Eighteenth Century Poetry Works

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Through "An Essay on Criticism", Pope clearly describes all his feelings to every reader's mind in a beautiful form. Pope made us recalling an English poet who also focused on those poets of eighteenth century to write a poem like "An Essay on Criticism" or a general critique for advertising truth. The English poets also used the same style, which was accepted, and emphasizes on outer form to write the poems, along with Pope. Many poets directly pointed out mistakes, which English poets regularly made. "An Essay on Criticism" is a wonderful piece of work. "An Essay on Criticism" is referred to, by Pope himself as an 'govern poetry' or a mock epic. (Hotch, 103-114) In it the familiar social reality in which "An Essay on Criticism" is rooted undergoes a transformation through the comic use of the epic parallel so that what is created is a unique blend of fantasy and reality. Pope is a satirical poet of civilized life, defining its positives by exposing its negatives with great argumentative structure and verbal artistry. Although Pope may seem to rely too heavily upon the authority of the ancient authors as literary masters, he recognizes, as many readers fail to note, the “grace beyond the reach of art” that no model can teach. True genius and judgment are innate gifts of heaven, as Pope says, but many people possess the seeds of taste and judgment that, with proper training, may flourish. The genius of the ancients cannot be imitated, but their principles may be. On the other side, "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" by Thomas Gray portrays a different picture of poet’s nature and philosophy. Overview The poem "An Essay on Criticism" is structured in three parts: the general qualities of a critic; the particular laws by which a critic judges a work; and the ideal character of a critic. Part 1 opens with Pope’s indictment of the false critic. He remarks
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