Though there exist several different themes and writing styles in early 18th Century writings, two of the greatest satirists of all time and close friends, Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope, shared some of the most effective, moving, and influential thoughts and writing styles of the time period. However, as much as they were alike in literature, they were drastically dissimilar. By comparison, these two varied in satiric presentation as well as social and personal life. Despite the overwhelming differences between the writers, they still used their own unique methods to effectively criticize, ridicule, discuss, and dissect society.
             Regardless of Pope's 4'6" stature, he had a heart and literary talent as great as any the world has ever known. Although the poetic voice had slightly faded from British works, Pope presented some of the finest poetry the country has produced. His use of the mock epic and heroic couplet in his satirical writings is timeless. In society, he was well liked in spite of his appearance, but, oddly, his satires poked fun at the very people he was familiar with. Not only this, but his satire was often extremely destructive of society's foibles. In The Rape of the Lock, Pope uses the mock epic to satirize a true English incident, which led to a battle of the sexes. His amazing wit allowed him to write a highly influential poem, which led some to love him and others to fear him. During the end of his career, Pope became infatuated with the notion that humans are rightly good and deserve to inhabit the earth. These thoughts became evident in An Essay on Man, where Pope uses the heroic couplet to express his belief in the value of common sense, friendship, and good taste. Collectively, his satiric poetry displays his ideals of a perfect world, and although it contains extraordinary ideas, it does much less than Swift as to determining a solution to the problem.
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