The first volume of Alexander Pope's poetry opens with authoritative catalogues of his collected editions, establishing the textual history and the complex publishing chronology of quartos, folios, and octavos that marked his lifetime. It preserves the memorial list written in his Elzevir Virgil, chronicling the deaths of significant contemporaries such as Dryden, Walsh, Wycherley, Congreve, and Gay, which serves as a personal register of his friendships and literary associations. William Warburton's introductory advertisement details the preparation of the final corrected editions, shedding light on the author's meticulous attention to his text during his last illness and the inclusion of manuscript variations that clarify his philosophical positions. The core of the volume presents a wide array of verse, beginning with early translations from Statius and Ovid, alongside adaptations from Chaucer that display Pope's command of narrative and rhyme.
These are followed by his original pastoral compositions, the sacred eclogue Messiah, and Windsor Forest, each demonstrating his engagement with classical models and contemporary landscape. The pastoral discourse outlines his theoretical approach to poetry, balancing artificial conventions with observations of external nature. Throughout these early pieces, the recurring tension between satire and lyricism becomes apparent, laying the groundwork for the moral and critical frameworks that would dominate his later career. The arrangement reflects both the author's final intentions for his collected writings and the historical reality of how his works were preserved and transmitted to posterity.
