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were among other critics: Rymer, who had the strongest critique said, "till of late years
England was as free from critics as it is from wolves...they who are least acquainted with the game are aptest to bark at everything that comes in their way."; Swift's statement concentrated on critics who were
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53:(1688–1744), published in 1711. It is the source of the famous quotations "To err is human; to forgive, divine", "A little learning is a dang'rous thing" (frequently misquoted as "A little knowledge is a dang'rous thing"), and "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread".
251:. This is a testament to his belief that the "Imitation of the ancients" is the ultimate standard for taste. Pope also says, "True Ease in Writing comes from Art, not Chance,/ As those move easiest who have learn'd to dance" (362–363), meaning poets are made, not born.
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of satire, it is a verse essay primarily concerned with how writers and critics behave in the new literary commerce of Pope's contemporary age. The poem covers a range of good criticism and advice, and represents many of the chief literary ideals of Pope's age.
341:
The phrase "fools rush in where angels fear to tread" from Part III (line 625) has become part of the popular lexicon, and has been used for and in various works.
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476:, Dudley—an angel—at one point says to the bishop, "Angels rush in where fools fear to tread," playing on this phrase (while disrupting its
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The verse "essay" was not an uncommon form in eighteenth-century poetry, deriving ultimately from classical forebears including Horace's
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in 1707. It was first published in May 1711. Many of the poem's ideas had existed in prose form since at least 1706. Composed in
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damned "as barbarous as a judge who should take up a resolution to hang all men that came before him upon trial."
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19:"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread" and "a little learning" redirect here. For other uses, see
356:, who is mentioned mockingly in the work. Consequently, Dennis also appears in Pope's later satire,
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Pope contends in the poem's opening couplets that bad criticism does greater harm than bad writing:
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Pope delineates common faults of poets, e.g., settling for easy and clichéd rhymes:
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is one of the first major poems written by the
English writer
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Throughout the poem, Pope refers to ancient writers such as
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also gives this famous line (towards the end of Part II):
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The first fragmentary drafts of the work were written in
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The
Cambridge Introduction to Eighteenth-Century Poetry
559:. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 311–312.
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118:But, of the two, less dang'rous is th' Offence,
734:Peri Bathous, Or the Art of Sinking in Poetry
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180:And ten low Words oft creep in one dull Line,
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258:concludes with a reference to Pope himself.
216:The Reader's threaten'd (not in vain) with
212:Crystal Streams with pleasing Murmurs creep
140:Ten Censure wrong for one who Writes amiss;
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298:This is in reference to the spring in the
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352:was famously and fiercely attacked by
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182:While they ring round the same
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16:English poem by Alexander Pope
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280:Drink deep, or taste not the
302:in Macedonia, sacred to the
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653:public domain audiobook at
526:The Poems of Alexander Pope
269:includes a famous couplet:
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523:(1963). Butt, John (ed.).
200:the cooling Western Breeze
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206:whispers thro' the Trees
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310:is a dangerous thing".
635:A Study Guide for the
501:Alexander Pope: A Life
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767:An Essay on Criticism
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783:The Rape of the Lock
198:Where-e'er you find
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82:Structure and themes
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160:makes many more in
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398:Mack 1985, p. 177.
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345:Critical reception
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807:Eloisa to Abelard
628:Project Gutenberg
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470:In the 1947 film
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834:The Dunciad
359:The Dunciad
354:John Dennis
265:Part II of
146:might once
89:Ars Poetica
57:Composition
958:1711 poems
942:Categories
536:0300003404
488:References
322:To Err is
188:With sure
108:Appear in
875:Popeswood
852:(1731–35)
759:Pastorals
545:855720858
480:pattern).
308:knowledge
241:Aristotle
192:of still
170:lines 1–8
880:Binfield
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817:" (1717)
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736:" (1727)
655:LibriVox
497:(1985).
478:metrical
336:line 525
334:—
291:—
249:Longinus
224:—
168:—
122:Patience
63:Abberley
868:Related
822:Messiah
775:Messiah
612:at the
575:2341106
283:Pierian
190:Returns
148:himself
114:Judging
110:Writing
915:People
860:(1735)
810:(1717)
802:(1715)
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709:(1717)
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328:Divine
285:Spring
245:Horace
233:Virgil
112:or in
27:, and
698:Plays
637:Essay
377:Notes
324:Human
315:Essay
304:Muses
256:Essay
237:Homer
218:Sleep
162:Prose
158:Verse
126:Sense
588:ISBN
571:OCLC
561:ISBN
541:OCLC
531:ISBN
507:ISBN
368:and
313:The
247:and
152:Now
144:Fool
136:this
132:that
116:ill;
626:at
210:If
156:in
154:One
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
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