Argus
- WHEN wise Ulysses, from his native coast
- Long kept by wars, and long by tempests toss'd,
- Arrived at last, poor, old, disguised, alone,
- To all his friends, and ev'n his Queen unknown,
- Changed as he was, with age, and toils, and cares,
- Furrow'd his rev'rend face, and white his hairs,
- In his own palace forc'd to ask his bread,
- Scorn'd by those slaves his former bounty fed,
- Forgot of all his own domestic crew,
- The faithful Dog alone his rightful master knew!
- Unfed, unhous'd, neglected, on the clay
- Like an old servant now cashier'd, he lay;
- Touch'd with resentment of ungrateful man,
- And longing to behold his ancient lord again.
- Him when he saw he rose, and crawl'd to meet,
- ('Twas all he could) and fawn'd and kiss'd his feet,
- Seiz'd with dumb joy; then falling by his side,
- Own'd his returning lord, look'd up, and died!
Alexander Pope (1688-1744)
Englishman Alexander Pope modeled himself after the great writers of classical antiquity. His verse translations, moral and critical essays, and satires, made him a foremost poet of his time. His highly polished work was often didactic or satirical and he brought the heroic couplet, which had been redefined by John Dryden, to its ultimate perfection. His talent lay in the brilliance in using this device giving his work a witty and occasionally biting quality. He enjoyed a great success in his lifetime; his poetic form became the dominant force of his century. Translated into many languages. His most renowned work is based on a true story called The Rape of the Lock which he translated and published in 1712. In 1717 a collection of his most noteworthy lyrics was published. Pope's translations of Homer's Iliad was printed in six volumes from 1715 to 1720; a translation of the Odyssey followed from 1725 to 1726. He also published an edition of Shakespeare's plays.
There are three Argus legends from ancient Greek mythology, a goliath, a boatswain and a dog. The giant Argus,also called Panoptes, was assigned as a guardian of Io. It was the goddess Hera, wife of Zeus in a fit of jealousy over her husband’s affections for Io that set him to this task. Zeus changed Io into a heifer to protect her from Hera and sent the god Hermes to rescue her. Hermes slew the one hundred eyed giant by lulling him to sleep with music and then severing his head. In one scenario of the myth, Argus becomes a peacock; another tells that Hera transplanted his eyes onto the peacocks tail.
The second story of Argus is about the builder of the Argo, the ship that carried Jason the Greek hero in his quest for the Golden Fleece. The third Argus is the old dog of Ulysses, Greek leader during the Trojan War. When his master returned to Ithaca after nineteen years, Argus recognized him and promptly died.
It is this scene from the Ulysses story about the faithful dog and his returning master where Pope creates his fanciful and ingenious mock-heroic work describing it in a detailed and concise poem. He uses a clever device while working his way through the verses. The tenth line is a good example of what is termed an alexandrine. Pope uses them frequently in his work to break up monotony. Containing six metrical feet and twelve syllables it changes the iambic pentameter to a heroic couplet. By employing this conversational tool Pope added two syllables to complete his idea in the first stanza. This "safety valve" saves him the trouble of having to rewrite the verse or of carrying it over into another couplet.
Sources:
Bram, Robert Philips, Norma H. Dicky, "Pope,Alexander" Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia , 1988.
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