All Nature is but Art, unknown to thee;
All Chance, Direction, which thou canst not see;
All Discord, Harmony not understood;
All partial Evil, universal Good:
And, spite of Pride, in erring Reason’s spite,
One truth is clear, Whatever is, is right.
–Alexander Pope, from Essay on Man, IV.281-294

Alexander Pope, a poet and catholic, betrays his neoclassicist longing for a universe that is perfectly ordered, ineffable, and beyond human understanding. His final pronouncement in Essay on Man, insists that man’s reason is no match for God’s design: that while we, perhaps arrogantly, strive for a rational understanding of the universe, are minds are not a match for God’s. We must console ourselves that the universe was designed in the best possible way, by the best of artists, and even though events will often leave us face-down in the mud or staring impotently at heaven, we must realize that it could be no other way. We live in the best of possible worlds.

Continue Reading

If you’re still troubled, think of things this way:
No one shall know our joys, save us alone,
And there’s no evil till the act is known;
It’s scandal, Madam, which makes it an offense,
And it’s no sin to sin in confidence. (Tartuffe, 4.5.116-120)

An overriding theme of Molière’s Tartuffe is not one of religion directly, but of that age-old concern of comme il faut, propriety, and appearance versus reality. The central problem that the play confronts is not with Tartuffe’s being a religious hypocrite (though, don’t we all just love those?), but with the fact that he uses his powers to manipulate others and — perhaps most importantly — the fact that his hypocrisy becomes known. Duping people is not evil; duping people to the point that it threatens their well-being may just be; duping them and having them find out definitely is.

Continue Reading

Satire is an ironic literary creation detailing the defeat of decency and virtue and the triumph of folly or vice. The work may utilize any literary form — either fictional or nonfictional — relying heavily upon parody, paradox, and anti-climax, and is usually infused with wit and high spirits. Because of its mix of jaunty vigor and bad news, there is no evident catharsis, the works being open-ended and disjunct. The implication at the close is that things will continue to get worse.

Continue Reading

“Whatever is, is right” (Man I.294). This statement appears to contradict Pope’s raison d’être as a satirist and critic. How can the writer of this statement critique human faults? If God is omniscient, and God made the world, then the world is perfect and humans were made as well as God wanted them made — no improvement is necessary or realizable. There must be more to Pope’s syllogism that would warrant a less confusing and more profound interpretation of this ostensibly inexplicable statement. With this conclusion in his Essay on Man, Pope’s Essay on Criticism seemingly becomes moot. I am interested here in how Whatever is, is right relates to criticism and writing. Rather than negating criticism altogether, Whatever is, is right only supports the critic’s endeavor further.

Continue Reading

The satirist in the works of Alexander Pope, specifically in his formal verse satires “To Fortesque,” “Dialogue II,” and “Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot,” takes on several significant roles with concomitant responsibilities. While other, less serious reasons are stated early on in these poems (e.g. writing to be able to sleep, writing is his “thing,” writing exposes his true soul, he was born to write and encouraged to publish, and writing to defend himself) they progress from less serious to the true raison d’être of the satirist as the defender of Virtue and the friends of Virtue: “not for Fame, but Virtue’s better end” (A 342). The defense of Virtue is paramount to the satirist, above all other considerations, even death: “Welcome for thee, fair Virtue! all the past: / For thee, fair Virtue! welcome ev’n the last” (A 358-9).

Continue Reading