¶ … Man" the Design and Epistles I and II
Alexander Pope's "Essay on Man" explores the complicated nature of man and attempts to bring a sense of understanding to the problems we face. The approach is philosophical, yet Pope proves his points successfully by explaining mankind's place in the universe and by also focusing on the responsibilities of mankind.
The most interesting aspect of Alexander Pope's "Essay on Man" is the way in which Pope frames the poem, which is a "peculiarly modern way of enframing the familiar which shifts from the immediacy of the given world to the mediation of a theoretical map of nature" (Cutting-Gray). It is this perspective that allows us to view man's circumstances in a refreshing way. In "The Design," Pope introduces us to his initial thoughts regarding the poem and how it came to be. He tells us, " I thought it more satisfactory to begin with considering Man in the abstract" (Pope). It is this abstract view that adds to the poem's significance.
Mankind is viewed as a creature of the universe that The disputes come from "studying too much such finer nerves and vessels" (Pope). Pope says, "The disputes are all upon these last, and I will venture to say, they have less sharpened the wits than the hearts of men against each other, and have diminished the practice, more than advanced the theory of morality" (Pope).
Pope also explains his reason for writing his essay as a poem. He says, "This I might have done in prose; but I chose verse, and even rhyme, for two reasons. The one will appear obvious; that principles, maxims, or precepts so written, both strike the reader more strongly at first, and are more easily retained by him afterwards: the other may seem odd, but it is true; I found I could express them more shortly this way than that much of the force as well as grace of arguments or instructions depends on their conciseness" (Pope).
Pope also presents his intention in "The Design," which is to describe ethics in a different way. An important aspect of this work is Pope's approach to reason and virtue. His desire was to present us with a system that allowed both to have potential in the world instead of placing one as more important as the other. Pope also struggles with morality and mankind's fall from grace in Epistles I and II. As a result of the fall, man must find salvation. The poem considers the social, ethical, philosophical points-of-view to accomplish this task.
From this premise, he sets forth to work through a process that tests the ideas of man and calls into question their purity and value. According to M.H. Abrams, the essay gives "memorable expression to ideas about the nature of the universe and man's place in it, ideas upon which eighteenth-century optimism rested" (Abrams 2263). Additionally, he says that it is Pope's intention to "vindicate the ways of God to man" (2263). In addition, McLaverty explains, "Pope's aim was to restrict the role of reason while leaving persons free and capable of virtue. He was determined to avoid a system which made reason good and self-love bad; both had potential for good within a providential scheme" (McLaverty). These ideas help us understand Pope's frame of reference and his intentions with his essay.
In Epistle I, the poet acknowledges a definite plan for mankind in the universe. He is quick to point out that just because we are unable to comprehend the complexities of the entire universe, we should not doubt that things are happening as they should. For example, mankind is certainly aware that superior beings exist in the universe yet we cannot completely comprehend them. At this point in the poem, the poet says, "And all the question (wrangle e'er so long)/Is only this, if God has plac'd him wrong?" (I.49-50). This statement essentially tells us to have faith in God rather than rely on our own understanding when it comes to complex issues of the universe. We must simply move keeping in mind that:
So man, who here seems principal alone,
Perhaps acts second to some sphere unknown,
Touches some wheel, or verges to some goal;
Tis but a part we see, and not a whole. (I.57- 60)
The poet is not only asking us to accept our place in the universe but he is also asking us to realize that we are simply a part of everything that goes on in the universe.
The poet also suggests that we put a certain amount of faith in how the universe had been structured. He says, "The gen'ral order, since the whole began,/Is kept in nature, and is kept in...
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