Essay On Criticism

 

  The Bright Brig ht Way Selecon Sele con of o f Poetry 1  st secondary

From From the the Essay Essay on on Criticism Criticism Alexander Alexander Pope Pope 1. Th The e p poe oett : Alexander Pope was born in London and from the age of twelve he was moved by the ambition to write a great heroic poem. He was influenced by the great poets preceded him. He wrote two long poems: the Essay on Criticism and the Essay in Man and they attracted a great deal of attention and made him famous throughout Europe.

2. Th The e p poe oem m :

Nature to all things fix'd the Limits fit, And wisely curb'd proud Man's pretending Wit:  As on the Land while here the Ocean gains, n other !arts it lea"es wide sandy !lains# $hus in the %oul while Memory pre"ails, $he solid !ow'r of &nderstanding fails# Where eams of warm magination play, $he Memory's soft (igures melt away) One %cience only will one *enius fit# %o "ast is Art, so narrow +uman Wit# Not only bounded to peculiar Arts, ut oft in those, confin'd to single !arts) Lie -ings we lose the .on/uests gain'd before, y "ain Ambition still to mae them more:  0ach might his se"'ral !ro"ince well command, Wou'd all but stoop to what they understand)

3.

 Introduction :

English   An Essay on Criticis Criticism  m  was  was the first major poem written by the English writer Aleander !ope "#$%%&#'((). !ope "#$%%&#'((). However* despite the title* the poem is not as much an original analysis as it is a compilation of !ope+s various literary opinions. ,t is a poem in which !ope attempts to lay down in verse the rules of +good+ art and +good+ criticism. Mr Wael Salama | Dekernes Langage Schools

 

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  The Bright Brig ht Way Selecon Sele con of o f Poetry 1  st secondary

Nature to all things fix'd the Limits fit, And wisely curb'd proud Man's pretending Wit:  As on the Land while here the Ocean gains, n other !arts it lea"es wide sandy !lains# $hus in the %oul while Memory pre"ails, $he solid !ow'r of &nderstanding fails# Where eams of warm magination play, $he Memory's soft (igures melt away) One %cience only will one *enius fit# %o "ast is Art, so narrow +uman Wit# Not only bounded to peculiar Arts, ut oft in those, confin'd to single !arts) Lie -ings we lose the .on/uests gain'd before, y "ain Ambition still to mae them more:  0ach might his se"'ral !ro"ince well command, Wou'd all but stoop to what they understand) a) vo voca cabu bula lary ry :  & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & &

 fix'd  : defined limits  : boundaries  fit  : suitable wisely  : with wisdom curb'd  : limited* controlled  pretending wi wit  t  : pretending to have intelligence and -now more gains  : wins* ta-es grounds  plains  : areas of flat* open land thus  : so soul  : mind* spirit of a person  prevails  : wins* is stronger genius  : intelligence  fit  : suit vast  : great* large bounded  : limited  peculiar  : special oft  : often conquests  : victories  province  : -ingdom* area of specialiation command  : govern stoop  : remain with !"

 paraphrase   ::

Mr Wael Salama | Dekernes Langage Schools

 

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  The Bright Brig ht Way Selecon Sele con of o f Poetry 1  st secondary

Nature to all things fix'd the Limits fit, And wisely curb'd proud Man's pretending Wit:  As on the Land while here the Ocean gains, n other !arts it lea"es wide sandy !lains# &  fix'd 

: defined

&&  fit  limits  :: boundaries suitable & wisely  : with wisdom & curb'd  : limited* controlled &  pretending wi wit  t  : pretending to have intelligence and -now more & gains  : wins* ta-es grounds &  plains  : areas of flat* open land !ope declares that /ature has defined the correct limits of everything without needing the intelligence of man to help her. /ature designed the ocean so that it eats into the sand in some places and leaves wide sandy beaches in others. (C) figures of speech   :: & &

Alliteration: : Nature to all th i  i ngs ngs f i  ix'd x   'd the L i  i mits mits f i  i t, t, ersonification   : As on the Land while here the Ocean gains ,

$hus in the %oul while Memory pre"ails, $he solid !ow'r of &nderstanding fails# Where eams of warm magination play, $he Memory's soft (igures melt away) As for man: he cannot understand events and feelings while his memory of them is still strong. 0ut* on the other hand* when time passes and his imagination begins to interfere with his memories* the reality of those memories slips away. (C) figures of speech   :: metaphor:  

: Where !eams  of  of warm magination play, $he Memory's soft (igures melt away"

One %cience only will one *enius fit# %o "ast is Art, so narrow +uman Wit# Mr Wael Salama | Dekernes Langage Schools

 

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  The Bright Brig ht Way Selecon Sele con of o f Poetry 1  st secondary

Not only bounded to peculiar Arts, ut oft in those, confin'd to single !arts) & genius  &  fit  & vast  & bounded 

: : : :

intelligence suit great* large limited

&  peculiar  & confined 

: particular : limited

Art and -nowledge are vast and man+s intelligence is limited. Most people can do well in only one thing. 1ometimes* indeed* they ecel in only one part of one thing. Lie -ings we lose the .on/uests gain'd before, y "ain Ambition still to mae them more:  0ach might his se"'ral !ro"ince well command, Wou'd all but stoop to what they understand) & conquests  &  province  & command  & stoop 

: : : :

victories -ingdom* area of specialiation govern remain with

Man should be content to do the things he does well. 2ften* however* li-e -ings fighting wars to etend their territory and so losing their own country* we lose what we have by trying to ma-e it more. ,f each person were to stic- to that which he -nows best he would be able to master it completely. (#) Commentary : #. 3he whole po poem em is written written in heroic couplets4 the form whic which h !ope wor-ed in most and which he polished and brought to perfection. 3he heroic couplet consists of two rhyming lines of verse. ,t is usually in iambic pentameter. 3he rhyme scheme of this etract is  A A* 0 0* C C* 5 5* A A* E E* 6 6* 7 7. A heroic couplet usually carries complete sense within itself even though it connects to the rest of the poem4 it epresses a complete idea. 3his is one reason why many of !ope+s couplets have become -nown as +epigrams+* i.e. 8sayings rather li-e proverbs in that they are a concise and clever epression of a general truth* e.g.: Lie ings we lose the con/uests gained before, y "ain ambition still to mae them more) Mr Wael Salama | Dekernes Langage Schools

 

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  The Bright Brig ht Way Selecon Sele con of o f Poetry 1  st secondary

9. 3he opening li lines nes of the pas passage sage embo embody dy !ope+s b belief elief in the es essential sential  3ightness and wisdom of /ature. /ature. ,n another poem* he proclaim proclaims s that: . He continues thr through ough severa severall line to deve develop lop and re&e re&epress press o one ne idea4 the central idea in the passage: each man would do well to stic- to what he -nows. (. !ope uses visual ima images ges such a as s the ima image ge of the o ocean cean eat eating ing into the land on the one hand and leaving wide sandy beaches on the other4 or that of the -ing trying to con;uer new lands. 0ut he ma-es no startlingly original use of poetic figures. 3here is a metaphor in lines ' and % where he spea-s of the +imagination+ +imagination+ as a +sun+ with +warm beams+ and of the +memories+ as wa figures +melting+ away.