Perfection in Pope’s An Essay on Man - 1822 Words

Alexander Pope envisioned a universe perfect by definition. Every facet of this universe is designed solely for its place in the hierarchy of existence, and is in fact perfect for its particular station. This idea of perfection in completeness is encompassed in the famous concluding words of the first epistle of Pope’s An Essay on Man: â€Å"Whatever IS, is RIGHT.† This aphorism, however, belies the effort Pope took to solidify his assertion. In order to substantiate his idea of a perfectly structured universe, Pope delineates—in extremely structured and formal heroic verse—an argument positing the failure of human reason, fettered as it is by ignorance and pride, in obtaining a proper idea of man’s station in the universe. This argument flows†¦show more content†¦Instead of saying, for instance, that the world is beautiful, but we cannot notice its beauty, that what is seemingly random is in fact purposeful, that what appears to be discord is in fact harmony, that what is apparently evil in context is in fact good overall, Pope crafts lines so beautiful, purposeful, harmonic, and good as to appear perfectly representative of the same ideas just expressed: All nature is but art, unknown to thee; All chance, direction, which thou canst not see; All discord, harmony not understood; All partial evil, universal good (289-92). The structure of Pope’s poem and the perfection of each individual line for its purpose clearly parallel his vision of the universe and consequently bolster his argument. Although An Essay on Man is brilliantly organized, so are all of Pope’s other poems. This structure does not of itself prepare the reader for the poem’s dramatic final assertion or even intimate the idea of a perfect universe. To ground this assertion, Pope writes nine stanzas before his conclusion, each detailing a particular idea related to those before it and after and supporting his eventual conclusion. When viewed in light of these nine expository stanzas, Pope’s dramatic culmination is not so dramatic after all. The essenceShow MoreRelatedAlexander Pope and Christianity1360 Words   |  6 PagesC.M. The Influence of Christianity in Essay on Man Alexander Pope is an eighteenth century writer who spent most of his life suffering. He had a rare form of tuberculosis which left him in constant pain. As a result of this disease, he never grew very tall. He was only about four and a half feet tall and he also experienced migraines (Greenblatt 2714). Despite all of Pope’s impediments, he managed to write Essay on Man which portrays an extremely optimistic outlook on life. 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