Saturday, November 23, 2013

According to Pope, in An Essay on Criticism, how should one approach learning?

In Alexander Pope's An Essay on
Criticism
, he is speaking about the "art" of being a good critic. This piece
is "one of the best known discussions of literary criticism" in English. Pope was only
twenty-two years old when he wrote it.


The first comment
Pope makes about learning is that only those who have excelled in writing should teach
others. If one has not mastered the skill, he (or she) should not try to instruct
or criticize others.


readability="6">

Let such teach others who themselves
excell,
And censure freely who have written
well.



Pope also warns of
"false Learning," saying that it destroys "good Sense," but that some people are
confused by the many schools of thought that exist.


readability="5">

So by false Learning is good Sense
defac'd.
Some are bewilder'd in the Maze of
Schools...



Pope states that a
little learning is a dangerous thing. One must be well-versed in that which he hopes to
stand as an expert. To depend only on a little learning (taking "shallow" sips) will not
yield the positive result that comes of "drinking deeply." One should drink at the
Pierian Spring, the spring of knowledge in Greek mythology that
"fed" the  href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muses">Muses. One must learn as much as
possible.


readability="7.3170731707317">

A little Learning is a dang'rous
Thing;
Drink deep, or taste not the href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierian_Spring">Pierian
Spring
:
There shallow Draughts intoxicate the Brain,
And
drinking largely sobers us again.


No comments:

Post a Comment

What accomplishments did Bill Clinton have as president?

Of course, Bill Clinton's presidency will be most clearly remembered for the fact that he was only the second president ever...