Vanity: concepts, history, and cultural significance

Vanity, vanity -- all is satire in Johnson and Pope

Despite their status as two of the 'great men' of neoclassical English literature, Samuel Johnson and Alexander Pope were born under relatively poor circumstances. Johnson's father was a bookseller who left his family in debt -- Johnson was unable to continue his university education, and labored for awhile as a schoolmaster, then wrote extensively for the Tory periodical The Rambler. He became famous as the publisher of the first comprehensive Dictionary of the English Language; his short essays entitled the Lives of the Poets, as well as his own poetry ("Samuel Johnson," Books and Writers, 2009). One of Johnson's Lives was on Alexander Pope, who was hunched-backed and deformed but penned some of the most famous epigrams in English literature, such as his poetic An Essay on Criticism, which contains the phrase: "A little learning is a dangerous thing." Both men wrote in an era where knowledge of the classics was an essential part of being a public intellectual, and where intellect and wit were synonymous with poetry. Pope wrote one of the most famous (although supposedly inaccurate) translations of The Odyssey and The Iliad in a series of couplets -- hence the term 'heroic couplet' for paired, rhymed couplets ("Alexander Pope," Books and Writers, 2009). But both used satire in different ways: Johnson uses satire in an explicit way to attack the vanity of his enemies and elevate his intellectual reputation, Pope used satire in an ironic and subtle way to do the same for his vain, social 'betters.' [Thesis]

However, the terrible historical circumstances that had torn England apart in the decades before both men wrote, including the beheading of Charles I, the reinstatement of the monarchy with Charles II, and a series of squabbles between Parliament and the King had caused these authors to view history and aristocratic society with a highly satirical point-of-view. Both used classical allusions to attack those people whom they disliked or disapproved of in their social world. Johnson's The Vanity of Human Wishes uses an explicitly satirical Roman form, Juvenalian satire, to attack his contemporaries, adapting Roman satire to modern England and showing how the vain leaders and people of England are lacking in virtue. Pope, in contrast, uses satire in a much more subtle way. He retells the story of a young, vain woman name Belinda who has a lock of her hair removed (hence The Rape of the Lock) as if he is recounting the epic tale of Achilles and Hector. By using this epic language, he makes Belinda's concerns seem even smaller and pettier.

Juvenalian satire was a kind of direct form of harsh satire used by the Roman poet Juvenal to bitterly attack political enemies. Johnson makes use of this technique by openly and ironically turning his rage against political and literary leaders in The Vanity of Human Wishes. He begins by calling upon the great Greek Classical orator Democritius as his muse to help him show the unworthiness of his foee:

Once more, Democritus, arise on Earth,

With chearful Wisdom and instructive Mirth,

See motley Life in modern Trappings dress'd,

And feed with varied Fools th'eternal Jest:

Johnson makes direct comparison between Greek and Roman times and today, and finds the character of present-day leaders sorely lacking. He addresses figures from England's immediate past, like Cardinal Wolsey, and his contemporary satirist Jonathan Swift. "And Swift expires a Driv'ler and a Show," he says. The use of Juvenalian satire elevates Johnson's invective, creates connections between the past and the present, shows the failings of contemporary life and also establishes Johnson's authority as a critic because of his skilled use of an elevated classical style.

Alexander Pope's The Rape of the Lock in contrast, critiques aristocratic society indirectly. Although the poem may have referred to 'real people,' overall, unlike Johnson's work, it does not invoke great historical figures. Instead, it uses mock heroic allusions and meter in the style of Pope's translation of Homeric epic to make the mores and morals of the aristocracy seem absurd. In detailing the efforts of Belinda preparing herself for a party, Pope makes her sound like she is preparing to do battle, with her attendants, little, godlike beings that are pale shadows of great Zeus and Athena:

"Do thou, Crispissa, tend her fav'rite Lock;

Ariel himself shall be the Guard of Shock.

When Belinda plays a card game with the Baron who will eventually deprive her of her hair, the trivial game is portrayed like a conquest of Troy:

The Knave of Diamonds now tries his wily Arts,

And wins (oh shameful Chance!) the Queen of Hearts.

At this, the Blood the Virgin's Cheek forsook,

A livid Paleness spreads o'er all her Look;

Unlike Johnson's satire, instead of directly telling the reader to laugh at Belinda and the absurd things people give importance to in society, Pope acts as though they are so important -- every tiny event has a kind of pitched intensity -- that the reader cannot help but laugh. The concerns of contemporary life, like hair, cards, and tea, seem even smaller compared with the truly grand passions of the ancient classical world. Pope's satire through the use of mock-epic and heroic couplets is more subtle than Johnson's. Johnson takes on political leaders and themes, and suggests that a heroic spirit is needed to elevate England to its former glory; Pope takes the importance given to vain trivialities and face value, and makes them seem even more absurd because of his style. This literary device also has an added benefit for the poet -- since Pope was well-known as a translator of Homer, and used a similar type of meter in translating the Greek, readers would be forced to remember this even greater achievement of Pope's, and would have to know Pope's previous works to fully appreciate the jokes.