Alexander Pope was
born on 21st May 1688 , was an 18th-century English poet. The poet was citizen
of England. His father was a linen merchant in Plough court. From the age of
12, he suffered numerous health problems including Pott's disease (a form of
tuberculosis that affects the spine), which deformed his body and stunted his
growth, leaving him with a severe hunchback. His tuberculosis infection caused
other health problems including respiratory difficulties, high fevers, inflamed
eyes, and abdominal pain. He grew to a height of only 4 ft 6 inches. Pope was
already removed from society because he was Catholic. Although he never married, he had many female
friends to whom he wrote witty letters, including Lady Mary Wortley Montagu.
Allegedly, his lifelong friend Martha Blount was his lover. He is best known
for his satirical verse, including Essay on Criticism, The Rape of the Lock and
The Dunciad, and for his translation of Homer. He is the second-most frequently
quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations after Shakespeare. He died
at the age of 65 on 30th May 1744.