An Essay on Man Epistle 4 by Alexander Pope | Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. An Essay on Man was published in the year 1743 in which Alexander Pope discussed the order of the universe on the lines of hierarchy or chain of beings that he termed the ‘chain of love’. In the first epistle, Pope discussed relations between humans and the universe; the second examines humans as individuals. The third addresses the relationship between the individual and society, and the fourth questions the potential of the individual for happiness. The subtitle of the fourth epistle is “On the Nature and State of Man, with Respect to Happiness.” The fourth Epistle is 398 lines long in which the narrator describes man’s various attempts to achieve true human happiness. The narrator then tries to establish that only a virtuous, good man can achieve such happiness.

Summary of An Essay on Man Epistle 4 :

Section 1 Lines (1-28)

Pope begins the fourth epistle by declaring that the purpose of human life is to achieve happiness.

“O HAPPINESS! our being’s end and aim!” He then says that it is not easy to know what is happiness as there are many contradictory ideas about it. He says that happiness is something for which we continue to live even with all our problems and burdens and can dare to die too to find our happiness. The narrator says that most people, including fools and the wise, hold the wrong meaning of happiness. The narrator asks that if happiness is a “celestial seed” that was dropped (sowed) below, in what kind of mortal soil, in what kind of human heart, would happiness choose to grow? “Where grows?—where grows it not?” The narrator says that if happiness doesn’t grow, it is not the fault of the seed, nor of the soil (or individual heart), rather it is the fault of the culture in which the individual is bound. “We ought to blame the culture, not the soil,” Pope says.

Happiness is very elusive and everyone has their own way to define it. Happiness is “nowhere to be found, and everywhere.” The narrator says that one cannot buy happiness which is “always free.” Some say that they find happiness in bliss, and some others find it in rest, however, no one has found a general definition of happiness that works for all.

Section 2 Lines (29-92)

The narrator says that happiness is man’s end, his goal and it can be achieved by everyone because God intends happiness to be available to all; thus, it must be social, governed by general laws. Since God wants everyone to be happy, an individual should not strive for his happiness alone, rather one should strive for the happiness of everyone. Since happiness is a social thing, it is necessary for the maintenance of peace, order, and welfare of society. However, happiness cannot be located in outer things. Though some people can be wealthier, healthier, more powerful, or wiser than others, their ability to feel happiness is equal—“all are equal in their happiness”. The narrator warns the readers not to fall into the trap of those who define happiness in a wrong manner and suggests that all people can reach and conceive of it using “thinking right and meaning well.” Furthermore, even if there are inequities among us in terms of giftedness, possessions or whatever, nevertheless there is an equality of “common sense” among all people which provides equal access to the garden of happiness.

The narrator says that God brings a balance of happiness in mankind through Hope and Fear. Reasonable people often wish for three things, “health, peace, and competence” as these three things ensure happiness. By competence, Pope means that one should be content with the rewards, gifts, or earnings that he achieves through his competence.

Section 3 Lines (93-110)

In these lines, Pope asserts that happiness is distributed among people according to God’s plan for whom all men are equal. He then raises the general questions that a man may ask, like why does a virtuous person die while the sinful man lives. The narrator says that accidents and illnesses can occur by chance but the good man will always have an advantage. The person who understands God’s greater plan follows virtues and avoids sinful behavior because he knows that true happiness lies in virtues. Yet, those who are virtuous and just may fall ill or die too soon, but their deaths are not caused by their virtue.

Section 4 Lines (111-130)

In these lines, Pope continues to discuss the issue of virtue and vice about happiness and says that it is inappropriate to question God’s plan and doubt it. God will not alter his laws to favor individuals.

Section 5 Lines (131-148)

In these lines, the narrator chides those who complain that virtuous people often suffer while the sinful cherish tastier fruits. The narrator says that it is not a man’s right to judge the goodness and righteousness of other men. This is the purview of God alone. Whichever men are most good and righteous must be the happiest. “The very best will variously incline, And what rewards your virtue, punish mine. Whatever is, is right.”

Section 6 Lines (149-308)

Pope endeavors to remove the doubts about the relationship between virtues and happiness and asserts that only virtues will lead to true happiness.

“But sometimes virtue starves, while vice is fed.” / What then? Is the reward of virtue bread?”

A virtuous man may not be as rich and powerful as a sinful man. Only fools lament that virtuous people are not rewarded. What is the reward of virtue? External goods? By some law or character of human nature (greed), we tend to think that the reward of righteousness should be riches, a foundational principle of “prosperity.” The narrator debunks this myth and says that the reward of virtue is an immaterial, inner sort of tranquility and joy. Virtue’s reward is not earthly in nature, and hence cannot be taken away or destroyed.

“What nothing earthly gives, or can destroy, / The soul’s calm sunshine, and the heartfelt joy.”

Pope suggests that all the earthly riches and materialistic pleasures that are ephemeral are nothing but trash which is unfit as virtue’s reward, either now or in some afterlife. The narrator says that materialistic pleasure cannot be the reward for a virtuous person whose sights and sensitivities are not adapted to these pleasures which are nothing but trifles for him that may even cause harm to his virtuous self. Such a virtuous person would personally avoid such materialistic pleasures.

“Rewards, that either would to Virtue bring / No joy, or be destructive of the thing: / How oft by these at sixty are undone / The Virtues of the saint at twenty-one!”

The narrator says that the mere possession of external goods alone-- fortune, honor, nobility, greatness, fame, and talent apart from virtue makes no one happy.

“Bring then these blessings to a strict account; Make fair deductions; see to what they mount.”

That is, even if a person has all these materialistic pleasures and much more, if they lack virtues, they cannot be happy.

