Man the First Epistle of Alexander Pope's Term Paper

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Man

The first Epistle of Alexander Pope's "An Essay on Man" concerns life itself, with regard to the universe. According to the first lines of the poem, life is apparently meaningless. We are born, live and die. It is an eternal cycle with no change.

Yet there is the possibility of creating meaning. According to Pope, this can be done with the human faculty of reason:

Say first, of God above, or man below,

What can we reason, but from what we know?

Of man what see we, but his station here,

From which to reason, or to which refer?

Through worlds unnumber'd though the God be known,

Tis ours to trace him only in our own.

He, who through vast immensity can pierce,

See worlds on worlds compose one universe," (Epistle I; Line 17-24).

Yet man has reason to make meaning of life. Man's task is to use reason in order to understand the world and God. In this way reason is an aid to make meaning of life.

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In Epistle II, concerning the self, Pope distinguishes between passion and reason as the ruling forces of man. Here it is emphasized that the wildness of passion is curbed by reason. Man should use reason as a force to not let passion get out of hand. However, passion is also an important force, and reason should not be allowed to eclipse it.

Pope's final word is that happiness is a balance between passion, reason and instinct. Reason should be used in degrees to allow man to live a socially acceptable life, and to be civilized while making meaning of life.

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