An Essay on Man 449-450By: Maddy Lambert, Luke Gallagher and

Ryan Peplowski

The Poem Excerpt Know, then, thyself, presume not God to

scan;The proper study of mankind is man.

Placed 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 reasoning but to err;Alike in ignorance, his reason such,

Whether he thinks too little, or too much:Chaos of thought and passion, all

confused;Still by himself abused, or disabused;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!

Introduction

● Alexander Pope● Philosophical poem containing 1,304 lines● The poem focuses on “man”, the whole

human race, and the entire universe as well.● Reflects ideas from Plato, Aristotle, St.

Thomas Aquinas, Dante, Erasmus, Bacon, Shakespeare, and Milton.

Purpose of the Text

● Study humanity, not god● Demonstrates the good vs. bad sides of

people● Tries to break down our thought process, our

actions,and understand our struggles● Doesn’t focus on the religious side

Meaning and Tone

● The author enhances the meaning and interpretation through antithesis.

● ex. “A being darkly wise, and rudely great” (Alexander Pope)

● The antithesis and metaphors create a tone and mood for the text

● Pope is trying to show the greatness and flaws people have by contradicting each idea.

Deeper Meaning 1. “With too much knowledge for the

sceptic side,With too much weakness for the stoic’s

pride,” 2. “Born but to die, and reasoning but to err;” 3. “Great lord of all things, yet a prey to all;” 4. “Alike in ignorance, his reason such,Whether he thinks too little, or too much:”

1. Our pursuit of knowledge has rendered imagination and pursuit of further knowledge useless; general weakness (i.e. physical and or mental) has made us prone to whining and complaining

2. We begin and we end, we try but to fail.

3. In some ways we are above all other creatures, yet in other ways we are at the bottom.

4. Ignorance and over-contemplation are common traits in human culture and humanity as a whole.

“this isthmus of a middle state”

18th Century Restoration Period

● King Charles II restored to throne-1660● Increased commercial/economic prosperity, literacy● Individualism● Empiricism ● Skepticism● England, Wales, Scotland united under 1707 Act of

Union

Author’s Craft

● Poetic essay- Written essay with the use of rhyming and poetry

● Use of Epistles(letters) to tell the essay segment by segment

● Epistles written as poems using figurative language.

Figurative Language

● Antithesis- Each line differentiated● Metaphors- Some lines portrayed mankind in

certain ways

● Rhyming- Each line rhymed in pairs

Quiz

● Who is one person that Alexander Pope reflects ideas from?

● Describe the “isthmus of a middle state”.● Why does Pope use epistles?