Section 7 Lines (309-98)

In this last section, the narrator asserts that virtue alone constitutes the universal and permanent happiness of man. Only virtue can provide happiness which seeks to rise above the individual and embrace the universal. Such happiness will exist eternally. This perfection of virtue and happiness conforms to God’s order and represents the ultimate purpose of mankind. Pope says that while happiness is equally available for all, equality of wealth is opposed to God’s ways because it would breed discontent among those who deserve greater wealth and status. However, happiness is not dependent on wealth or other materialistic pleasures. The "first, last purpose of the human soul" is to love God and humankind. Thus one should even let one's enemies have a part of happiness. Pope asserts that being virtuous is happiness in itself. “Know then this truth (enough for Man to know) ìVirtue alone is Happiness below.”

Virtue translates into happiness when in a purely non-sectarian fashion a man through God recognizes his place in the chain of being, learns from his place in the chain his purpose, understands the origin of the cosmic values of the universe (faith, law, morality), and seeks to love both God and man. Virtue is perfected, and along with it happiness, when man settles himself in the chain of beings with containment. God has placed man “on the isthmus of a middle state,“ between the angels and the animals. He should avoid trying to mix with the angels, and he should avoid sinking to the level of the beasts.

The narrator says that while “God loves from Whole to Parts, the human soul must rise from the individual to the whole.” Thus man begins from “Self-love thus pushed to social, to divine,” that is, a love of the whole to which there is grateful resignation.

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards.

An Essay on Man Epistle 3 by Alexander Pope | Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Alexander Pope discussed Man’s relationship to God in Epistle 1 of his Essay on Man. In the second epistle, he discussed Man as an individual, his powers, abilities, and his limits. In Epistle 3 of An Essay on Man, Pope discusses the relationship of Man as an individual with the society as a whole and that is the subtitle of the third part; “Of the Nature and State of Man, with respect to Society.”

Third Epistle discusses the relationship of man with family, society, government, and religion. The narrator suggests that the interdependence of all species necessitates love among all creatures exchanging services in a symbiotic relationship. He mentions that individuals with excessive ego turn tyrannical at instances and that offends nature as it brings imbalance and disharmony. He further stresses on the importance of reason while distinguishing it from individual instincts and suggests that both instincts and reason are important for survival and progress.

Epistle III is composed of 318 lines written in heroic couplets. The first six lines innumerate the points that Pope already discussed in Epistle 1 and Epistle 2 The remaining lines are divided into 6 sections or stanzas of varying length.

Summary of Epistle III :

Section 1 (Lines 7-78)

In these lines, Pope recognizes the chain of the hierarchy of creatures in the living world and suggests that not only these living creatures but inanimate bodies too are interconnected with a “chain of love”. This chain of love isn’t erotic or familial in nature, rather it is a contractual sort of love where love, harmony, and balance between different individuals, individuals, and society, Man and other creatures, creatures, and non-living world ascertains well-being and progress of the whole Universe. This contractual chain of love is the building block of God’s design and the chain of beings. The narrator explains it with examples of atoms, attracting other particles and ensuring the shapes of things. Similarly, plants grow in dirt and take essential elements from it for their growth. When a plant dies, it returns to the dirt, enriching it with nourishment that is taken by newer plants. Man grows grass, fruits, and flowers and the Antelope eats it and then nourishes man. Pope discusses a range of animals from larks to bears and questions if all these creatures were produced only to serve man? He is confident that is not the case and says that it would be ridiculous if a goose says that man was created for its use and similarly, it is silly to believe that all creatures were created to serve man.

“Grant that the pow'rful still the weak control; / Be Man the wit and tyrant of the whole:
Nature that tyrant checks; he only knows, / And helps. another creature's wants and woes.”

The narrator says that man certainly has the power of intellect that nature doesn’t possess, yet nature can conquer all. Even if Man uses his mental abilities tyrannically to exploit nature, nature can check his tyranny. The narrator asserts that nothing, not even mankind, is made wholly for the benefit of itself, nor anything is made wholly for serving others. Instead, everything is related to each other in a symbiotic embrace, completing each other as “parts relate to whole.”

The narrator then says that Man’s ability to reason and his intellect offer him great powers but it also fills him with the fear of death. Animals do not have such fear as they do not have the useless knowledge that they will die.

Section 2 (Lines 79-108)

In this section, the narrator clarifies instincts in contrast with reason. The narrator says that all creatures use instincts or reason whichever helps them most. In some cases, instincts outperform reason while in some other cases, reason and thinking prove to be better. For man, the best way is to ascertain a harmony between instincts and reason to achieve their goals. It is impossible to say how man learned "shun their poison, and to choose their food," just like we cannot say what taught spiders to weave a web. Thus, instincts offer creatures enough powers to sustain their life and they are necessary. However, it would be wrong to say that instincts can be the ‘unerring guide’.

Instinct causes men to feel compassion for others and results in service, an aspect that Reason, “cool at best”, ignores. The best way is to use a proportionate mix of reason and instinct and that is God’s plan. The narrator suggests that God's hand is apparent in what people have come to view as instinct.

Section 3 (Lines 109-46)

Pope continues the discourse on instincts and reason and explores how far society can be carried by instinct, then shows how much farther society can be carried by reason. The narrator says that all creatures have their wants and needs which depend on each other. Their instincts make them serve each other. Instincts push creatures and people together. Instincts are necessary for perpetuating their species.

“Each loves itself, but not itself alone, / Each sex desires alike, till two are one.
Nor ends the pleasure with the fierce embrace: / They love themselves a third time in their race.”

The narrator says that the opposite sex comes close as they are pushed by their instincts toward each other. Both sex desire love of embrace till they become one and this offers them a pleasure as a reward. However, the pleasure of fierce embrace is just a reward, the purpose of their instinct was to perpetuate their species and thus, they love again for the proper breeding of their offspring as responsible parents.

“Thus beast and bird their common charge attend, The mothers nurse it, and the sires defend.”

