The Works of Alexander Pope, Volume 2 (of 10): Poetry - Volume 2Pope, Alexander
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The Works of Alexander Pope, Volume 2 (of 10): Poetry - Volume 2
Pope, Alexander
English poetry -- 18th century
2. He concludes his observations on those two sorts of judges by parts,
with this general reflection:--The curious not knowing are the first
sort, who judge by parts, and with a microscopic sight (as he says
elsewhere) examine bit by bit. The not exact but nice, are the second,
who judge by a favourite part, and talk of a whole to cover their
fondness for a part, as philosophers do of principles, in order to
obtrude notions and opinions in their stead. But the fate common to both
is, to be governed by caprice and not by judgment, and consequently to
form short ideas, or to have ideas short of truth; though the latter
sort, through a fondness to their favourite part, imagine that it
comprehends the whole in epitome, as the famous hero of La Mancha,
mentioned just before, used to maintain, that knight errantry comprised
within itself the quintessence of all science, civil, military, and
religious.
Ver. 289. _Some to conceit alone, &c._] We come now to that second sort
of bounded capacity, which betrays itself in its judgment on the manner
of the work criticised. And this our author prosecutes from ver. 288 to
384. These are again subdivided into divers classes.
Ver. 289. _Some to conceit alone, &c._] The first, from ver. 288 to 305,
are those who confine their attention solely to conceit or wit. And here
again the critic by parts, offends doubly in the manner, just as he did
in the matter; for he not only confines his attention to a part, when it
should be extended to the whole, but he likewise judges falsely of that
part. And this, as the other, is unavoidable, the parts in the manner
bearing the same close relation to the whole, that the parts in the
matter do; to which whole, the ideas of this critic have never yet
extended. Hence it is, that our author, speaking here of those who
confine their attention solely to conceit or wit, describes the distinct
species of true and false wit, because they not only mistake a wrong
disposition of true wit for a right, but likewise false wit for true. He
describes false wit first, from ver. 288 to 297,
Some to conceit alone, &c.,
where the reader may observe our author's address in representing, in a
description of false wit, the false disposition of the true; as the
critic by parts is apt to fall into both these errors.
He next describes true wit, from ver. 296 to 305,
True wit is nature to advantage dressed, &c.
And here again the reader may observe the same beauty; not only an
explanation of true wit, but likewise of the right disposition of it,
which the poet illustrates, as he did the wrong, by ideas taken from the
art of painting, in the theory of which he was exquisitely skilled.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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