Alexander Pope’s An Essay on Man, Moral Essays and Satires is philosophical poetry in heroic couplets. It considers humanity’s place in the universe, reason, virtue, society and moral conduct. Its polished verse and wit make these reflections engaging to hear as an introduction to eighteenth-century English poetry.
For teachers and schools: paste the code into your site or blog.
Cover illustration generated by AI.
Text source: gutenberg.org · The work is in the public domain.
Opening of the book
Essay on Man, by Alexander Pope
An Essay on Man.
moral essays and satires
BΏ
ALEXANDER POPE.
CASSELL & COMPANY, LƗƽƗǵŧŠ:
london, paris & melbourne.
1891.
INTRODUCTION.
Pope’s life as a writer falls into three periods, answering fairly enough to the three reigns in which he worked. Under Queen Anne he was an original poet, but made little money by his verses; under George I. he was chiefly a translator, and made much money by satisfying the
French-classical taste with versions of the “Iliad” and “Odyssey.”
Under George I. he also edited Shakespeare, but with little profit to himself; for Shakespeare was but a Philistine in the eyes of the
Readnara
