A Essay on Man
Written by Alexander Pope
Narrated by LibriVox Community
4/5
()
About this audiobook
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)
Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope (1688-1744) was an English poet. Born in London to a family of Catholics who were later expelled from the city during a period of religious persecution, Pope was largely self-educated, and struggled with numerous illnesses from a young age. At 23, he wrote the discursive poem An Essay on Criticism (1711), a manifesto on the art of poetry which gained him the admiration and acclaim of influential critics and writers of his day. His most famous poem, The Rape of the Lock (1712), is a mock epic which critiques aristocratic English society while showcasing Pope’s mastery of poetic form, particularly the use of the heroic couplet. Pope produced highly acclaimed translations of the Iliad and Odyssey, which transformed Homer’s ancient Greek dactylic hexameter into a contemporary rhyming English verse. His work The Dunciad (1728-1743), originally published anonymously in Dublin, is a satirical poem which lampoons English literary society and criticizes the moral and intellectual decay of British life. Second only to Shakespeare for the frequency with which he is quoted, Alexander Pope succumbed to his illnesses at the age of 56 while at the height of his fame and productivity.
More audiobooks from Alexander Pope
The Rape of the Lock Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fifty Shades of the British Countryside: 50 of the best poems about the British countryside Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Poetry of Alexander Pope Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Poetry of July Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related authors
Related to A Essay on Man
Related audiobooks
Essay on Criticism Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOn the Nature of Things (Watson translation) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsApology Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Modest Proposal and Other Writings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Metamorphosis (version 2) Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Republic (version 2) Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Areopagitica Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Hunchback of Notre Dame Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Gulliver's Travels Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hamlet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Faust I Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Candide Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Modest Proposal Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Canterbury Tales Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Iliad (Pope Translation) Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Divine Comedy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Aeneid Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Notes from the Underground Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Time Machine Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Utopia (Burnet translation) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5War and Peace Vol. 1 (Dole Translation) Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Waste Land Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Oliver Twist Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Faerie Queene (Librovox) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDavid Copperfield Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Odyssey Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Comedy of Errors Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Anna Karenina (Dole translation) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Poetry For You
The Strength In Our Scars Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Rumi's Little Book of Life: The Garden of the Soul, the Heart, and the Spirit Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Poetry Unbound: 50 Poems to Open Your World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Raven Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pretty Boys Are Poisonous: Poems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good Poems: Selected and Introduced by Garrison Keillor Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Inferno of Dante Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Classic Hundred Poems: All-Time Favorites Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tao Te Ching: A New English Version Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Prophet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Heart Talk: Poetic Wisdom for a Better Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I Would Leave Me If I Could.: A Collection of Poetry Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Sun and Her Flowers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Poetry of Walt Whitman Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Iliad: A New Translation by Caroline Alexander Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Inferno Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Milk and Honey Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Home Body Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beowulf Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beowulf: Translated by Seamus Heaney Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Goldenrod: Poems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Poems of T.S. Eliot Read by Jeremy Irons Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5W. B. Yeats: Poems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Leaves of Grass: 1855 Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Promises of Gold Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Gilgamesh: A New English Version Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Metamorphoses Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Odyssey: The Fitzgerald Translation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beowulf Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rime of the Ancient Mariner: Classic Tales Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for A Essay on Man
2 ratings0 reviews