An Essay on Man

E166627

An Essay on Man is a philosophical poem by Alexander Pope that explores human nature, the order of the universe, and humanity’s place within it in the form of verse epistles.

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An Essay on Man canonical 2

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Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf didactic poem
philosophical poem
poem
verse epistle
addressesTopic Providence
happiness
human limitations
human reason
self-knowledge
social order
virtue
author Alexander Pope
centralTheme human nature
humanity’s place in the universe
the Great Chain of Being
the order of the universe
theodicy
countryOfOrigin Great Britain
criticizedBy Jean-Jacques Rousseau
famousLine Know then thyself, presume not God to scan
Whatever is, is right
firstEpistleTitle Of the Nature and State of Man, with Respect to the Universe
form heroic couplets
fourthEpistleTitle Of the Nature and State of Man, with Respect to Happiness
genre didactic poetry
philosophical poetry
influenced Enlightenment thought
Voltaire
intendedAsPartOf larger system of ethics in verse
language English
literaryDevice didactic exposition
heroic couplet
literaryForm verse epistles
literaryMovement Neoclassicism
literaryPeriod Augustan literature
meter iambic pentameter
notableConcept the Great Chain of Being
surface form: Great Chain of Being

proper study of mankind is man
submission to Providence
numberOfEpistles 4
originalPublicationDate 1733
1734
philosophicalInfluence Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
Stoicism
natural theology
secondEpistleTitle Of the Nature and State of Man, with Respect to the Universe
surface form: Of the Nature and State of Man, with Respect to Himself, as an Individual
setting cosmic scale
thirdEpistleTitle Of the Nature and State of Man, with Respect to Society

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Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Alexander Pope notableWork An Essay on Man