An essay on criticism alexander pope

This context and the excitement that surrounded the changes brought to culture through the Enlightenment are central to ‘An Essay on Criticism. 580 Be niggards of advice on no pretence;
581 For the worst avarice is that of sense. )
251 No single parts unequally surprize,
252 All comes united to th’admiring eyes;
253 No monstrous height, or breadth, or length appear;
254 The Whole at once is bold, and regular. It is written in a type of rhyming verse called heroic couplets. Pope wrote “An Essay on Criticism” when he was 23; he was . The natural laws consider the Universe as a whole a perfect work of God. ' In an attempt to understand the importance, influence . 420 What woful stuff this madrigal would be,
421 In some starv’d hackney sonneteer, or me. Moreover, critics must study well and focus on conventions passed down from the masters of poetry.

394 As things seem large which we thro’ mists descry,
395 Dulness is ever apt to magnify. Too much Love to a Sect,—to the Ancients or Moderns. When told by his physician, on the morning of his death, that he was better, Pope replied: “Here am I, dying of a hundred good symptoms. ‘A little learning is a dang’rous thing,’ Alexander Pope famously writes in his poem ‘An Essay on Criticism. 490 When the ripe colours soften and unite,
491 And sweetly melt into just shade and light,
492 When mellowing years their full perfection give,
493 And each bold figure just begins to live;
494 The treach’rous colours the fair art betray,
495 And all the bright creation fades away. 189 In praise so just let ev’ry voice be join’d,
190 And fill the gen’ral Chorus of mankind. 118 You then whose judgment the right course would steer,
119 Know well each Ancient’s proper character;
120 His Fable, Subject, scope in every page;
121 Religion, Country, genius of his Age:
122 Without all these at once before your eyes,
123 Cavil you may, but never criticize. 62 Not only bounded to peculiar arts,
63 But oft’ in those confin’d to single parts.

711 But soon by impious arms from Latium chas’d,
712 Their ancient bounds the banish’d Muses pass’d;
713 Thence arts o’er all the northern world advance;
714 But critic learning flourish’d most in France:
715 The rules, a nation born to serve, obeys;
716 And Boileau still in right of Horace sways. Samuel Garth, on the other hand, was well-regarded, by Pope and many others, for a poem, The Dispensary, denouncing apothecaries and their cohort physicians. 472 When first that sun too pow’rful beams displays,
473 It draws up vapours which obscure its rays;
474 But ev’n those clouds at last adorn its way,
475 Reflect new glories, and augment the day. ‘ Heroic couplets are typically used when writing traditional and idealistic poetry, a quality that reiterates the serious tone of Pope’s poem. What, in Pope’s opinion (here as elsewhere in his work) is the deadliest critical sin — a sin which is itself a reflection of a greater sin. Criticism, once destined to teach the “world. During Pope’s friendship with Joseph Addison, he contributed to Addison’s play Cato, as well as writing for The Guardian and The Spectator. It is clear from Pope’s correspondence that many of the poem’s ideas had existed in prose form since at least 1706.

Pope’s enemies claimed he was attacking the Duke of Chandos and his estate, Cannons. 62 Not only bounded to peculiar arts,
63 But oft’ in those confin’d to single parts. 211 Pride, where Wit fails, steps in to our defence,
212 And fills up all the mighty void of sense. This ideal must be apprehended through the critic’s judicious balance of wit and judgment, of imaginative invention and deliberative reason. 161 But care in poetry must still be had,
162 It asks discretion ev’n in running mad:
163 And tho’ the Ancients thus their rules invade,
164 (As Kings dispense with laws themselves have made)
165 Moderns beware. 386 Avoid Extremes; and shun the fault of such,
387 Who still are pleas’d too little or too much. For example, ‘An Essay on Criticism’ frequently refers to nature as the ultimate guide for writers and critics. ' In an attempt to understand the importance, influence . An Essay on Criticism was published when Pope was relatively young.

By Alexander Pope An essay on criticism .

