Of the Nature and State of Man, with Respect to the Universe
E645646
"Of the Nature and State of Man, with Respect to the Universe" is the first epistle of Alexander Pope’s philosophical poem *An Essay on Man*, exploring humanity’s place and role within the cosmic order.
Observed surface forms (1)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Of the Nature and State of Man, with Respect to Himself, as an Individual | 1 |
Statements (44)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
philosophical poem
ⓘ
poem epistle ⓘ |
| addressesQuestion |
how man should understand his position in the cosmic order
ⓘ
the relationship between man and God ⓘ the relationship between man and the universe ⓘ |
| aim | to justify the ways of God to man ⓘ |
| author | Alexander Pope NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| centralConcept |
acceptance of human limitations
ⓘ
order and harmony in creation ⓘ submission to divine providence ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin | Great Britain NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| famousLine | Whatever is, is right ⓘ |
| form | verse epistle ⓘ |
| genre |
didactic poetry
ⓘ
philosophical poetry ⓘ |
| historicalContext | early 18th-century British Enlightenment thought ⓘ |
| influencedBy |
Christian theology
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Leibnizian optimism NERFINISHED ⓘ Stoic philosophy ⓘ |
| language | English ⓘ |
| literaryDevice |
didactic address to mankind
ⓘ
use of antithesis ⓘ use of rhetorical questions ⓘ |
| literaryMovement | Neoclassicism NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| literaryPeriod | Augustan literature NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| mainTheme |
humanity’s place in the universe
ⓘ
the Great Chain of Being NERFINISHED ⓘ the cosmic order ⓘ the limits of human understanding ⓘ |
| meter | heroic couplets ⓘ |
| narrativePerspective | didactic, impersonal speaker addressing mankind ⓘ |
| partOf | An Essay on Man NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| partOfSeries | four-epistle structure of An Essay on Man ⓘ |
| philosophicalOrientation |
optimistic rationalism
ⓘ
theodicy ⓘ |
| positionInSeries | first epistle of An Essay on Man NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| relatedWork |
Of the Nature and State of Man, with Respect to Happiness
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Of the Nature and State of Man, with Respect to Himself as an Individual NERFINISHED ⓘ Of the Nature and State of Man, with Respect to Society NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| rhymeScheme | rhymed iambic pentameter couplets ⓘ |
| subjectMatter |
the proper attitude of man toward divine providence
ⓘ
the relation of human beings to the larger universe ⓘ the scale of creation from man to God ⓘ |
| workContainedIn | collected editions of Alexander Pope’s poems ⓘ |
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
An Essay on Man
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firstEpistleTitle
→
Of the Nature and State of Man, with Respect to the Universe
ⓘ
An Essay on Man
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secondEpistleTitle
→
Of the Nature and State of Man, with Respect to the Universe
ⓘ
this entity surface form:
Of the Nature and State of Man, with Respect to Himself, as an Individual