From 'An Essay on Man' (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE English Literature): Revision Note

From ‘An Essay on Man’

Here is a detailed guide to Alexander Pope’s poem 'From “An Essay on Man”’, from the Songs of Ourselves Volume 1 anthology. It includes:

• Overview: a line-by-line “translation” of the poem’s meanings and interpretations

• Writer’s methods: an exploration of Pope’s poetic choices and potential effects

• Understanding the text: an exploration of the themes and ideas within Pope’s poem

Overview

In order to answer an essay question on any poem, it is important to understand what it is about. This section includes:

• An overview of the poem

• A “translation” of the poem, section-by-section

• A commentary of each of these sections, outlining Alexander Pope’s intention and message

From “An Essay on Man’ overview

The extracted poem is taken from ‘An Essay on Man’, a longer poem. In it, Alexander Pope debates the contradictions and weaknesses of human beings. He suggests that there is so much to learn about the experience of being human, we should concern ourselves with this before we try to understand the mysteries of religion.

From ‘An Essay on Man’ breakdown

Lines 1-2

Translation

• The poem begins with an omniscient narrator (opens in a new tab)offering a listener advice:

  • Humans should “know” themselves before expecting to understand “God” 

• The narrator declares that the right thing to “study” is human nature

Pope’s intentions

• The poem begins with an imperative command, creating an assertive voice

• An emphatic statement is given: it is arrogant to “presume” to study religion when human beings do not understand themselves 

Lines 3-6

Translation

• The narrator describes human beings as in a “middle” place, a narrow island

• The poet says there is a contradiction in human beings:

  • Humans are so “wise” they have lost all doubt (“sceptic”)

  • This makes them “rudely great”

  • But they do not have enough wisdom to be resilient and unemotional (“stoic”)

Pope’s intentions

• Pope describes the earth as an “isthmus”, perhaps suggesting a kind of purgatory

• He suggests human beings may be wise, but they are prideful with it, and this makes them weak

 Lines 7-9

Translation

• The narrator describes the doubt human beings experience

• This makes them seem like they are hanging between action and inaction

• They do not know if they are good or bad (“god, or beast”)

• There is doubt, too, about whether they value their “mind or body”

Pope’s intentions

• Pope highlights human weaknesses with a repetition of “doubt” and a list of the decisions humans are unsure about, emphasising his assertion

Lines 10-13

Translation

• The narrator explains that humans are mortal, and whenever they try to reason, they make a mistake

• Humans are all ignorant (“alike”) in this way: they overthink things or they do not plan enough but, either way, their thoughts are confused by emotion (“passion”)

Pope’s intentions

• Pope criticises the chaotic way humans reason and try to make decisions by presenting human behaviour as two extreme positions

• This proves his point that humans should better understand their motivations and accept their limitations

Lines 14-16

Translation

• Pope’s narrator says that humans abuse themselves, are easily persuaded, and it is inevitable that some will succeed and others will fail

• Humans are powerful, “lord of all things”, but they are also easy “prey” to everyone and everything 

Pope’s intentions

• The persuasive voice offers two opposing ideas in parallelism (opens in a new tab) like “half to rise, and half to fall”

• Pope uses juxtaposition (opens in a new tab) to show how individuals assume positions of power (“lord”) but are, in fact, vulnerable “prey”, which implies delusions of grandeur

Lines 17-18

Translation

• The poem ends by describing human beings as unable to understand the truth

• In summation, humans are a puzzle, a constant source of mockery, but also glorious

Pope’s intentions

• Pope’s poem ends with an exclamation and an emphatic triple to summarise his argument that suggests human understanding of the world is flawed and unpredictable

Writer's methods

This section is organised into: form, structure, and language. The poetry question in the CIE Literature for English exam wants you to consider all three as “writer’s methods”. This is because a poet uses all three to create meaning or convey ideas. Consider things like the poet’s choice of form and perspective, its rhythm, rhyme, and tone of voice, and imagery.  