However, once the young bird starts wandering in the sky, the parental instinct ends and so does the sense of duty to feed and defend.

The narrator then says that Man is guided not only by instincts but reason too and reason helps him build deeper emotional relations, which is why man remains in their parents' care longer than animals. It furthers reason and strengthens the rational faculty of the offspring. These connections and relationships develop in human society by reason. Reason fills man with dread of death but it also empowers man with hope. And thus, instincts and reason further the interest of human beings and perpetuate their species.

Section 4 (147-198)

In this section, Pope talks about how Man learned from nature. The narrator says that if left to instincts only, the man might allow his greed to lead to destruction and savagery. But reason helps him to learn how to control his instincts while observing nature. In the beginning, the man walked along with beasts. He was savage and unsocial but then he learned from animals. He learned where to hunt from birds, about societies from ants, and how to build from bees. Gradually, with the help of his rational faculty, he surpassed all these animals and became better than all.

Section 5 (199-214)

In this section, the narrator discusses how man developed societies and how the first governments were formed. He discusses how monarchies were established that turned into the patriarchial government.

Reason further helped man in raising cities and societies. Though he failed too and then got engaged in conflicts and wars. However, people learned to negotiate and develop commerce. This was necessary for the benefit of all. Eventually, the strongest were chosen as kings to reign above all.

Section 6 (215-318)

In section six, the narrator explores the origins of religion. Pope suggests that the basis of both religion and government is love or the need for harmony and balance. He says that faith is the love of God and the government is the love of man. On the other hand, fear gives birth to superstitions and tyranny. Thus, self-love, through just and unjust means, can either drive man’s ambition or restrain him.

Reason inspired man to form governments and churches. Initially, churches were built on pride and bloody sacrifices but then God inspired man to learn better ways and man developed faith with love. Pope says that men may disagree on faith with each other but it is beyond any doubt that "all mankind's concern" should be charity. People must support one another. In the end, Pope uses a metaphor comparing individuals to planets revolving around the sun. Each planet is unique and rotates on its own axis but they all revolve around the sun. In the same manner, man must respect his own self, and understand the importance of self-love but he must also not ignore the greater good of the family, society, all the creatures, the world, and the universe.

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!

An Essay on Man Epistle 2 by Alexander Pope | Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. The subtitle of the second epistle of An Essay on Man was “Of the Nature and State of Man, with respect to Himself, as an Individual.” As the title suggests, Pope discusses humans as individuals and Pope proposes a better and more harmonious way for a man to live within his surroundings. It is a discourse about the relationship between the individual and God’s greater design.

The second epistle also contains 294 lines composed of Heroic couples, divided into 6 sections or parts. Pope continues using Juxtaposition, Antithesis, Hyperbaton, Assonance, and other literary forms to make his essay appear more interesting.

Section 1 Lines (1-52):

In epistle 1, Pope invested enough time to explain the relationship between Man, God, and the remaining world. He begins the second epistle with a common for the man to “know then thyself.” What Pope means is that a man should understand and know his own self and limits. There’s no reason to study God as it is beyond the limits of man’s rational faculty. He shouldn’t venture to question the design of God. The correct way for the improvement of humans as individuals and the whole of humankind is to study and discover man, his potential, and his limits.

“Know then thyself, presume not God to scan; / The proper study of mankind is man.”

The second epistle begins with an Antithesis, a juxtaposition as in the first line, and Hyperbation has also been used (instead of ‘don’t presume God to scan,’ Pope used “presume not God to scan”.

Pope isn’t saying that all attainable knowledge can be attained from within the Man. Pope says that it seems that the only way to understand the surroundings and other creatures of the world is to study and probe outward. But one should not overanalyze this outward study and presume that one can understand God’s design in its entirety. The man should not pry into God’s affairs but rather study himself, especially his nature, powers, limits, and frailties. Instead of questioning why God created the universe, it is better to probe the reason and validity of our own existence. Pope says that science is the study of nature and God’s creation. Science is the power of man that he may harness for the betterment of himself and society. But often, man becomes too proud of his scientific achievements and starts “imitating God,” and this is foolishness.

“Go, teach Eternal Wisdom how to rule— / Then drop into thyself, and be a fool!”

Those who believe that one day, Man can acquire enough knowledge to solve all the puzzles of the Universe, then it is foolishness because the Universe is limitless but man and mankind have got their limits.

Section 2 (Lines 53-92)

Pope begins this section with Concordia Discors and juxtaposes passion and reason against each other, validating both. He says,

“Two principles in human nature reign; / Self-love, to urge, and reason, to restrain;”

Pope says that two principles are of utmost importance in a man’s life, ‘self-love’ and ‘reason.’

Pope says that while self-love is stronger, it leads to man as an individual. However, the reason is required to lead him about the surroundings, other human beings, and other creatures too.

Pope suggests that ‘self-love’ or passion or desires of an individual drive them to behave in certain ways. However, too much indulgence in passion or desires may bring harm to the individual and society as a whole and thus, Reason is needed to control ‘self-love’ and bring harmony and peace in a man’s life. Thus, Pope says that an Individual’s behavior originated from his inner self, his self-love, passion, and desires but reason regulates their behavior and makes it harmonious. Thus, ‘self-love’ and ‘reason’ despite being opposite, augment each other.

“Pleasure, or wrong or rightly understood, / Our greatest evil, or our greatest good.”

Pope says that unrestricted passion and self-love unchecked by reason can be the greatest evil, but if augmented by reason, it becomes the greatest good. As humanity becomes wiser with experience, reason triumphs over self-love. However, both work together to make people want pleasure and not pain.

