The Role of Richard Savage in Composing Pope's Dunciad
Abstract
Murderer, bastard, spy: Richard Savage was no stranger to scandal and
controversy. And yet, for a man who lived such a varied life, little is known for certain
about him. There are rumors, suggestions, and accusations, but little that can be said
without debates and arguments. It certainly does not help that Savage is often
marginalized in eighteenth-century scholarship as scholars seek to discover and analyze
all they can about his more famous, and more upstanding, contemporaries. While
Savage's relationship with Johnson is well known and discussed frequently, all that is
known of his relationship with Pope is that he contributed information to Popeâ s Dunciad
Variorum (1729) and that Pope later contributed large sums to Savage's support. Pope
was the driving force behind Savageâ s retirement to Wales, possibly alluded to in
Johnsonâ s London (1738), as well as the chief financial contributor to this retirement
plan. No serious effort has been made to connect these two important episodes in
Savage's life, perhaps because no serious effort has been made to establish the extent of
his involvement with the Dunciad. It may have been this connection with Pope that drew
Johnson to Savage in the first place.
The intent of this thesis is to clarify the nature of Savageâ s collaborations with
Pope and the extent of his contributions to the Dunciad Variorum of 1729. The Dunciad
seeks to make fun not only of Popeâ s critics, but of writers who write for bread, the â hack
writersâ of Grub Street. It was here that Pope would most likely turn to Savage for
information; Savage was much better acquainted with those writers than was Pope. But
Savage may have done more than simply supply Pope with gossip, and I will consider the
possibility that he had a more active role in the publication of the Dunciad Variorum.
Collections
- Masters Theses [19687]