The Dunciad

Discuss the King of Dulness in Dunciad by Alexander Pope.

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The goddess offspring of Chaos and Night; ruler of the world since days primeval. Her face veiled behind a shroud of fog which obscures her identity, she has been tasked by the poet with the responsibility of bringing that element which gives the goddess her name to a society gone mad. She has installed Bayes as King of Dulness following the death of Eusden, the poet laureate. She is worshipped far and wide and is the enemy of Order, Arts, and the Sciences. Dulness is often linked to major reigning feminine figures like Hera and the Virgin Mary through symbols and imagery such as carnations, Argus, and the sleeping Cibber held in her lap like the baby Jesus.

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