Short Essay on Criticism

The poem was published in 1711, anonymously. Though, it is thought that Pope was working on this poem since a long time. He had started thinking about the content of the poem in the year 1705. But it was in the prose form only.

Later at a young age of twenty-two years only he composed the verses in heroic couplets. Essay on criticism is one of his major and ambitious works till that time. Pope chose to express his thoughts in the verse form citing the reason that it allows him to say more in minimum words and is easy for a reader to retain in mind.

Pope starts his poem by analysing the principles of criticism that are prevalent in nature and also propose what they should be like. He emphasises in his opening lines that bad criticism is worse than bad writing.

According to Pope, criticism is but a natural part of the literary world. However, it should not be done only for the sake of criticism. It is the zest of the poetic expressions and should be done in a constructive and conducive manner.

Here is an illustration of some of the prominent portions of his poem. In second part of his poem he says to make judicious use of both friends and foes. And one should try to learn well from his defects and shortcomings. He keeps on insisting that ‘a little learning is a dangerous thing’. It can be inferred as, to comprehensively criticize a work it is important to consider all the related and relevant facts.

Judging someone on shallow grounds is a dangerous thing and often results in false opinions. He also says that a poet is not born but is made. He acquires the skills by learning and practice. He also proceeds by saying that some men fluctuate in making their opinions. They change their opinion with every single variation and hence never reach a decisive state.

The second part culminates with the famous lines ‘to err is human, to forgive divine’. It infers that it is natural for a human being to commit mistakes. But no one should be judged on the basis of his bad qualities only. There is some good in every being. Therefore, one should learn to forgive and criticise for a better work and a better world.

The third and last section of the poem is also an intriguing work. Pope says, “Be silent when you doubt your sense”. It is best to remain quiet and let the mysteries of nature unfold. God has his own ways and plans. Nature is far too vast to be comprehended on the basis of a small happening within a set time period. It is always beneficial to watch silently if the purpose remains unclear.

Writing ahead he says, “For fools rush in where angels fear to tread”. He discusses the morals and virtue of an ‘ideal critique’ which according to him does not exist.

In a nutshell, Pope tried to define the importance of good criticism and its repercussions on art and literature. His poem has been written in rhyming verses and he has polished it so nicely that there are hardly any sections left for criticism. His work is one of the major pieces of writing in the literary circle till date.