An Essay on Man

During the Neoclassical age in literature, poets imitated the polished refinement of classical writers such as Horace, Virgil, and Ovid. There was a greater focus on the craft of poetry and writing, as opposed to its originality or innovation. In this environment, Pope rose to literary fame through his couplets, satire, and ability to combine “sound” and “sense.” He famously wrote in his “Essay on Criticism” that the way verse sounds and its meaning should be intertwined: “The sound must seem an echo to the sense.” (Pope, Alexander. “Essay on Criticism.” Poetryfoundation.org.) In “An Essay on Man,” Pope combines his meditations and sonic qualities to develop a unified whole.

In his introduction to “An Essay on Man,” which he titled “The Design,” Pope explains that he chose to write his philosophy in verse form because poetry, and especially rhyming poetry, is more easily remembered. He also found that he was able to express his ideas more concisely in couplets than in prose, or sentence form. He says that even the design of the poem is in accordance with the chain of being, as he sought to balance substance with beauty, insight with pleasure.