Alexander Pope: Essay on man

Question

hi, i need help with this, i don't understand and i don't get any point, i whant to know what Alexander Pope whant to tell ? i need someone who can analyze :

from "ESSAY ON MAN" By Alexander Pope (1688-1744).

Whatever is, is right:
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.
Know then thyself, presume note good to scan;
the proper study of Mankind is man

thnx by the way

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

It's really hard to understand the poem if you have a line incorrect. Here are the correct last 2 lines:

Know then thyself, presume not *** to scan,
The proper study of Mankind is Man.

Avangi · Answer

Keep your nose out of ***'s business.  He knows what he's doing.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

AvangiKeep your nose out of ***'s business. He knows what he's doing.

Yea, and it's kind of difficult to put Him on a scanner.

Anonymous · Answer

tell me more about this poem, please...

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Anon:

First, tell us what you are thinking when you read this poem. What images come to mind? The words are common and ordinary, but they ask that you think and contemplate.
Good poetry is deeper than the paper the words are written on and requires some effort on the part of the readerr.

Anonymous · Answer

I think this is about human beings can find scientific evidence of what happens in nature.

but this is not enough I need more, I need to understand each sentence. if someone can translate or explain in normal English, I would be grateful ..

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Ok, so what do you think these expressions are talking about? (I have modernized the language a bit)

... unknown to you
... things we cannot see
... not understood

Anonymous · Answer

why can't you understand that i can not get any point, if you really whana help me, tell me what you are thinking when you read this poem. ?

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Because we are teachers who try to help people to learn to be independent and do analyses for themselves the next time.
To learn, you have to expend a little bit of effort on your own. If we just tell you the answer, you will just cut and paste our answer into your assignment, and hand it in, and learn nothing in the process.
When it comes to a test, we won't be there to help you! We can help you best by leading you through a thinking and analysis process.

To analyze a poem, you have to read it, think about the words, and what the poet intended.

Here is another big hint for you to start with:

There are 8 lines. There are 2 groups of 4, and the 4 are grouped into rhyming couplets (2 lines)
The following nouns stand out in the first 4 lines: Nature (capitalized!!!!), chance, (direction here has a similar meaning as chance - which way?), discord, harmony, evil, good.
These nouns are described by the phrases: unknown to all of us, we cannot see (into the future), we cannot understand

So if you put this together, what is the poet saying?

Anonymous · Answer

Nature is unknown to all of us,
we cannot see our chance,
what is the point ? i dont get it, im trying to connect the age of reason with this poem,
(The age of reason
age of reason main idea was the belief in human reason. "All people are able to think for themselves",
The Age of Reason represented a genesis in the way man viewed himself, the pursuit of knowledge, and the universe.)

i dont have much time, i am not asking you to do my homework, i just whant to know what the poem is about, so I can get it with the age of reason !

Alexander Pope: Essay on man

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