Pope–Theobald controversy

E644532

The Pope–Theobald controversy was an 18th-century literary feud in which Alexander Pope attacked the editor and playwright Lewis Theobald as a dunce and poor critic, most famously in his satirical poem "The Dunciad."

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Pope–Theobald controversy canonical 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (41)

Predicate Object
instanceOf literary controversy
literary feud
characterizedBy attacks on critical competence
editorial rivalry
personal satire
country Kingdom of Great Britain
field English literature
genre Augustan literary controversy
linked to: Augustan literature
hasCause Lewis Theobald’s criticism of Alexander Pope’s Shakespeare edition
rivalry over editorial authority on Shakespeare
hasCentralTheme conflict between poet and scholar
definition of good literary criticism
standards of editing Shakespeare
hasEffect damage to Lewis Theobald’s literary reputation
satirical attacks on Lewis Theobald in The Dunciad
hasHistoricalContext Augustan age in Britain
rise of professional literary criticism in the 18th century
hasOutcome Lewis Theobald replaced as hero of The Dunciad by Colley Cibber in 1743
hasPeakPeriod 1730s
hasPerspectiveOf Alexander Pope, who viewed Theobald as a pedantic dunce
Lewis Theobald, who presented himself as a more accurate editor of Shakespeare
hasSubject Alexander Pope’s criticism of Lewis Theobald
hasWorkAsKeyText Shakespeare Restored
The Dunciad
involvesWork Pope’s 1725 edition of Shakespeare
Shakespeare Restored (1726)
The Dunciad (1728)
linked to: The Dunciad

The Dunciad Variorum (1729)
linked to: The Dunciad

The Dunciad, 1743 four-book version
linked to: The Dunciad
language English
location London
linked to: London, England
mainParticipants Alexander Pope
Lewis Theobald
notableFor Alexander Pope’s portrayal of Lewis Theobald as the king of dunces
origin of the Dunciad’s dunce-hero
partOf broader 18th-century Grub Street literary quarrels
relatedTo Augustan satire
English literary criticism
The Dunciad
startTime 1720s
timePeriod 18th century

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

The Dunciad associatedWith Pope–Theobald controversy