essay on man epistle 1 audio

The subtitle of the first epistle is “Of the Nature and State of Man, with Respect to the Universe,” and this section deals with man’s place in the cosmos. Pope argues that to justify God’s ways to man must necessarily be to justify His ways in relation to all other things. God rules over the whole universe and has no special favorites, not man nor any other creature. By nature, the universe is an order of “strong connexions, nice dependencies, / Gradations just” (30-1). This order is, more specifically, a hierarchy of the “Vast chain of being” in which all of God’s creations have a place (237). Man’s place in the chain is below the angels but above birds and beasts. Any deviation from this order would result in cosmic destruction. Because the universe is so highly ordered, chance, as man understands it, does not exist. Chance is rather “direction, which thou canst not see” (290). Those things that man sees as disparate or unrelated are all “but parts of one stupendous whole, / Whose body nature is, and God the soul” (267-8). Thus every element of the universe has complete perfection according to God’s purpose. Pope concludes the first epistle with the statement “Whatever is, is right,” meaning that all is for the best and that everything happens according to God’s plan, even though man may not be able to comprehend it (294).Here is a section-by-section explanation of the first epistle:Introduction (1-16): The introduction begins with an address to Henry St. John, Lord Bolingbroke, a friend of the poet from whose fragmentary philosophical writings Pope likely drew inspiration for An Essay on Man. Pope urges his friend to “leave all meaner things” and rather embark with Pope on his quest to “vindicate the ways of God to man (1, 16).Section I (17-34): Section I argues that man can only understand the universe with regard to human systems and constructions because he is.
by ALEXANDER POPE (1688-1744) That we can judge only with regard to our own system, being ignorant of the relations of systems and things Say, first, of God above, or man below, What can we reason but from what we know? Of man, what see we, but his station here, From which to reason, or to which refer? Through worlds unnumber’d though the God be known, ‘Tis ours to trace him only in our own. He, who through vast immensity can pierce, See worlds on worlds compose one universe, Observe how system into system runs, What other planets circle other suns, What varied Being peoples every star, May tell why Heaven has made us as we are. But of this frame, the bearings, and the ties, The strong connections, nice dependencies, Gradations just, has thy pervading soul Look’d through? or can a part contain the whole? Is the great chain, that draws all to agree, And drawn supports, upheld by God or thee? Essay on Man: Index to first lines Reading by Martin Geeson for Librivox.org. Download entire audiobook here. John Watkins relates in “Characteristic Anecdotes of Men of Learning and Genius” that the young Alexander Pope was a huge fan of the poet John Dryden and offers this anecdote: “”At the age of twelve, he was introduced to the veteran bard, at Will’s coffee house, and Dryden gave him a shilling for translating the story of Pyramus and Thisbe.” The only problem with that is John Dryden died on May 12, 1700 and Pope turned 12 on May 21, 1700. Even so, many 19th century books put Dryden’s date of death on May 1, 1701. In any event, a more likely version is that while the young Pope actually never met his idol, he did catch a glimpse of him near Will’s coffee house once. How big of a deal is it whether he was 11 or 12?.
Alexander POPE (1688 - 1744) Pope’s Essay on Man, a masterpiece of concise summary in itself, can fairly be summed up as an optimistic enquiry into mankind’s place in the vast Chain of Being. Each of the poem’s four Epistles takes a different perspective, presenting Man in relation to the universe, as individual, in society and, finally, tracing his prospects for achieving the goal of happiness. In choosing stately rhyming couplets to explore his theme, Pope sometimes becomes obscure through compressing his language overmuch. By and large, the work is a triumphant exercise in philosophical poetry, communicating its broad and commonplace truths in superbly balanced phrases which remind us that Pope, alas, is one of the most quoted but least read writers in English: “Hope springs eternal in the human breast: Man never is, but always To be Blest.” (Summary by Martin Geeson) Genre(s): General Fiction, Poetry, *Non-fiction Language: English.
Skip to main content Published September 17, 2009 Usage Public Domain Topics librivox, literature, audiobook, poetry, philosophy LibriVox recording of An Essay on Man, by Alexander Pope. Read by Martin Gleeson. Pope’s Essay on Man, a masterpiece of concise summary in itself, can fairly be summed up as an optimistic enquiry into mankind’s place in the vast Chain of Being. Each of the poem’s four Epistles takes a different perspective, presenting Man in relation to the universe, as individual, in society and, finally, tracing his prospects for achieving the goal of happiness. In choosing stately rhyming couplets to explore his theme, Pope sometimes becomes obscure through compressing his language overmuch. By and large, the work is a triumphant exercise in philosophical poetry, communicating its broad and commonplace truths in superbly balanced phrases which remind us that Pope, alas, is one of the most quoted but least read writers in English: “Hope springs eternal in the human breast: Man never is, but always To be Blest.” (Summary by Martin Geeson) For further information, including links to online text, reader information, RSS feeds, CD cover or other formats (if available), please go to the LibriVox catalog page for this recording. For more free audio books or to become a volunteer reader, visit LibriVox.org. Download M4B (50MB) Source Librivox recording of a public-domain textRun time 1:47:52 comment Reviews Reviewer: Joseph A. Marcus - favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite - March 20, 2011 Subject: Geeson reads Pope superbly! Martin Geeson, who has contributed his time and talents in enormous measure to Librivox projects, does an excellent job narrating Pope's An Essay on Man. He reads with great clarity, precision, accuracy and sensitivity — neither monotonous nor melodramatic, with perfect pronunciation, enunciation and phrasing indicative of an obviously.
Don't forget to hit the Like and Subscribe videos to make sure you receive notifications about upcoming Literature, Grammar, Reading, Writing, and World History lessons from MrBrayman.Info.In this lesson, I read Alexander Pope's Essay on Man, Epistle I. I posted this lesson for students who need extra support in reading this challenging and very rewarding poem.