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Elegy to the Memory of an Unfortunate Lady
- Narrated by: Denis Daly
- Length: 9 mins
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Elegy to the Memory of an Unfortunate Lady
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Summary
Edited by W. C. Armstrong
Read by Denis Daly
This short poem, first published in 1717, became one of Pope's best-known verse works.
The actual history of the lady appears to have been intentionally concealed by the poet under a mysterious veil. Dr. Johnson offers the following details, based on the content of the poem: that the lady was distinguished by her rank, fortune, and beauty; that she was committed to the care of an uncle who was being crossed in her affections by her guardian, who opposed her marriage; she went abroad, where, from some concurrence of unfortunate circumstances, she terminated her life by suicide; some say by thrusting a sword through her heart; others have asserted that she hanged herself.
Subsequent research suggests that the lady may have been Elizabeth Gage, the sister of Thomas Gage, 1st Viscount Gage. She died in 1724, not in a dramatic fashion, but from natural causes and in the bosom of her family, following a reconciliation with her husband after a temporary separation.