photo by Mateo Krossler
Hello Everyone! Currently, I am taking a Restoration-era (17th century) English literature class, and I wanted to share
some of my scribblings. Originally,this was a post in a group discussion. As you read my comments on historic literature,
they may provide an opportunity for discussion and thought
wherever you are sitting or standing.
Emily Winslow Cox
Dr. Denise Crews
ENGL 348
24 January 2025
An Essay on More than Man
Alexander Pope's piece entitled ''An Essay on Man" actually is not only about man. A significant theme in Pope's composition is man's relationship with God. One would not be surprised reading this to learn that Pope had been exposed to Scripture. His poetry connects with concepts from Psalm 8 and the book of Job in a narrative that suggests that descent is the way to ascend.
Pope's poem suggests, as does psalm 85, that people are above the oxen, yet he also brings the idea of a way that people may be compared with oxen, despite these creatures serving man.
This is a paradox...the livestock are beneath people's feet, yet they teach us, and through learning in humility that we have something in common with beasts of the field, we may become more prepared to descend to heaven through the power and mercy of another than ourselves. It is in descent that we ascend, and in submission that we reign. Like the account of Job, Pope's piece features the concept of man asking God for answers, and being put in silent awe by the greater wisdom and might of God. Paradoxically, when people charge God with making a mistake, it is by God's own standard that they are doing that.
Pope states,
"Cease then, nor order imperfection name:
Our proper bliss depends on what we blame."
"When the proud steed shall know why man restrains
His fiery course, or drives him o'er the plains:
When the dull ox, why now he breaks the clod,
Is now a victim, and now Egypt's God:
Then shall man's pride and dullness comprehend .." (Pope).
Isaiah replies,
"Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching for his understanding (King James Version)."
Works Cited.
King James Version of the Bible. https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Isaiah-Chapter-40/. Accessed 24 January 2025.
Pope, Alexander. Essay on Man: Epistle 1. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44899/an-essay-on-man-epistle-i, accessed 14 January 2025.
Note: for clarity I want to share that I believe that it is necessary to have faith given by God, which is of Jesus Christ, for salvation, and that no one who claims to have faith but who ultimately rejects Jesus as Lord is really saved - those who have faith will have fellowship with the Triune God: Father, Son, and Spirit. This topic is relevant to our reading.
https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/search.php?hs=1&q=faith
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