Section 3 (Lines 93-202)

In this section, Pope discusses different modes and kinds of ‘self-love’ or passions and how they function in a man’s life. Pope describes the strength of self-love or passion as the driving force of the behavior of an individual and how good it can be. Pope ridicules those who suggest that one should renounce their passions. Rather, Pope says that The ruling passion works to provide man with direction and defines man’s nature and virtue. He criticizes Stoics who renounce passions and says that Stoics may have their virtues but those virtue doesn’t help them, or society, they produce nothing. Passions can be selfish, but if one is passionate about something good, one should cultivate the passion as it helps and drives an individual to achieve.

“Love, hope, and joy, fair pleasure's smiling train, / Hate, fear, and grief, the family of pain,

These mix'd with art, and to due bounds confin'd, / Make and maintain the balance of the mind:

The lights and shades, whose well accorded strife / Gives all the strength and colour of our life.”

Pope uses Concordia Discors again and says that passions bring all sorts of contrasting and opposing emotions, they bring pleasure and pain and appear like lights and shades, but in harmony, they offer colors to our life. The narrator compares passions to a wind that pushes a ship forward. He says that passions are the Individual’s own and not raised by God. God lets man pursue their passions, be they good or bad, and lets him restrict them with the help of reason. All different experiences and emotions, even bad ones like fear or grief, push man forward.

Section 4 (Lines 203-216)

in this section, Pope suggests that man is a mixture of virtues and vices. The narrator says that the individual is a blend of black and white. Everyone is driven by their passions and though reason can help them restrict their passions to appropriate limits, individuals may fail to use reason. Everyone has flaws, but these flaws are part of God's plan. For someone, what appears to be a flaw, may appear a strength to someone else.

“Fools! who from hence into the notion fall, / That vice or virtue there is none at all.”

The narrator ridicules those who say that vice and virtues do not exist.

Section 5 (Lines 217-230)

In this section, Pope describes vices and how evil and destructive they can be.

“Vice is a monster of so frightful mien, / As, to be hated, needs but to be seen;

Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face, / We first endure, then pity, then embrace. “

The narrator says vices often appear juicy and men are easily drawn towards vices.

Section 6 (Lines 231-294)

In this section, the narrator again asserts that a man is a mixture of virtues and vices and suggests that he should remain so because it is within God’s plan. He says that some virtues and some vices must be restricted and few in degree, while some others should be acquired as much as one can. The passions and imperfections are distributed to all individuals of each order of men in all societies. They guide man in every state and at every age of life. The narrator says that Happiness is the purpose of life. An individual’s wants, desires, and flaws draw him to achieve joy, satisfaction, and peace and this is the ‘glory of mankind.’ The narrator says that these wants of individuals make them dependent on each other and thus create the ground for a healthy society. The narrator says that one should not fear his wants, desires, and flaws because, with the help of reason, he will attain a harmonious balance. God has made man such that he can achieve a balance in life's losses with gains. "Though man's a fool, yet God is wise," the narrator says.

In Epistle 2, Pope says that self-love and passions give birth to an individual's behavior and reason shapes it and brings closure to the harmonious existence of man following his passions in limits. He says that the conflict between passions and reason raises virtues and vice and every individual is a mix of these virtues and vices but with the help of reason, every individual can achieve a harmonious balance and that is within God’s plan.

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!

The Emperor of Ice-Cream by Wallace Stevens | Structure, Themes, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Wallace Stevens was known for his simple and succinct yet deep thought-provoking poetry. The Emperor of Ice-Cream is one such poem that was first published in 1922 and was added to Stevens’ poetry collection Harmonium in 1923. The title of the poem may appear ambiguous and so the poem can be interpreted in different manners. “Emperor of Ice-Cream” is a sort of oxymoron. Emperors are symbols of might and power. However, ice cream melts too soon. The ice cream represents the taste and thus symbolizes Desire. The line “The only emperor is the emperor of ice cream” thus suggests the strength of desires. On the other hand, Ice-cream symbolizes cold and represents Death too and the poem is concerned with the universality of death. Ice Cream is ephemeral, just like life, and thus The Emperor can be interpreted as Life.

Structure of The Emperor of Ice-Cream :

The poem consists of 16 lines composed in two stanzas of eight lines each. Lines are written in loose iambic meter mostly 4 or 5 beats per line. The poem lacks any rhyming pattern but there is proper end-rhyming in some instances ("seem / ice-cream," "come / dumb," "beam/ice-cream.") The poem is presented by an omniscient narrator in a commanding voice. Wallace used metaphors, similes, and irony, along with Alliteration, Consonance, and Assonance.

Themes of The Emperor of Ice-Cream :

Like many other poems by Wallace Stevens, The Emperor of Ice-Cream also has many different philosophical themes embedded in them. The very obvious themes of the poem include the juxtaposition of Reality vs Appearance. The narrator commands “Let be be....” and demands the acknowledgment of Reality over pretensions and illusionary appearances. The poet offers a contrast between reality and appearances as a choice between ‘being' and ‘seeming’.

Another important theme is that of Life, Death, and Lust. Life is fleeting while Death is the ultimate reality and to experience life, one needs to engage in lust and follow their desires. The experience and pleasure of the world as known through the senses, such as taste, is the feel of life. Savoring joy and pleasure and indulging in the taste of that ice cream which is life, is the correct manner. The poet says that one should accept the reality of Death as that becomes the reason to embrace and cherish the sensuality of life.

Summary of The Emperor of Ice-Cream :

Stanza 1

Lines 1-3

“Call the roller of big cigars,
The muscular one, and bid him whip
In kitchen cups concupiscent curds.”

The speaker is an omniscient narrator preparing for a ceremony or party. He uses present tense verbs (‘Call’, ‘bid’) in a dominant voice and summons a strong muscular man who is the ‘roller of big cigars.’ The muscular man is asked to whip up the ice cream in kitchen cups.

