Pope's Dunciad
May 5, 1728
Alexander Pope, long stung by hack critics, published a mock epic in which the Goddess Dullness crowned a new king of the dunces. Targets were named, then slightly coded when lawsuits threatened. Grub Street recognized itself. The Dunciad was at once a literary masterpiece and the finest assassination-by-couplet in English letters.
In context
Also in 1728 (3 other events on record)
- Maratha Peshwa Baji Rao I Rises · South Asia · War
- The Beggar's Opera Premieres · Europe · Culture
- Bering Sails the Strait That Will Bear His Name · Europe · Exploration
Before and after in Europe
Before and after in Culture
Era
Enlightenment (1651–1800), one of 696 events from that era on Saeculum.
Sources