This poem is an extract from
Pope’s famous poem ‘Essay on Man’. In these lines, the poet tries to define a man.
The poet argues in the opening lines that human beings should learn to look at
themselves instead of trying to scan God. The proper study of mankind is the man
himself. Pope wants to say that man has to learn about his own nature, powers,
limitations and weaknesses.
Man is a curious paradox. He is placed between divinity
and animality. He is a mixture of opposites. He is wise as well as ignorant. He
is civilized as well as rude. He is ‘darkly wise’ and ‘rudely great’. He has
much knowledge yet remains doubtful. He is full of meekness but behaves like a
stoic. He is a slave to his passions. He does not know whether he should deem
himself a god or a beast. He remains in doubt whether he prefers his mind or
his body. His instinct and impulse are not the same. He is born to die. He reasons
to err. His logic is ignorant. He thinks either too little or too much. His
reasoning is imperfect. There is much confusion in his thoughts and passions.
He is created half to rise and a half to fall. In other words, he has godly as
well as animal qualities. He is the great lord of all things yet becomes victim to
these. He is the sole judge of truth but commits endless mistakes. Truly man is ‘a
glory, jest and riddle of the world’.
In these lines, Pope has exploited his poetic craftsmanship
remarkably. He states beautifully that man is a subtle mixture of opposites and
fails to strike a balance in his thoughts and passions. Binary oppositions like
thought-passion, rise- fall, lord – prey, glory – jest, etc. make this poem
very interesting.
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