Cigars and Icecream both represent the taste and are symbols of sensuality. ‘Cigar’ is a phallic shape that sets the sensuous tone of the poem in the very first line. The term ‘whip’ is another sensuous word and increases the curiosity of the reader to know who is to be whipped? The answer is ‘concupiscent’ curds in kitchen cups. Concupiscent means lustful, or ‘filled with sexual desires.’ The sexually desirable ice cream sets the erotic edge of the poem.

The poet has used alliteration/consonance (‘c’ or ‘k’ in line 3). These lines offer a sense of intimacy as if the narrator is talking to someone in the kitchen, right next to him or very near.

Lines 4-6

“Let the wenches dawdle in such dress
As they are used to wear, and let the boys
Bring flowers in last month's newspapers.”

The poet maintains his dominating tone along with the erotic edge in these lines and commands “wenches” to wear their usual dresses for the occasion and not pretend too much. “Wenches” means young girls who are not independent, often the term is used for prostitutes, or girls indulged in sexual pleasure. The poet says that the girls shouldn’t be tasked to prepare themselves as there is no special occasion, they may keep dawdling in their usual dresses. The poet stresses on the dressing of girls as if they are waiting for physical fulfillment that may come from the muscular ‘roller of big cigars.’ Also, the boys are called and the poet suggests that these boys too must not endeavor too much. They may bring flowers wrapped in old newspapers. This offers a romantic turn to the poem.

The narrator is commanding that there’s no need to be ostentatious and gaudy. Girls may wear common dresses as there is no need to wear formal expensive dresses while boys may bring flowers wrapped in last month's or even older newspapers instead of decorative garlands and flowers beautifully set in expensive vases. Furthermore, the ice cream is to be whipped in simple kitchen cups as there are no expensive china or crystal dishes. This suggests that the household is not very affluent nor is the neighborhood. The visitors are suggested to visit in common dresses and bring flowers without ostentations. Perhaps the household cannot afford an expensive mixer and thus, the muscular man has been called to whip up the ice cream. These lines also suggest that maybe the ceremony is no fun party, but a funeral, there is nothing fanciful, nothing romantic, or nothing special about death and its aftermath; indeed, death is too ordinary and natural to be shocking.

Lines 7-8

“Let be be finale of seem.
The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream.”

These two lines further clarify the nature of the ceremony. The dominating narrator commands that the things must be left as they are. Let “be” (how things actually are) “be" the "finale” (the ending) of “seem” (false appearances). The poet commands that let reality dispel all illusions and let us embrace the truth of life, and death. While life is an illusion, death is an inevitable reality. The emperor of ice cream suggests the coldness of death. It also suggests the ephemeral nature of life which melts and passes away like ice cream. The poet further commands that even at the funeral, the only emperor, the only thing important is the ice cream, the exemplary symbol of pleasure and indulgence. He suggests that there is no need to mourn and feel sad but it is the time to accept death as the ultimate reality and not bother too much about it.

Stanza 2

Lines 9-12

“Take from the dresser of deal,
Lacking the three glass knobs, that sheet
On which she embroidered fantails once
And spread it to cover her face.”

The narrator clarifies that the occasion is a funeral procession right at the beginning of the second stanza.

The narrator commands his listener to go to the other room and check the dresser of the deal. ‘Deal’ is a common low-quality wood whose furniture is cheap and easily available. It further suggests that the household is not affluent. The narrator commands the listener to take the specific sheet from the dresser which was embroidered by the lady who passed away. It was her favorite sheet that she carved with so much interest and love. Perhaps the lady was ill for a long and that is why she failed to mend the sheet which lacks ‘three glass knobs’ or buttons. The narrator commands the listener to use it to cover the dead body of the lady. He insists that her face should be covered.

Lines 13-14

“If her horny feet protrude, they come
To show how cold she is, and dumb.”

The word ‘horny’ is used again to light the erotic tone but in a different manner. These lines suggest incompleteness. The sheet lacks three buttons and hence is incomplete. The sheet itself is incomplete to cover the dead body of the woman, perhaps, it is short. The phrase ‘horny feet’ suggests that the dead person had many desires yet to be fulfilled. Her horny feet signify the death of sexuality. The narrator commands that her face must be covered and it doesn’t matter much if her feet poke out as they are simply a reflection of the stark reality that this woman is “cold,” dead, and “dumb.”

Lines 15-16

“Let the lamp affix its beam.
The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream.”

The poet says that death is universal and inescapable and thus, lets the visitors confront it. Do not fix the sheet to cover her feet and let the light bring forth the reality of death upfront. The poet suggests that the death of the lady is a lesson for all. He suggests that the only way of life worth living is to enjoy it to the fullest and cherish its ephemeral sensuality. Talking of austerity, control, and abstinence is futile because life is too short, and it will melt and pass away just like ice cream. There’s no reason to control life because there is no way to control death. The poet also presents a choice for himself. He is in the kitchen where the ice cream is to be whipped. Should he go to the other room where the dead body of the lady is resting, or should he linger around the ice cream? He then claims that the only emperor of human life is ice cream which represents: the vivid, disorderly, indulgent desires and instincts in which we all participate. The poet asserts an ironic fact of life: that we ignore certain tragedies to keep living.

The poet stresses the classic tradition of carpe diem, one should seize the day while one can do so, and one can do so only when one embraces the fact, the reality of death.

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of American English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!

Waiting for the Mahatma by R. K. Narayan | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Waiting for a Mahatma is a novel by R. K. Narayan that was published in 1955. The novel is set in the fictional town of Malgudi. The story begins during the late 1930s and culminates in Independent India on the day that Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated in 1948.  In Waiting for the Mahatma, Narayan presented a fictional story with Mahatma Gandhi as a character. Obviously, the whole story revolves around Mahatma Gandhi and depicts that while Gandhi is leading a huge movement, most of the common Indians hardly comprehend his vision. Yet, they are attached to his movement for their own narrow ends. The novel is a light-hearted comic satire depicting the shallow realities of common men captured in the pre-independence rhetoric of freedom and independence and how the ambitious goals of Gandhi’s movement were forgotten or reduced to mere ideals following India’s independence on August 15, 1947. The novel is divided into five chapters in which R. K. Narayan offers a peek into the spirit of nationalism, the champion of nationalism, true and superficial followers of Bapu, and the pangs of Partition.

