An-Essay-On-Criticism

PG Second Semester CC 7 Indian and British Criticism Unit 3 Alexander Pope’s An Essay on Criticism Prepared By Dr. Chitra Jha Assistant Professor Department of English M R M College Lalbagh Darbhanga Pope's Poems and Prose Augustan Satire Known as the “Augustan age,” the first half of the eighteenth century saw an explosive rise in literary production. Due to the influence of Enlightenment thought, literary works during this period often focused on explicitly political and social themes, allowing for an increase in the production of political writings of all genres. Among the most popular genres were both moral works (sermons, essays, dialogues, etc.) and satire. Satire in particular flourished in a variety of forms: prose, poetry, drama. Some of the satires produced during this period commented on the general flaws of the human condition while others specifically critiqued certain individuals and policies. All, however, were transparent statements about the greater political and social environment of the eighteenth century. Drawing on the neoclassical impulse of the period, eighteenth-century satirists described themselves as the heirs of the Roman poets Horace and Juvenal. Horatian satire tends to take a gentle and more sympathetic approach towards the satiric subject, which it identifies as folly. Augustan examples of Horatian satire include Alexander Pope’s The Rape of the Lock (1714) and Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels (1726). By contrast Juvenalian satire identified the object of its satire as evil, launching a contemptuous invective to ridicule it. Characterized by irony and sarcasm, this satiric mode rejected humor in favor of moral outrage. Eighteenth-century examples of Juvenalian satire include Swift’s A Modest Proposal (1729) and his misogynist poems such as “A Beautiful Young Nymph Going to Bed” (1731), “The Progress of Beauty” (1719-20), and “The Lady’s Dressing Room” (1732). One of the most popular satiric modes during the Augustan period was the mock epic, a literary form that creates a burlesque of the classical epic. The satirist imports the formula characteristic of the epic—the invocation of a deity, supernatural machinery, etc.—to discuss a trivial subject. The use of classical epic devices thereby establishes an ironic contrast between the work’s structure and its content, exposing the triviality of the satirical subject. The best-known mock epics in the English language are John Dryden’s MacFlecknoe (1676), an attack on Thomas Shadwell and Pope’s The Rape of the Lock. Pope’s The Dunciad (1728, 1742) also took mock-heroic form and drew on Dryden’s satire on Shadwell to attack Lewis Theobald (1728) and, later, Colley Cibber (1742). Several like-minded Augustan satirists formed the Scriblerus Club, founded in 1712. Its members included Jonathan Swift; Alexander Pope; John Gay; John Arbuthnot; Henry St. John, Lord Bolingbroke; and Thomas Parnell. Their professed object was to satirize the abuses of learning, which led to the publication of The Memoirs of Martinus Scriblerus (1741). Both Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels and Pope’s The Dunciad grew out of projects for this group. Pope's "Essay on Criticism" is a didactic poem in heroic couplets, begun, perhaps, as early as 1705, and published, anonymously, in 1711. The poetic essay was a relatively new genre, and the "Essay" itself was Pope's most ambitious work to that time. It was in part an attempt on Pope's part to identify and refine his own positions as poet and critic, and his response to an ongoing critical debate which centered on the question of whether poetry should be "natural" or written according to predetermined "artificial" rules inherited from the classical past. The poem commences with a discussion of the rules of taste which ought to govern poetry, and which enable a critic to make sound critical judgements. In it Pope comments, too, upon the authority which ought properly to be accorded to the classical authors who dealt with the subject; and concludes (in an apparent attempt to reconcile the opinions of the advocates and opponents of rules) that the rules of the ancients are in fact identical with the rules of Nature: poetry and painting, that is, like religion and morality, actually reflect natural law. The "Essay on Criticism," then, is deliberately ambiguous: Pope seems, on the one hand, to admit that rules are necessary for the production of and criticism of poetry, but he also notes the existence of mysterious, apparently irrational qualities — "Nameless Graces," identified by terms such as "Happiness" and "Lucky Licence" — with which Nature is endowed, and which permit the true poetic genius, possessed of adequate "taste," to appear to transcend those same rules. The critic, of course, if he is to appreciate that genius, must