King George II as an Ass: The Dunciad Variorum Engravings and Their Consequences.

This essay examines the significance of the 1729 engravings in Alexander Pope’s *Dunciad Variorum* and their role in the escalating antagonism between Pope and the British court from 1729 to 1735. It supports J. Paul Hunter’s interpretation that the engravings depicting a burdened ass and asses' ears symbolized King George II, an insult likely orchestrated with William Kent and the Earl and Countess of Burlington, which provoked sustained court hostility toward Pope and his associates, including the painter Charles Jervas. The essay details how the court’s vehemence in attacking Pope’s works, such as *To Burlington* and *To the Imitator of the First Satire of the Second Book of Horace*, stemmed from resentment over this insult rather than the ostensible literary quarrels. Pope’s difficulty in responding to these attacks, due to the covert nature of the offense, culminated in his explicit acknowledgment of court hostility in *An Epistle from Mr Pope to Dr Arbuthnot* (1735). The analysis also explores the involvement of key figures like Robert Walpole and Lord Hervey, the political implications of the engravings’ Horatian motto, and the complex interplay of patronage, satire, and court politics during this period.