Alexander Pope was known as "the Wasp of Twickenham"

One of the interesting facts about Alexander Pope is that Alexander Pope was known as "the Wasp of Twickenham". Alexander Pope gained this nickname as a result of his stinging satirical attacks on notable persons of the time, particularly fellow writers. Pope made his share of enemies as a satirist, as critics, politicians, and other famous persons felt the sting of his sharp-witted satires. Some were so virulent that Pope walked his dog while carrying pistols.

Though The Dunciad was first published anonymously in Dublin, its authorship was never questioned. Despite the fact that it has become "one of the most challenging and distinctive works in the history of English poetry, it bore bitter fruit. It brought the poet in his own time the hostility of its victims and their sympathizers, who pursued him implacably from then on with a few damaging truths and a host of slanders and lies" (as Mack stated).

Some of Pope's targets were so incensed with The Dunciad, according to his half-sister Magdalen Rackett, that they threatened him physically. Some of Pope's targets were so incensed with The Dunciad, according to his half-sister Magdalen Rackett, that they threatened him violently. "My brother does not seem to know what fear is," she explained to Joseph Spence, noting that Pope preferred to walk alone, but he was joined by his Great Dane Bounce, and for a time carried handguns in his pocket. Although Pope was an active participant in the stock and money markets, he never missed an opportunity to ridicule the personal, social, and political consequences of the new order. From The Rape of the Lock onwards, these satirical themes appear constantly in his work.