An Essay on Man

“Ode on Solitude” by Alexander Pope (1700)

This poem is a pastoral ode, written when Pope was only twelve. Pope honors the natural surroundings of his youth and idealizes peaceful, rural life. With a melancholy tone, the poem explores themes that Pope would frequently return to throughout his life: The passage of time, the beauty of the natural world, and human mortality.

“On a Change of Masters At a Great Public School” by Lord Byron (1807)

Lord Byron was one of the most famous poets of the 18th century. Byron uses heroic couplets to write a satirical poem. He satirizes the education system and a particular teacher’s focus on rules and tedium over originality and creativity. Byron was inspired by Pope’s satirical writings as well as the philosophical views expressed in “An Essay on Man."

“The Philosopher” by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1921)

Edna St. Vincent Millay is one of the most famous poets of the 20th century. In rhyming tercets or four-line stanzas, Millay considers how love’s irrational nature can cause unrest and unhappiness. She shows how emotion overcomes reason: “And what am I, that I should love/So wisely and so well?” The terse, epigrammatic style of this phrase echoes Pope’s poetic voice.

“Solitude” by Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1883)

Ella Wheeler Wilcox was a famous lyric poet in the early 20th century. In this rhyming poem, Wilcox considers the nature of unhappiness and its ability to isolate people from one another. She offers a skeptical view of happiness that contrasts with the positive view offered by “An Essay on Man.”