Skip to main content

Alexander Pope's "ESSAY ON MAN ; EPISTLE II OF THE NATURE AND STATE OF MAN WITH RESPECT TO HIMSELF, AS AN INDIVIDUAL": Rhetoric Constituted

 EPISTLE II
OF THE NATURE AND STATE OF MAN
WITH RESPECT TO HIMSELF, AS AN INDIVIDUAL

KNOW then thyself, presume not God to scan,
The proper study of mankind is man.
Plac’d on this isthmus of a middle state,
A being darkly wise, and rudely great:
With too much knowledge for the sceptic side,
With too much weakness for the Stoic’s pride,
He hangs between; in doubt to act, or rest;
In doubt to deem himself a God, or beast;
In doubt his mind or body to prefer;
Born but to die, and reas’ning but to err;
Alike in ignorance, his reason such,
Whether he thinks too little or too much:
Chaos of thought and passion, all confus’d;
Still by himself abus’d or disabus’d;
Created half to rise, and half to fall;
Great lord of all things, yet a prey to all;
Sole judge of truth, in endless error hurl’d:
The glory, jest, and riddle of the world!

    Know then thyself , presume not God to scan;

This is a case of Antithesis because both parts of the statement which appear in balanced form, reinforce the idea that the knowledge of man is to be achieved by the person himself by looking into himself .

    This is also a case of  Hyperbaton . The normal word order should have been 'don’t presume God to scan' rather than ‘presume not God to scan’ .

    The proper study of mankind is Man .

   This is a case of Epigram . At first glance it would appear that knowledge of entire mankind may be gleaned  by observing a single man , But on thinking more deeply , we realize that the commonest and the deepest qualities of mankind --- such as emotion, ambition,   revenge-fulness exist in every man.

    ‘Placed on this isthmus of a middle state’.

This is a case of Metaphor .The position has been compared to the Geographical narrow piece of land which joins two larger land masses. The comparison is not made explicit.

    Born but to die, and reasoning but to err;

This is a case of Antithesis since the balanced structure reinforces same idea of man being subject to many weaknesses, Even though he takes birth he has to inevitable die and even if he tries to reason he is almost certain to make errors.

    ‘Created half to rise and half to fall’.

    This is a case of Antithesis. The two balanced structures reinforce the same idea of man not achieving polar extremes.

He is middle kind of creature.He rises for the first half the first period of time, and fails during the second half of time.

    ‘Great lord of all things, yet a pray to all’

This is a case of Epigram. The statement should appear to be absurd because man who is the lord of nature can hardly be a ‘prey’ yet on thinking more deeply, we realize that although man may have subjugated some aspects of nature, he is still a victim of fortune as well as of other unpredictable aspects of nature such as floods and drought.

    ‘Sole judge of truth, in endless error hurled’.

    This is a case of Epigram. A judge of truth, especially it is he in the only judge of truth is unlikely to be full of errors. Therefore this statement would appear to be absurd. But on thinking more deeply we realize that the nature of man is such that his reasoning is often fallacious as even the philosopher David Hume is shown.

    “The glory, jest and riddle of the world”

This is a case of Anti-climax, since there is a sudden fall from ‘glory’, ‘riddle’ and ‘jest’.  

   Ardhendu De 

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Drop any query, suggestion or comment here.

Other Fat Writing

Popular posts from this blog

Dr. West’s New Method of Teaching English :Its Merits and Demerits

                 D r. Michael Philip West (1888–1973) conducted an extensive research and experiments on the problems of teaching English as a foreign language in India at the time of British rule . Read More Teaching English The new method is the outcome of his research. It stood as a reaction against the Direct Method. Going into more details, when Dr. West came to visit rural Bengal students (1913- 19) en route teaching job at Teachers’ Training College  at Dhaka, West's conclusions about English learning issues in Bengal, India were as follows: 👉Students spent about 10 hours a week on English study with extremely poor results. 👉Only a minority reached the Matriculation class due to health or financial reasons. Read More  Teaching English 👉Even in the Matriculation class, students lacked real reading ability, speaking fluency, and writing proficiency in English. 👉A 1919 Calcutta University...
6 comments
Read more

Dr. Samuel Johnson's "Preface to Shakespeare": Points to Remember

E ighteenth-century writer Samuel Johnson ((1709-1784) is one of the most significant figures in English literature. His fame is due in part to a widely read biography of him, written by his friend James Boswell and published in 1791. Although probably best known for compiling his celebrated dictionary, Johnson was an extremely prolific writer who worked in a variety of fields and forms. Chief Critical Approaches of Dr. Johnson are: Johnson tried teaching and later organized a school in Lichfield. His educational ventures were not successful, however, although one of his students, David Garrick, later famous as an actor, became a lifelong friend.
40 comments
Read more

Kinds of Poetry: Narrative, Lyric, and Dramatic

Introduction: Poetry is a form of literary expression that has captivated readers and listeners for centuries. It allows poets to convey their thoughts, emotions, and experiences in a condensed and artistic manner. While there are countless poetic forms and styles, poetry can be broadly categorized into three main kinds: Narrative, Lyric, and Dramatic. Each of these kinds has distinct characteristics, purposes, and examples that showcase the rich diversity within the world of poetry. Kinds of poetry :  There are three great kinds of poetic writing: Narrative, Lyric, and Dramatic. Narrative poetry: Narrative poetry tells a story with a plot, characters, and a setting. It  is one of the oldest and most straightforward forms of poetry. It tells a story, often in a chronological sequence, using poetic devices to create a vivid and engaging narrative. Some key points about narrative poetry include: Storytelling: Narrative poetry focuses on storytelling, using poetic language to c...
1 comment
Read more