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Alexander Pope: Rediscovering a Genius

Duration: 49 minutes

First broadcast: on BBC FourLatest broadcast: on BBC Four HD

Available for years

An entertaining docudrama that portrays the astonishing life of Alexander Pope (1688-1744), a forgotten genius and a child prodigy akin to Mozart. He was the greatest poet of the 18th century and is the second most quoted writer in the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations after Shakespeare.

Pope stood at just four feet six inches tall. He was a hunchback and an outsider in every way, yet he made the equivalent, in today's money, of one million pounds from his poetry. His satire and wit are all around us, in our everyday speech and songs, yet few are aware of the author and his achievements.

Pope’s work is concerned with feminism, friendship, freedom of speech, the environment, corruption in government and what it means to be a moral citizen. Show less

Contributors

Narrator:
Emilia Fox
Alexander Pope:
Simon Callow
Duchess of Marlborough:
Harriet Walter
Interviewed Guest:
John Cleese
Dr Johnson:
Jeff Rawle
Lord Byron:
Shubham Saraf
Lady Arabella Fermour:
Agatha Elwes
Interviewed Guest:
Felicity Rosslyn
Interviewed Guest:
Philip Hensher
Director:
Sophie Bevan
Director:
Peter Bevan

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