Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift were friends that wrote parodies. Pope is considered the greatest writer of satire in verse, and Swift, the greatest in prose. However, this is where the similarities stop. Pope and Swift lived very different lives. They had dissimilar values and morals that were reflected in their style of satire.
Alexander Pope was a very well mannered, well-educated, subtle man. He represented traditional civilization and public virtue. All of these traits were clearly shown in his writing. The criticism of Pope's satirical work was always very clear and in good taste. In The Rape of the Lock, Pope did not come out straight out and criticize the two families for blowing the situation out of proportion. Instead he symbolized the event into a comical-heroic poem to two families recognize the absurdity of the feud. The Rape of the Lock shows why most everyone had the utmost respect for Alexander Pope.
On the other hand, Jonathan Swift represented the complete opposite of what Pope did. Swift did what he wanted to do. He was very impulsive. Unlike Pope, who would never have an affair with a woman, Swift did not care about public virtue. Swift had an affair with a girl named Ester Johnson well before she was eighteen. Swift's hasty way of life carried over into to his writing. If Swift disagreed with something he would blatantly expresses his feelings using satire to further express his thoughts. A good example of this is in Gulliver's Travels. Swift visibly shows his disgust over the reformation by representing the two sides with people who crack their eggs on the big side and people who crack them on the small end.
In culmination, Alexander Pope and Jonathan Swift were two of the greatest writers of satire. The tone and style of their satire represented their personality and way of life. Pope was a well educated, model citizen who stood for good taste and virtue. His poems were all very modest and in good taste.