283 “Not so by heav’n” (he answers in a rage)
284 “Knights, squires, and steeds, must enter on the stage. 490 When the ripe colours soften and unite,
491 And sweetly melt into just shade and light,
492 When mellowing years their full perfection give,
493 And each bold figure just begins to live;
494 The treach’rous colours the fair art betray,
495 And all the bright creation fades away. 510 If wit so much from ign’rance undergo,
511 Ah let not learning too commence its foe. Pope also added a wholly original poem, An Epistle to Doctor Arbuthnot, as an introduction to the “Imitations”. 193 Whose honours with increase of ages grow,
194 As streams roll down, enlarging as they flow. Not sure what college you want to attend yet. In this period, Pope was also employed by the publisher Jacob Tonson to produce an opulent new edition of Shakespeare. Along Hammond’s lines, Raymond Williams explains art as a set of practices influenced by broad cultural factors rather than simply the vague ideas of genius alone. Too much Love to a Sect,—to the Ancients or Moderns. 5 Some few in that, but numbers err in this,
6 Ten censure wrong for one who writes amiss;
7 A fool might once himself alone expose,
8 Now one in verse makes many more in prose. It challenges as prideful an anthropocentric world-view. 146 If,  where the rules not far enough extend,
147 (Since rules were made but to promote their end)
148 Some lucky Licence answers to the full
149 Th’intent propos’d, that Licence is a rule. He discusses the laws to which a critic should adhere while critiquing poetry, and points out that critics serve an important function in aiding poets with their works, as opposed to the practice of attacking them. 468 Envy will merit, as its shade, pursue;
469 But like a shadow, proves the substance true;
470 For envy’d Wit, like Sol eclips’d, makes known
471 Th’opposing body’s grossness, not its own. His poem, ‘An Essay on Criticism,’ seeks to introduce and demonstrate the ideals of poetry and teach critics how to avoid doing harm to poetry. 313 False Eloquence, like the Prismatic glass,
314 Its gaudy colours spreads on ev’ry place;
315 The face of nature we no more survey,
316 All glares alike, without distinction gay:. 152 Great Wits sometimes may gloriously offend,
153 And rise to faults true Critics dare not mend,
154 From vulgar bounds with brave disorder part,
155 And snatch a grace beyond the reach of art,
156 Which without passing thro’ the judgment, gains
157 The heart, and all its end at once attains. Deployed in his sparkling heroic couplets, the arguments and summaries are alive with wit, verbal agility and good sense.

Additional info about an essay on criticism alexander pope

183 Still green with bays each ancient Altar stands,
184 Above the reach of sacrilegious hands;
185 Secure from flames, from envy’s fiercer rage,
186 Destructive war, and all-devouring age. Still humming on, their drowsy course they keep,
And lashed so long, like tops, are lashed asleep. This narrative illustrates the fact that one must, while trying to be innovative and believe in one’s own convictions, also find a balance and have a deep respect for the work that came before. In March 1713, Windsor Forest was published to great acclaim. Then Criticism the Muse's Handmaid prov'd, To dress her Charms, and make her more belov'd; But following Wits . Pope wrote of its composition: “The things that I have written fastest, have always pleased the most. With this in mind, Pope’s mix of optimism towards and skepticism of the potential of reason is particularly insightful. A decade after Pope’s death, Joseph Warton claimed that Pope’s style of poetry was not the most excellent form of the art. Where, Pope asks, can you find the paradigm of wise judgement. The work would be available by subscription, with one volume appearing every year over the course of six years. The true critic must learn thoroughly the ancients, particularly Homer and Vergil, for “To copy nature is to copy them. The serendipitous discovery of a spring during the subterranean retreat’s excavations enabled it to be filled with the relaxing sound of trickling water, which would quietly echo around the chambers. It is written in a type of rhyming verse called heroic couplets. 420 What woful stuff this madrigal would be,
421 In some starv’d hackney sonneteer, or me. Although the work treats literary criticism in particular and thus relies heavily upon ancient authors as type masters, Pope still extends this criticism to general judgment about all walks of life. All the Nine inspire,
678 And bless their Critic with a Poet’s fire. 171 I know there are, to whose presumptuous thoughts
172 Those freer beauties, ev’n in them, seem faults.

