Q3. Briefly explan in a few words with reference to context:
"Earth has not anything to show more fair:
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching in its majesty"
Answers
Alexander Pope was first and foremost a social poet whose language and subject matter were directed to the reading public. The subject of his poetry is human nature in everyday living. He has much to say about politics, education, economics, public taste, and the arts. Through skillful use of satire, he presents a moral code for civilized society.
A spokesman for the "Age of Reason" and Neoclassical poetry, Pope dominated the literary scene in the first half of the eighteenth century. His work reflects the chief beliefs of the neoclassical school of thought:
1. importance of flawless expression and clear and concise presentation of ideas; preference for the perfect balance of heroic couplets
2. intellectual experience as the subject of poetry
3. irrelevance of emotion
4. imagination as a source of power, not a course of creativity
As a man and as a poet, Pope commanded hatred and admiration. Of himself, he once said, "I must be proud to see/Men not afraid of God, afraid of me."