Essay on Man and Other Poems, Paperback

Considered the preeminent verse satirist in English, Alexander Pope (1688-1744) brought wide learning, devastating wit and masterly technique to his poems. Models of clarity and control, they exemplified the classical poetics of the Augustan age.
This volume contains a rich selection of Pope's work, including such well-known poems as the title selection-a philosophical meditation on the nature of the universe and man's place in it-and ``The Rape of the Lock,`` a mock-epic of rare charm and skill. Also included are ``Ode on Solitude,`` ``The Dying Christian to His Soul,`` ``Elegy to the Memory of an Unfortunate Lady,`` ``An Essay on Criticism,`` ``Epigram Engraved on the Collar of a Dog,`` ``EpistleIV] to Richard Boyle, Earl of Burlington: Of the Use of Riches,`` ``Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot; or, Prologue to the Satires`` and more.
Taken together, these poems offer an excellent sampling of Pope's imaginative genius and the felicitous blending of word, idea and image that earned him a place among the leading lights of 18th-century literature.