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Alexander PopeThe Dunciad
Fiction | Novel/Book in Verse | Adult | Published in 1743A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Appendices-NotesChapter Summaries & Analyses
Appendices-Notes Summary
Rounding out The Dunciad in Four Books is a collection of end materials. These are mostly items taken from earlier editions and included to provide insight into the author’s reason for writing.
Appendix I, subtitled “Preface to the first imperfect edition printed in 1727,” is an essay from the publisher to the reader.
Appendix II is an exhaustive list of people and institutions who had insulted Pope before The Dunciad was published.
Appendix III, subtitled “Advertisement to the first edition with Notes, 1729,” is an explanation of the rationale behind the inclusion of the notes in the Variorum.
Appendix IV is an introduction to the fourth book when published on its own in 1742.
Appendix V, “The Guardian,” is an essay on Pastorals from 1713.
Appendix VI is an essay on the position of Poet Laureate from 1729.
Appendix VII, titled “Advertisement printed in the Journals, 1730,” is a reply to certain criticisms.
Appendix VIII compares Dryden and Pope using the words of their contemporaries.
“By the Author” is a declaration similar to the one in the introductory materials, from 1732.
The book concludes with two indexes. The “Index of Persons” lists all those who appear in The Dunciad, while the “Index of Matters” itemizes all the issues covered in The Dunciad.
The notes appear throughout the books and provide critical insight into the text. Many of the references, allusions, and criticisms of the poem are explained in much greater detail in the notes. Each book also includes a number of “imitations” alongside the notes, or lines that directly call to those found in a classical text, most often Virgil’s Aeneid. Book 1 includes 82 notes and 15 imitations. Book 2 includes 79 notes and 43 imitations. Book 3 includes 66 notes and 27 imitations. Book 4 includes 165 notes and 8 imitations.
Appendices-Notes Analysis
The Appendices and other end materials are included mostly for reference. They may have provided a lot of amusement and explanation when they appeared with their original editions, but by the time the final edition appeared, they were largely redundant.
The notes, on the other hand, are integral to understanding the text of The Dunciad. Readers at the time may have understood much of the humor, but they would have had trouble determining who each of the Dunces was and identifying every allusion to classical literature. There are also countless political and social references, as well as specific nods toward remarks and opinions of Pope’s friends and enemies. It would be difficult even for scholars today to parse the meaning of many of the lines without the aid of the notes.
After the confusion surrounding the first edition, Alexander Pope wanted to ensure that subsequent editions made his intentions absolutely clear. He was strongly opposed to The Corruption of Mercenary Literature he saw happening around him as more and more writers were taking payment to write whatever they were asked to write. The obscuring of names in the first edition caused the public to focus on the mystery of who, specifically, were the subjects of Pope’s ridicule—the Dunces, politicians, and court figures who all make definite appearances or are referenced obliquely—but more important for the author were the broader themes he was addressing.
For more on how specific notes provide insight into the work’s themes and objectives, please refer to the Analysis sections for each of the four books.
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