Characters of Waiting for the Mahatma :

Sriram is the protagonist of the novel. He is a young man in his early twenties belonging to a middle-class, upper-caste family in British India. Sriram is a reckless, lazy, and complacent high school graduate who declined the option of higher studies. He lives with his doting grandmother who is her guardian as he lost both his parents during his childhood. Sriram is an insipid gullible person. While Sriram is a wayward selfish modernist materialist person with no awareness of the freedom struggle, he falls in love with Bharti an orphan girl who was raised by Sevak Sangh, a Gandhian institute as a foster daughter of Mahatma Gandhi. Kanni is a shopkeeper in Malgudi. He is a greedy shopkeeper but doesn’t cheat on Sriram at the time of his nee. Natesh is the corrupt Municipal Chairman of Malgudi. Gorpad is an assistant of Mahatma Gandhi working with Bharti. Jagdish is a hypocrite pseudo-nationalist, a pseudo-Gandhian man who traps Sriram in his petty plans of destruction and robbery while using the name of Subhash Chandra Bose and pretending to be in touch with the Indian Nationalist Army.

Summary of Waiting for the Mahatma :

The novel begins as Sriram, is preparing for the celebration of his twentieth birthday. He is a careless, lazy person who lost his parents during his childhood. His father died as a soldier of the British Army and the regular pension received by his grandmother helped her raise him with love and care. On his twentieth birthday, his grandmother offers him control of the lumpsum cash that she saved in the bank in his name. Sriram is very excited about this money and he decides to withdraw a huge amount of Rs 250. His grandmother realizes that though he is an adult now, he still is reckless and irresponsible and thus, restricts the withdrawal limit to Rs 50 only.

Sriram continues to squander his dead father’s money while he ignores the chance of going to college for higher studies after completing his high school education. Four years pass by and one day, he learns that Mahatma Gandhi is visiting Malgudi. He decides to go and listen to Gandhi’s speech. Sriram fails to comprehend Mahatma Gandhi’s message. When Gandhi raises the issue of untouchability, Sriram remembers how his granny always kept the scavenger a good ten yards away by adopting a bullying tone and how he added fuel to the fire by taunting him; he also recollects that the scavenger went about with his work, unmoved.

During the meeting, he sees a beautiful young girl seeking donations. Sriramis unaware of the purpose of the donation but offers eight Annas (50 paise) in her box and tries to know her age, caste, eligibility for marriage, etc but doesn’t ask her name. The girl goes away after collecting money and Sriram makes it a goal to know everything about her.

A jaggery merchant informs him that the girl’s name is Bharati and she is a member of Sevak Sangh, an organization run by Mahatma Gandhi. Sriram comes to know that Bharati’s parents died during the Satyagrah movement during her childhood and she was adopted by Sevak Sangh as the foster child of Mahatma Gandhi. Sriram is in love with Bharti and thus, he decides to join Mahatma Gandhi’s movement. Bharti takes him to Gandhi who easily reads what kind of person Sriram is. Gandhi tells him, “Before you aspire to drive British from this country you must drive every vestige of violence from your system. You must train yourself to become a hundred percent ‘Ahimsa soldier’.” Gandhi advises him to leave his materialistic self behind and accept a spiritual life.

Sriram follows Gandhi during his visit to the the office of Municipal Chairman of Malgudi, who decorates his office walls with posters of Gandhian leaders to please Mahatma Gandhi and tries to host the Mahatma in his mansion but Gandhi declines. Mahatma Gandhi schedules a visit to the sweeper’s colony and Sriram tails him there too. Sriram notices that Natesh managed to prepare the sweeper’s colony well before Gnadhi’s visit as it appears well managed and free from all the garbage which is usually strewn all over.

Sriram insists that he wishes to become a Gandhian volunteer but comes to know that there are certain requirements like truthfulness and discipline, to become one. Bharti tells him that he may become a volunteer provided his grandmother permits him. Sriram goes home and discusses his meeting with Mahatma Gandhi with his grandmother who is not in favor of the freedom movement and Mahatma’s doctrine of Ahimsa. Sriram realizes that he won’t get permission and thus, he decides to leave home without informing his grandmother. He leaves behind a note of farewell and goes into Gandhiji’s camp.

Soon Gandhi is arrested for raising the Quit India Movement. Sriram is given the task to inform common people and villagers in the nearby areas about the movement. Sriram must paint the words, “Quit India,” on every possible surface across all the villages around Malgudi. Sriram notices that not many people believe in Indians’ capabilities of self-governance. He notices that many people pretend to be supporters and donators of Gandhi’s movement but continue to indulge in deforestation and assistance to the British. He meets some British people too who claim that they are too attached to India and wouldn’t like to leave. Overall, people are confused and continue to follow their double standards to fulfill their needs. Sriram too faces confusion and wonders if wasting ink on other people’s walls will bring independence. Meanwhile, Bharti decides to join Gandhi in jail and asks Sriram to surrender to the police with her. However, Sriram rejects her request and says that he will continue to work for the movement from outside. He asks if she will marry him at the end of all this to which she says that if Gandhi permits, she will.

