Dunciad Minor: An Heroick Poem

by A.D. Hope

This mock-epic satire in the eighteenth-century manner is a comic burlesque upon the pretentious pedantry of literary criticism during much of A.D. Hope's lifetime. It was provoked by a contemporary critic's attack on the poetry of Alexander Pope. In his fable, Hope shows the Goddess Dullness urging the critic on to his attack, inspiring him by the promise of elevation to the Throne of Dunces. Many leading critics make an appearance, among them David Daiches, F.R. Leavis and Northrop Frye. This polished, entertaining poem attacks the barren absurdities of Leavisite criticism under which literature is buried ever deeper, until finally one vast snore seals the eclipse of mind.

Genres: Poetry

83 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 1970

About the author

Alec Derwent Hope was educated at Sydney and Oxford Universities. He lectured at the University of Melbourne from 1945 to 1950 and eventually moved as foundation professor of English at Canberra University College, later the Australian National University, until 1969. He was instrumental in launching the first full university course in Australian literature.

At the age of 8 years, he wrote his first poem for birthday of his mother. His first collection of poems, The Wandering Islands, was published in 1955. He went on to produce more than a dozen volumes each of poetry and criticism, winning many literature prizes and honors in Australia and, as his reputation grew, internationally. He was awarded an OBE in 1972, was made an AO in 1981 and was awarded four honorary degrees by Australian universities.

Many considered AD Hope to have been an often controversial figure who used an erudite mind and a wicked wit to devastating effect as a critic. Critics of his work, however, found a romantic and passionate impulse within the formal constraints of some of his poetry. David Brooks, who edited AD Hope's most recent edition of poetry, considered that some of his poems were among the strongest poems ever written by an Australian, real praise indeed.