiaristic aesthetic.