Now when Sriram is alone, he falls prey to his gullible nature. A pseudo-Gandhian named Jagdeesh starts influencing him. He is a photographer who wears a Khadi and pretends to be Gandhian but continues to say that Gandhi’s Ahimsa cannot bring independence and they need to fight and harm the British government. He takes Sriram to a temple in Mephi hills where he sets his bunker. Jagdish manages a secret radio and pretends to be in contact with Netaji’s Azad Hind Fauj. Sriram becomes a robotic slave of Jagdish and follows each of his whims. He engages Sriram in setting fire to the records of a few law courts, derailing a couple of trains, and paralyzing the work in some schools and colleges. He even teaches Sriram how to make a crude bomb. Soon Sriram becomes a ‘Wanted’ criminal while Bharti is in jail. Sriram knows that Gandhi won’t approve of whatever he is doing.

One day, he goes to meet Bharti who informs him that his grandmother is very ill and he must visit her before she passes away. Sriram goes to his home in disguise but Kanni, the shopkeeper recognizes him. Instead of reporting to the police and getting the reward for helping in catching the ‘Wanted’ criminal, Kanni helps him and informs him that his grandmother is dead. Sriram asks for some money to perform the last rites of her dead grandmother and Kanni offers him all the money needed for that. However, just before Sriram is about to light the pyre, his grandmother revives. He calls a doctor who declares that his grandmother is living and fine. He takes her home but the police get an inkling about his visit to Kabir Street and he gets arrested. Before leaving, Sriram requests Kanni to take care of their grandmother to which Kanni promises he will. Sriram is jailed for a rigorous punishment. His life in jail is difficult as his inmates bully him after knowing that he is a Gandhian. Meanwhile, his grandmother shifts and goes to Benaras while leaving his house in Kabir Street on rent. But Sriram is a criminal prisoner so he isn’t freed. After some days, he learns that India is now free. At last, Sriram is also released from jail as the regime changes. Sriram meets Jagdish who shows him his pictures assisting Gandhi and says that he did so much work for Gandhi but wasn’t recognized and he didn’t get any position of power. Sriram feels guilty for helping such a selfish ego-centric, corrupt person. Jagdish informs him that Bharti was released much earlier than him as she was recognized as a political prisoner while Sriram was a criminal prisoner. He informs that Bharti is in Noakhli in East Bengal where communal riots were on. Sriram writes a letter to her. Bharti answers his letter telling him to meet her on January 14th in New Delhi. Sriram takes a train to New Delhi. On meeting Bharti, Sriram asks if she has taken Gandhi’s permission to marry him. Bharti informs that she didn’t get a chance to talk about it because she and Gandhi were very busy first with the independence movement and then with the sudden break of violence among Hindus and Muslims that resulted in the partition of the nation. At last, she asks Gandhi’s permission for her marriage to Sriram and Gandhi consents to their marriage. Gandhi says that the next day is very auspicious for their marriage and tells them to marry on the very next day and offers to officiate and also give the bride away. After some thinking, he says that he may not be able to attend their marriage but even if he fails to attend, they must marry on the same day.

The night before they plan to be wed, Gandhi is shot and assassinated.

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An Essay on Man Epistle 1 by Alexander Pope | Structure, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. An Essay on Man is a long philosophical poem by Alexander Pope that was first published in the year 1734. The philosophical basis of the poem was based on Henry St. John, 1^st Viscount Boolingbrooke. Pope dedicated the poem to him and mentioned him in the very first couplet of the poem “Awake, my St. John! leave all meaner things / To low ambition, and the pride of kings.”

The Design

The poem is written in Heroic Couplet which remained the favorite of Alexander Pope for all his works. Unlike his other satirical works that often depicted the sad pessimistic situations of society (The Rape of the Lock/ The Dunciad etc.) this poem is very optimistic. As the title suggests, the poem is about Man in the abstract, his Nature, and his State. The poem has four verse parts and the beginning prose part. The first part is The Design which is a brief explanation of the aim of the poem written in prose. In The Design, Pope mentions that he chose to write his idea in verse because it is easier to be concise in verse.

John Milton made a claim in the opening lines of Paradise Lost that he will "justifie the wayes of God to men." Pope makes a similar claim in The Design and says that the poem is an effort to "vindicate the ways of God to man." Unlike John Milton, who based Paradise Lost on Biblical events, Pope didn’t mention any of it. An Essay on Man is not a Biblical allegory. Rather it is concerned with the natural order God has decreed for man. Because man cannot know God's purposes, he cannot complain about his position in the great chain of being and must accept that "Whatever is, is right" and that is the theme of the poem. Pope stresses that man has learned about nature and God's creation through science; consequently, science has given man power, but having become intoxicated by this power, man has begun to think that he is "imitating God".

The poem was hugely praised by Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Emmanuel Kant. However, Voltaire satirized the central idea of the poem in his book Candid.

The essay consists of 1304 lines in heroic couplets divided into four parts of Epistles. Each Epistle (or Letter) begins with an ‘Argument’ that establishes the topic of that part and then offers detailed views on it.

Summary of Epistle 1

The subtitle of the 1^st Epistle of the essay is “Of the Nature and State of Man, concerning the Universe,” and that is the central point of the argument to be clarified. It deals with man’s place in the cosmos. The first epistle consists of 294 lines written in Heroic couplets which can be divided into 10 parts beginning with an introduction.

Pope begins the first Epistle and the whole poem with a dedicatory address to Henry St. John and says,

Awake, my St. John! leave all meaner things / To low ambition, and the pride of kings. // Let us (since life can little more supply / Than just to look about us and to die) // Expatiate free o'er all this scene of man; / A mighty maze! but not without a plan. //

St. John was a political opponent of Robert Walpole and was facing a difficult time thus, Pope addresses him to put aside unimportant and mundane tasks and instead embark on a philosophical quest with him.