562 Learn then what Morals Critics ought to show,
563 For ’tis but half a judge’s task, to know. When placed in the context of the Enlightenment, the poem becomes exceptionally perceptive. 582 With mean complacence ne’er betray your trust,
583 Nor be so civil as to prove unjust. It did some damage to Pope’s reputation for a time, but not to his profits. 265 Most Critics, fond of some subservient art,
266 Still make the whole depend upon a part:
267 They talk of principles, but notions prize,
268 And all to one lov’d Folly sacrifice. All the Nine inspire,
678 And bless their Critic with a Poet’s fire. 580 Be niggards of advice on no pretence;
581 For the worst avarice is that of sense. 647 The mighty Stagyrite first left the shore,
648 Spread all his sails, and durst the deeps explore;
649 He steer’d securely, and discover’d far,
650 Led by the light of the Mæonian Star. In the 20th century Pope’s reputation was revived. The aim of the club was to satirise ignorance and pedantry in the form of the fictional scholar Martinus Scriblerus.   Such shameless bards we have, and yet ’tis true
There are as mad, abandoned critics too. 426 The Vulgar thus through Imitation err;
427 As oft’ the Learn’d by being singular;
428 So much they scorn the croud, that if the throng
429 By chance go right, they purposely go wrong:
430 So Schismatics the plain believers quit,
431 And are but damn’d for having too much wit. St Paul’s Churchyard, the corrupt precinct of the booksellers, may be full of bores and fools, but there’s no safer sanctuary at the cathedral’s altar. It challenges as prideful an anthropocentric world-view. Pope intended this poem to be the centrepiece of a proposed system of ethics that was to be put forth in poetic form. 727 Such was Roscommon—not more learn’d than good,
728 With manners gen’rous as his noble blood;
729 To him the wit of Greece and Rome was known,
730 And ev’ry author’s merit but his own.

(Other lines were excluded from the edition altogether. Or if you must offend
166 Against the precept, ne’er trangress its end:
167 Let it be seldom, and compell’d by need;
168 And have, at least, their precedent to plead. 171 I know there are, to whose presumptuous thoughts
172 Those freer beauties, ev’n in them, seem faults. Famous for his use of the heroic couplet, he is the second-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare. Pope was said to have remarked that: “Were it to have nymphs as well – it would be complete in everything. The poem is not solely Christian, however; it makes an assumption that man has fallen and must seek his own salvation. However, despite the title, the poem is not as much an. In 1714, the political situation worsened with the death of Queen Anne and the disputed succession between the Hanoverians and the Jacobites, leading to the attempted Jacobite Rebellion of 1715. ) In 1726, the lawyer, poet and pantomime deviser Lewis Theobald published a scathing pamphlet called Shakespeare Restored, which catalogued the errors in Pope’s work and suggested a number of revisions to the text. The “Essay on Criticism,” then, is deliberately ambiguous: Pope seems, on the one hand, to admit that rules are necessary for the production of and criticism of poetry, but he also notes the existence of mysterious, apparently irrational qualities — “Nameless Graces,” identified by terms such as “Happiness” and “Lucky Licence” — with which Nature is endowed, and which permit the true poetic genius, possessed of adequate “taste,” to appear to transcend those same rules. An Essay on Criticism was the first major poem written by the English writer Alexander Pope (1688–1744). A brief criticism and analysis of Alexander Pope's famous poem 'Essay on Criticism'.

279 All which, exact to rule, were brought about,
280 Were but a Combate in the lists left out. The poem covers a range of good criticism and advice, and represents many of the chief literary ideals of Pope’s age. However, despite the title, the poem is not as much an . 339 But most by Numbers judge a Poet’s song,
340 And smooth or rough, with them, is right or wrong;
341 In the bright Muse tho’ thousand charms conspire,
342 Her Voice is all these tuneful fools admire;
343 Who haunt Parnassus but to please their ear,
344 Not mend their minds; as some to Church repair,
345 Not for the doctrine, but the music there. Candour, Modesty, Good-breeding, Sincerity and Freedom of Advice. ‘ Heroic couplets are typically used when writing traditional and idealistic poetry, a quality that reiterates the serious tone of Pope’s poem. Pope was taught to read by his aunt, and went to Twyford School in about 1698/99. Criticism, once destined to teach the “world. In doing so, he suggests that critics often are partial to their own judgment, judgment deriving, of course, from nature, like that of the poet’s genius. Pope’s wit is famously caustic, so it’s surprising how often the essayist advocates charity and humility. Or if you must offend
166 Against the precept, ne’er trangress its end:
167 Let it be seldom, and compell’d by need;
168 And have, at least, their precedent to plead. Com has thousands of articles about every imaginable degree, area of study and career path that can help you find the school that’s right for you. 438 Ask them the cause; they’re wiser still, they say;
439 And still to-morrow’s wiser than to-day. ENotes plot summaries cover all the significant action of An Essay on Criticism. 590 Fear most to tax an Honourable fool,
591 Whose right it is, uncensur’d to be dull;
592 Such without wit are Poets when they please,
593 As without learning they can take Degrees. WITH Explanatory Notes and Additions never before printed. 263 Neglect the rules each verbal Critic lays,
264 For not to know some trifles, is a praise.