possess similar gifts. True Art, in other words, imitates Nature, and Nature tolerates and indeed encourages felicitous irregularities which are in reality (because Nature and the physical universe are creations of God) aspects of the divine order of things which is eternally beyond human comprehension. Only God, the infinite intellect, the purely rational being, can appreciate the harmony of the universe, but the intelligent and educated critic can appreciate poetic harmonies which echo those in nature. Because his intellect and his reason are limited, however, and because his opinions are inevitably subjective, he finds it helpful or necessary to employ rules which are interpretations of the ancient principles of nature to guide him — though he should never be totally dependent upon them. We should note, in passing, that in "The Essay on Criticism" Pope is frequently concerned with "wit" — the word occurs once, on average, in every sixteen lines of the poem. What does he mean by it? Pope then proceeds to discuss the laws by which a critic should be guided — insisting, as any good poet would, that critics exist to serve poets, not to attack them. He then provides, by way of example, instances of critics who had erred in one fashion or another. What, in Pope's opinion (here as elsewhere in his work) is the deadliest critical sin — a sin which is itself a reflection of a greater sin? All of his erring critics, each in their own way, betray the same fatal flaw. The final section of the poem discusses the moral qualities and virtues inherent in the ideal critic, who is also the ideal man — and who, Pope laments, no longer exists in the degenerate world of the early eighteenth century. This essay by Pope is neoclassical in its premises; in the tradition of Horace and Boileau. Pope believes that the value of literary work depends not on its being ancient or modern, but on its being true to Nature. This truth to Nature is found in true wit. Nature is to be found both in the matter and in the manner of expression, the two being inseparable. When the poet is asked to follow Nature, he is actually asked to “stick to the usual, the ordinary, and the commonplace.” He is to portray the world as he sees it. The truth of human nature is to be found in common humanity, not in any eccentricity. Pope argued that human nature is ever the same. The proper object of imitation is the fundamental form of reality for Pope and the basic rule of art is to “follow nature” – “nature methodized. He does not negate the possibility of transgressing the rules if the basic aim of poetry is achieved and this transgression brings hope closer to the idea of the sublime. Clearly, the poet must have a strong sense of literary tradition in order to make intelligent judgments as the critic must have it too. Pope notes Virgil’s discovery that to imitate Homer is also to imitate nature. Pope says an artist imitates the nature. His nature is the combination of two elements society (human nature) and rules of classical artists-“nature is methodized”. Classical artist already discovers the natural rules and laws. Now, it is not necessary to go to nature again because to follow the classical artist is to go to the nature. So, sources of art are society and ancient artists. Pope’s primary concern in this essay is his advice mainly for critics, and secondarily for artists or poets. Pope claims that artists possess genius whereas critics possess taste (classical taste developed by classical artist). By taking the ideas of classical artists, a critic has to judge the text. Artist can’t go beyond his intention, he is limited within his desires. He should not be over ambitious and over imaginative but critics can go beyond their intention. Artist has to undergo practice, learning and experiences. Which are equally important to critics too. Pope says, “A little learning is a dangerous thing”. So, critic must not be proud. A critic if has pride, can’t take out the real essence from the text. To be good critic, one should have courage, modesty and honesty. Decorum, for Pope, is the proper balance between expression and sound of content and form and it comes under versification. Pope considers wit as the polished and decorated form of language. Style and thought should go together. Artist uses ‘heroic couplet’ (form) to express the heroic subject matter (content). Pope implies that if the artist needs to break rules and regulation, he should use poetic license. An Essay on Man (1732-4) is a philosophical piece written in Pope’s characteristic heroic couplets. It was published in segments between 1732 and 1734. Pope’s authorship was initially kept secret, and the poem was celebrated by readers as the work of a new and un - satirical poet. Pope later revealed himself to be the author.

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