The Rape of the Lock and Other Poems Part 23

This is the old threefold division of the human mind. Pope means that where one of these faculties is above the average in any individual, another of them is sure to fall below. Is this always the case?

'63 peculiar arts:'

special branches of knowledge.

'73'

In what sense can nature be called the source, the end, and the test of art?

'76 th' informing soul:'

the soul which not only dwells in, but animates and molds the body.

'80-81'

What two meanings are attached to "wit" in this couplet?

'84 'Tis more:'

it is more important.

'the Muse's steed:'

Pegasus, the winged horse of Greek mythology, was supposed to be the horse of the Muses and came to be considered a symbol of poetic genius.

'86 gen'rous:'

high-bred.

'88'

What is the difference between "discovered" and "devised"?

'94 Parna.s.sus' top:'

the Muses were supposed to dwell on the top of Parna.s.sus, a mountain in Greece. Great poets are here thought of as having climbed the mountain to dwell with the Muses.

'96'

What is (cf. text) "the immortal prize"?

'99 She',

i.e. learned Greece, especially Greek criticism, which obtained the rules of poetry from the practice of great poets, and, as it were, systematized their inspiration.

'104 following wits':

later scholars.

'105'

What is meant by "the mistress" and "the maid" in this line?

'109 Doctor's bills:'

prescriptions.

'112'

These are the prosy commentators on great poets, whose dreary notes often disgust readers with the original.

'120 fable:'

plot.

'123'

What is the difference between "cavil" and "criticise"?

'129 the Mantuan Muse:'

the poetry of Virgil, which Pope thinks the best commentary on Homer. In what sense is this to be understood?

'130 Maro:'

Virgil, whose full name was Publius Vergilius Maro, Pope here praises Virgil's well-known imitation of Homer. Since "nature and Homer were the same," a young poet like Virgil could do nothing better than copy Homer.

'138 the Stagirite:'

Aristotle, a native of Stagyra, was the first and one of the greatest of literary critics. His "rules" were drawn from the practice of great poets, and so, according to Pope, to imitate Homer was to obey the "ancient rules."