“Pope Surveys His Kingdom: An Essay on Criticism. 128 Still with itself compar’d, his text peruse;
129 Or let your comment be the Mantuan Muse. These events led to an immediate downturn in the fortunes of the Tories, and Pope’s friend, Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke, fled to France. Although he never married, he had many female friends to whom he wrote witty letters. Although Pope may seem to rely too heavily upon the authority of the ancient authors as literary masters, he recognizes, as many readers fail to note, the “grace beyond the reach of art” that no model can teach. 339 But most by Numbers judge a Poet’s song,
340 And smooth or rough, with them, is right or wrong;
341 In the bright Muse tho’ thousand charms conspire,
342 Her Voice is all these tuneful fools admire;
343 Who haunt Parnassus but to please their ear,
344 Not mend their minds; as some to Church repair,
345 Not for the doctrine, but the music there. ” In Critical Essays on Alexander Pope, edited by Wallace Jackson and R. The aim of the club was to satirise ignorance and pedantry in the form of the fictional scholar Martinus Scriblerus. The grotto now lies beneath Radnor House Independent Co-ed School, and is occasionally opened to the public. It is clear from Pope’s correspondence that many of the poem’s ideas had existed in prose form since at least 1706.

an essay on criticism alexander pope

An Essay on Criticism is one of the first major poems written by the English writer Alexander Pope (1688–1744). This lesson will explore Alexander Pope's famous poem titled 'An Essay on Criticism.   But where’s the man who counsel can bestow,
Still pleased to teach, and yet not proud to know. Causes hind’ring a true Judgment, 1. 703 Then Sculpture and her sister-arts revive;
704 Stones leap’d to form, and rocks began to live;
705 With sweeter notes each rising Temple rung;
706 A Raphael painted, and a  Vida sung. With him, most authors steal their works, or buy;
Garth did not write his own Dispensary. 286 “Then build a new, or act it in a Plain. Hammond (1986) has studied Pope’s work from the perspectives of cultural materialism and new historicism. Pope saw the poem less as an original composition and more as a collection of the insights of other writers. 335 In words, as fashions, the same rule will hold;
336 Alike fantastic, if too new, or old;
 . 460 Pride, Malice, Folly, against Dryden rose,
461 In various shapes of Parsons, Critics, Beaus;
462 But sense surviv’d, when merry jests were past;
463 For rising merit will buoy up at last. In the years 1953–1967 the production of the definitive Twickenham edition of Pope’s poems was published in ten volumes. ' In an attempt to understand the importance, influence and significance of the. [4] Hayden Carruth, wrote that it was “Pope’s rationalism and pandeism with which he wrote the greatest mock-epic in English literature.

Moreover, critics must study well and focus on conventions passed down from the masters of poetry