Examiners require you to focus on the poem’s deeper ideas, and in a sensitive way. To do this you can discuss how the poet’s methods reveal their aim or purpose. That is why all the analysis below is arranged by theme and includes Alexander Pope’s intentions in terms of his choices of:

• Form

• Structure

• Language

Form

Alexander Pope’s from ‘An Essay on Man’ is a philosophical argument that is presented as advice to an implied listener.  

Structure 

Alexander Pope creates a calm and rational speaker’s voice with which to present a classical debate on the contradictions of being human.  

Language 

Alexander Pope uses paradox (opens in a new tab) to evaluate human nature. By juxtaposing descriptions, he concludes that humans are simply confusing, and this is why we should try to understand ourselves and our limitations before attempting even more complex theories like religion.

Understanding the text

The poetry questions in the CIE Literature for English exam encourage an informed, personal response, which means that it is not enough just to know the poem, but that you will also need to develop a sound understanding of the poem’s themes, main ideas, settings, situations and events to explore the writer’s intentions and methods. This section has been divided into two main themes that Alexander Pope examines in his poem from 'An Essay on Man':

• Individual identity

• Cultural identity 

Individual identity 

• Alexander Pope is a Neo-classical British poet, born in England in 1688 during the Augustan Age

• His poetry explores the individual experience, and the relationship between human beings and the universe, using logic and reasoned argument 

• His epic work ‘An Essay on Man’, published in 1734, comprises four epistles:

  • In the poem, Pope presents the contradictory states of all human beings: the overarching sense of doubt, consistent mistakes, and mortality 

  • The extract is often called ‘Know then Thyself’ or Epistle II

  • In Epistle II, he writes: “In doubt to deem himself a god, or beast;/In doubt his mind or body to prefer;/Born but to die, and reasoning but to err;”

• Although the work does not explicitly address any individual, it is said to have been written for a British politician and friend, St. John Lord Bolingbroke:

  • It starts “Awake, my St. John!”

Cultural identity

• Alexander Pope is highly respected for his philosophical works, such as ‘An Essay on Man’

• Pope’s work bears the influence of classical writers such as Lucretius, an ancient Roman writer and poet who explored the human condition:

  • Pope’s poetry is said to have been influenced, too, by fellow Neo-classical poet  John Milton, who wrote the epic poem Paradise Lost in 1667

• Pope lived under the social hierarchical system, the Divine Right of Kings:

  • The system advocates that the British monarch is chosen by God which, in terms of social ranking, places a king or queen directly under God, making them all powerful

• In Epistle II, Pope suggests that the humans are deluded to think they can be a “Great lord of all things”:

  • He states that those who claim an understanding of God and believe they are capable of rational thought and truth are mistaken 

  • He claims that all humans are ignorant, confused, and weak “prey” 

  • He refers to power imbalances in the line “half to rise, and half to fall”

For further advice and guidance on how to answer the poetry question, please see our detailed guides on Paper 1 Section A: what the question is asking (opens in a new tab) and how to get full marks (opens in a new tab). You will also find an example of a full, annotated model answer (opens in a new tab). 

It is important to remember that no marks are given for comments on any of the other poems studied in the anthology. Your response should concentrate only on the poem given. 

Sources

https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/Images/414779-2020-specimen-mark-scheme-1.pdf (opens in a new tab).
Songs of Ourselves: Volume 1: Cambridge Assessment International Education Anthology of Poetry in English. Cambridge University Press & Assessment, 2018
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/240583781_PAUL_BAINES_The_Complete_Critical_Guide_to_Alexander_Pope_Pp_xv_219_The_Complete_Critical_Guide_to_English_Literature_London_and_New_York_Routledge_2000_Paperbound_1199_ISBN_0_415_20246_9_STEVEN_N_ZWI (opens in a new tab).
Pope, Alexander. “An Essay on Man | British Literature Wiki.” WordPress at UD |, https://sites.udel.edu/britlitwiki/an-essay-on-man (opens in a new tab). Accessed 25 August 2025.