Pope suggests that man is nothing special and God has no favorite and thus to justify God’s ways to man must necessarily be to justify His ways about all other things. While Humans have limited abilities and then perceive the world only from their point of view, God certainly has many different worlds, many other points of view, and perceptions to take care of. That is, God is not only responsible for Man, but God is responsible for the whole creation, living and nonliving. Pope further says that often people complain about their weaknesses as they fail to understand the reason for their weaknesses just like they fail to understand why oak is stronger than the weeds beneath it. Then Pope mentions the theme of Hierarchy and order, “strong connexions, nice dependencies, / Gradations just.” This hierarchy is a “Vast chain of being” in which all of God’s creations have a place. Pope contends that Man’s place in this hierarchy is below Angels, but above beasts and birds. Pope says that this chain of beings is too vast and too much ordered which man cannot comprehend. The chain includes organisms too small to see, creatures of the heavens and the oceans, and creatures superior and inferior to people. Despite their positions in Hierarchy, all beings are equally loved by God and all are important for the balance of creation. Even the heavens would fall if the lowest creature were eliminated from the vast chain. Just like all body parts are equally necessary for the proper functioning of our body, every creature in the universe is important to the whole.

The poet says that God keeps the future hidden from humankind for a reason. He suggests that if a lamb knew that it will be slaughtered, it wouldn't frolic happily. Similarly, being unaware of the future is a gift from God to men. This gift can be perceived as ‘Hope’ for a better future. "Hope springs eternal in the human breast," as Pope says.

The poet says that the natural order allows flaws to exist both in nature and in humans. Humans have their capabilities and their limits. The poet says that every creature of this universe has a purpose and if all the creatures are happy with their role in the life cycle, humans should also be happy and they should accept their weaknesses of flaws just like they embrace and cherish their capabilities. If people could do everything they wanted, it would not suffice them and thus, God gifts people with different capabilities and weaknesses. The poet then discusses the issue of ‘Chance’ and says that the Universe is not by ‘Chance’ as man perceives it. Rather, the Universe is highly ordered and thus Chance is rather “direction, which thou canst not see,” that is, even chance or probability is also a highly ordered concept that man is not able to perceive.

Pope says that man should believe in God’s power and acumen since everything exists according to God's plan. A man should submit to God because "whatever is, is right."

Divisions of Epistle 1

Epistle 1 begins with the introduction (Lines 1-16) in which Pope dedicates the poem to Henry St. John and invites him on a quest to “vindicate the ways of God to man.” 

Section 1 comprises Lines 17-34 in which Pope argues that man has a limited point of view because he can perceive and understand the universe about human systems and constructions alone while he is ignorant of greater dependencies of God’s other creations. Humans can judge "only about our own system."

Section 2 comprises lines 35-76 in which the poet says that even with his flaws, man is perfectly suited for his position in the hierarchy of God’s creation according to the general order of things. That is, despite having limited capabilities and flaws, Man is not imperfect; he has a proper place in creation.

Section 3 includes lines 77-112 in which the poet says that like all other creatures, Man remains ignorant of the future and it is a gift by God as it fills Man with hopes for the future. Present happiness depends on hope for the future.

Section 4 contains lines 113-130 in which Pope claims that the reason for man’s suffering and misery is his pride and ambition to gain more knowledge and pretend to greater perfection. By putting himself in the place of God, judging perfection and justice, man acts impiously which leads him to question his limits as by nature, Man is not perfect.

Section 5 includes lines 131- 172 in which Pope ridicules the idea that the sole cause of creation and the idea that God made man in his own image. Pope says that this wrong perception offers the man a ridiculous expectation of perfection in the moral world that does not exist in the natural world.

Section 6 comprises lines 173-206 in which the poet discusses the result of the flaws of man in his pride and greed for more knowledge and will to imitate God. The poet says when Man tries to be God, he faces his own limitations and then he complains against Providence. Pope says that it is unreasonable to complain against God. If man had the omniscience of God, he would be miserable.

Section 7 includes lines 207-232 in which the poet asserts that a well-defined order or gradation prevails over the whole world which is particularly apparent in the hierarchy of earthly creatures and their subordination to man. Pope says that this gradation appears in abilities of sense, instinct, thought, reflection, and reason. Since Reason is superior to all and Man alone has that ability, he is superior to all other creatures.

Section 8 contains lines 233-258 in which Pope again asserts that despite having the power of Reason, it is absurd to suggest that Man is favored by God because all creatures are important for the whole. All creatures are connected, and the connections cannot be destroyed.

Section 9 contains lines 259-280 in which the poet decries the ill attempts of disturbing or subverting the order of Providence as madness.

Section 10 includes lines 281-294 the poet suggests that to submit completely and whole-heartedly to God’s order and acumen is in the best interest of man because absolute submission to God will ensure that man remains “Safe in the hand of one disposing Pow’r” and if man submits to God, then he must believe in his acumen and accept that “Whatever is, is right.”

Analysis of An Essay on Man Epistle 1

It appears that Pope endorses the idea of fatalism in the first epistle and suggests that all things are fated and designed by God. He further stresses that man should take things, situations, and events as best as they are because everything belongs to God’s greater design that man cannot question. After all, he is just a meager part of the grand creation encompassing all.

Pope ascertains the superiority of Man over beasts, birds, and other creatures based on his rational faculty but states that he is no closure and dearer to God than any other creature, and all creatures are equally important for the balance of creation. This is a stark difference from Milton’s Paradise Lost in which Milton asserted that God created man in his own image. Pope further ridicules the efforts of man to become God or Godlike, he suggests a man should understand, embrace and cherish his limits. Pope states that man’s limited intellect can comprehend only a small portion of God’s order and likewise can have knowledge of only half-truths.

Despite praising this poem Pope as "the most beautiful, the most useful, the most sublime didactic poem ever written in any language,” Voltaire opposed and ridiculed this fatalistic approach in his book Candide.

In Epistle 1, or the whole poem An Essay on Man, Pope didn’t express any new idea of his own, but rather expressed Neoclassical ideas and theories in a very elucidated and attractive manner.

So this is it for today. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!