' In an attempt to understand the importance, influence . 299 True  wit is nature to advantage dress’d,
300 What oft’ was thought, but ne’er so well express’d;
301 Something, whose truth convinc’d at sight we find,
302 That gives us back the image of our mind. However, despite the title, the poem is not as much an original analysis as it is a compilation of Pope’s various literary opinions. 9 ‘Tis with our judgments as our watches, none
10 Go just alike, yet each believes his own. You can test out of the first two years of college and save thousands off your degree. 526 Good-nature and good-sense must ever join;
527 To err is humane, to forgive, divine. Pope then reflects on the ups and downs of literature and literary critics since Greek culture, explaining how the understanding produced by the Greeks and Romans was lost and is only beginning to be appreciated again. All the Nine inspire,
678 And bless their Critic with a Poet’s fire. 641 Blest with a taste exact, yet unconfin’d;
642 A knowledge both of books and human-kind;
643 Gen’rous converse; a soul exempt from pride;
644 And love to praise, with reason on his side. Pope used the model of Horace to satirise life under George II, especially what he regarded as the widespread corruption tainting the country under Walpole’s influence and the poor quality of the court’s artistic taste. 80 There are whom heav’n has blest with store of wit,
81 Yet want as much again to manage it;
82 For wit and judgment ever are at strife,
83 Tho’ meant each other’s aid, like man and wife. 454 Some valuing those of their own side or mind,
455 Still make themselves the measure of mankind:
456 Fondly we think we honour merit then,
457 When we but praise our selves in other men. Only God, the infinite intellect, the purely rational being, can appreciate the harmony of the universe, but the intelligent and educated critic can appreciate poetic harmonies which echo those in nature. 263 Neglect the rules each verbal Critic lays,
264 For not to know some trifles, is a praise. 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. 442 Once School-divines this zealous isle o’er-spread;
443 Who knew most Sentences, was deepest read;.

554 Encourag’d thus, Wit’s Titans brav’d the skies,
555 And the Press groan’d with licens’d blasphemies. He was buried in the nave of the Church of England Church of St Mary the Virgin in Twickenham. 173 Some figures monstrous and mishap’d appear,
174 Consider’d singly, or beheld too near,
175 Which, but proportion’d to their light, or place,
176 Due distance reconciles to form and grace. Alexander Pope lived from 1688 to 1744. In this period, Pope was also employed by the publisher Jacob Tonson to produce an opulent new edition of Shakespeare. 23 But as the slightest sketch, if justly trac’d,
24 Is by ill-colouring but the more disgrac’d,
25 So by false learning is good sense defac’d:
26 Some are bewilder’d in the maze of schools,
27 And some made coxcombs Nature meant but fools. Sychophancy is one of the Essay’s prime targets. [5] Pope would later describe the countryside around the house in his poem Windsor Forest.

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130 When first young Maro sung of Kings and wars,
131  E’er warning Phoebus touch’d his trembling ears,
132 Perhaps he seem’d above the Critic’s law,
133 And but from Nature’s fountains scorn’d to draw:
134 But when t’examine ev’ry part he came,
135 Nature and Homer were, he found, the same:
136 Convinc’d, amaz’d, he checks the bold design;
137 And rules as strict his labour’d work confine,
138 As if the Stagyrite o’erlook’d each line. Pope’s education was affected by the recently enacted Test Acts, which upheld the status of the established Church of England and banned Catholics from teaching, attending a university, voting, or holding public office on pain of perpetual imprisonment. An Essay on Criticism is one of the first major poems written by the English writer Alexander Pope (1688–1744). Complete summary of Alexander Pope's An Essay on Criticism. Alexander Pope was born in London to a Roman Catholic family. The flow has been angrily headlong: now, the pace becomes slower, the argument more rational. The poem covers a range of good criticism and advice. Alexander Pope lived from 1688 to 1744. The grotto now lies beneath Radnor House Independent Co-ed School, and is occasionally opened to the public. 628 Distrustful sense with modest caution speaks,
629 It still looks home, and short excursions makes;
630 But rattling nonsense in full vollies breaks,
631 And never shock’d, and never turn’d aside,
632 Bursts out, resistless, with a thund’ring tyde. 478 Short is the date, alas, of modern rhymes,
479 And ’tis but just to let ’em live betimes. It was Nicholas Boileau’s treatise, L’Art Poétique, which fired Pope to produce his own study of literary-critical principles. 146 If,  where the rules not far enough extend,
147 (Since rules were made but to promote their end)
148 Some lucky Licence answers to the full
149 Th’intent propos’d, that Licence is a rule. One of them, John Caryll (the future dedicatee of The Rape of the Lock), was twenty years older than the poet and had made many acquaintances in the London literary world. ‘Tis hard to say, if greater Want of Skill Appear in Writing or in Judging ill, But, of the two, less dang’rous is th’ Offence, To tire our Patience, than mis-lead. It is a verse essay written in the Horatian mode and is primarily concerned with how writers and critics behave in the new literary commerce of Pope’s contemporary age. 663 Our Critics take a contrary extreme,
664 They judge with fury, but they write with fle’me:
665 Nor suffers Horace more in wrong Translations
666 By Wits, than Critics in as wrong Quotations.

' In an attempt to understand the importance, influence . An Essay on Criticism was the first major poem written by the English writer Alexander Pope (1688–1744). ' In an attempt to understand the importance, influence and significance of the. St Paul’s Churchyard, the corrupt precinct of the booksellers, may be full of bores and fools, but there’s no safer sanctuary at the cathedral’s altar. 161 But care in poetry must still be had,
162 It asks discretion ev’n in running mad:
163 And tho’ the Ancients thus their rules invade,
164 (As Kings dispense with laws themselves have made)
165 Moderns beware. The genius of the ancients cannot be imitated, but their principles may be. An Essay on Criticism is one of the first major poems written by the English writer Alexander Pope (1688–1744). Pope’s education was affected by the recently enacted Test Acts, which upheld the status of the established Church of England and banned Catholics from teaching, attending a university, voting, or holding public office on pain of perpetual imprisonment.

A brief criticism and analysis of Alexander Pope's famous poem 'Essay on Criticism'. The metaphor of the spinning-top implies that a whipping will simply keep them going. 28 In search of wit these lose their common sense,
29 And then turn Critics in their own defence:
30 Each burns alike, who can, or cannot write,
31 Or with a Rival’s, or an Eunuch’s spite. Causes hind’ring a true Judgment, 1. 263 Neglect the rules each verbal Critic lays,
264 For not to know some trifles, is a praise. 414 Some judge of authors names, not works, and then
415 Nor praise nor blame the writings, but the men. 283 “Not so by heav’n” (he answers in a rage)
284 “Knights, squires, and steeds, must enter on the stage. Iambic pentameter means each line has five iambs, which are metrical feet consisting of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable.

Essential Articles for the Study of Alexander Pope

Part 2 traces the causes hindering good judgment—that chief virtue of a true critic. 187 See, from each clime the learn’d their incense bring:
188 Hear, in all tongues consenting Pæans ring. Pope warns, however, that critics must be careful of becoming slaves to the rules and conventions that others have developed and to not let the popularity of an author misguide a critic’s appreciation of an author’s work. When it was published in 1711 it earned the young poet immediate acclaim. The key to avoiding this is to know your own faults and limitations. 626 Nay, fly to altars; there they’ll talk you dead;
627 For Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread. ) In 1726, the lawyer, poet and pantomime deviser Lewis Theobald published a scathing pamphlet called Shakespeare Restored, which catalogued the errors in Pope’s work and suggested a number of revisions to the text. 582 With mean complacence ne’er betray your trust,
583 Nor be so civil as to prove unjust. ‘ In an attempt to understand the importance, influence and.

an essay on criticism alexander pope

Pope’s most famous poem is The Rape of the Lock, first published in 1712, with a revised version published in 1714. Pope intended this poem to be the centrepiece of a proposed system of ethics that was to be put forth in poetic form. Alexander Pope, a translator, poet, wit, amateur landscape gardener, and satirist, was born in London in 1688. His major work in these years was revising and expanding his masterpiece The Dunciad. 586 ‘Twere well might Critics still this freedom take;
587 But Appius reddens at each word you speak,
588 And stares, tremendous, with a threat’ning eye,
589 Like some fierce Tyrant in old Tapestry. It was acclaimed by Samuel Johnson as “a performance which no age or nation could hope to equal” (although the classical scholar Richard Bentley wrote: “It is a pretty poem, Mr. 146 If,  where the rules not far enough extend,
147 (Since rules were made but to promote their end)
148 Some lucky Licence answers to the full
149 Th’intent propos’d, that Licence is a rule. The poem is structured in three parts: the general qualities of a critic; the particular laws by which a critic judges a work; and the ideal character of a critic. It consists of four epistles that are addressed to Lord Bolingbroke. Pope gets the message across that humans must accept their position in the “Great Chain of Being” which is at a middle stage between the angels and the beasts of the world. 524 Ah ne’er so dire a thirst of glory boast,
525 Nor in the Critic let the Man be lost. Blessed with a taste exact, yet unconfined;
A knowledge both of books and human kind;
Generous converse; a soul exempt from pride;
And love to praise, with reason on his side. But we can apply some of his principles, the most important of which is, perhaps, that principles are necessary.

299 True  wit is nature to advantage dress’d,
300 What oft’ was thought, but ne’er so well express’d;
301 Something, whose truth convinc’d at sight we find,
302 That gives us back the image of our mind. 641 Blest with a taste exact, yet unconfin’d;
642 A knowledge both of books and human-kind;
643 Gen’rous converse; a soul exempt from pride;
644 And love to praise, with reason on his side. 731 Such late was Walsh,—the Muse’s judge and friend,
732 Who justly knew to blame or to commend;
733 To failings mild, but zealous for desert;
734 The clearest Head, and the sincerest Heart. 221 Fir’d at first sight with what the Muse imparts,
222 In fearless youth we tempt the heights of Arts,
223 While from the bounded level of our mind,
224 Short views we take, nor see the lengths behind,
225 But more advanc’d, behold with strange surprize
226 New distant scenes of endless science rise. 476 Be thou the first true merit to befriend,
477 His praise is lost, who stays ’till all commend. Pope attempted to conceal the extent of the collaboration (he himself translated only twelve books, Broome eight and Fenton four),[21] but the secret leaked out. His translation of the Iliad appeared between 1715 and 1720. ‘Tis best sometimes your censure to restrain,
And charitably let the dull be vain:
Your silence there is better than your spite,
For who can rail so long as they can write. In it Pope comments, too, upon the authority which ought properly to be accorded to the classical authors who dealt with the subject; and concludes (in an apparent attempt to reconcile the opinions of the advocates and opponents of rules) that the rules of the ancients are in fact identical with the rules of Nature: poetry and painting, that is, like religion and morality, actually reflect natural law. Unbiassed, or by favour, or by spite:
Not dully prepossessed, nor blindly right;
Though learned, well-bred; and though well-bred, sincere;
Modestly bold, and humanly severe:
Who to a friend his faults can freely show,
And gladly praise the merit of a foe. During and just prior to Pope’s lifetime, England’s government had experienced frequent and often violent turmoil.

According to his sister, Pope would never go for a walk without the company of his Great Dane, Bounce, and a pair of loaded pistols in his pocket. From the age of 12, he suffered numerous health problems, such as Pott’s disease (a form of tuberculosis that affects the bone), which deformed his body and stunted his growth, leaving him with a severe hunchback. 480 No longer now that golden age appears,
481 When Patriarch-wits surviv’d a thousand years:
482 Now length of fame (our second life) is lost,
483 And bare threescore is all ev’n that can boast:
484 Our sons their fathers failing language see,
485 And such as Chaucer is, shall Dryden be. 303 As shades more sweetly recommend the light,
304 So modest plainness sets off sprightly wit:
305 For works may have more wit than does ’em good,
306 As bodies perish thro’ excess of blood. 60 One science only will one genius fit;
61 So vast is art, so narrow human wit:
 . Pope warns, however, that critics must be careful of becoming slaves to the rules and conventions that others have developed and to not let the popularity of an author misguide a critic’s appreciation of an author’s work. Full text of the Essay; An Essay on Criticism at Project Gutenberg (much punctuation is missing) A Study Guide for the Essay, by Walter Jackson Bate. 335 In words, as fashions, the same rule will hold;
336 Alike fantastic, if too new, or old;
 . 291 Some to Conceit alone their taste confine,
292 And glitt’ring thoughts struck out at ev’ry line;
293 Pleas’d with a work where nothing’s just or fit;
294 One glaring Chaos and wild heap of wit. In this section, Pope goes through the history of poetry from the heights of Greece and Rome, through the poor poetry that was common during the middle ages, up until the past few hundred years in which poetry was beginning to be improved again. The second edition of Pope’s Shakespeare appeared in 1728, but aside from making some minor revisions to the preface, it seems that Pope had little to do with it.

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