Pope’s life as a writer falls into three periods, answering fairly enough to the three reigns in which he worked.  Under Queen Anne he was an original poet, but made little money by his verses; under George I. he was chiefly a translator, and made much money by satisfying the French-classical taste with versions of the “Iliad” and “Odyssey.”  Under George I. he also edited Shakespeare, but with little... more...

In great King Arthur’s reign, Tom’s history first begun;A farmer’s wife had sigh’d in vain to have a darling son!A fairy listen’d to her call, and granted her the same;But being very small, Tom Thumb she did him name.   To please him every means she’d take,And a pudding large did for him make;But in trying to obtain a sip,Into the batter did he slip!The batter in the pot went plump;Tom made the pudding... more...

To some the eighteenth-century definition of proper poetic matter is unacceptable; but to any who believe that true poetry may (if not "must") consist in "what oft was thought but ne'er so well expressed," Gray's "Churchyard" is a majestic achievement—perhaps (accepting the definition offered) the supreme achievement of its century. Its success, so the great critic of its day thought, lay in its appeal to "the common reader"; and though no... more...

Good people all,with one accord, Lament forMadam Blaize, Who never wanteda good word— From those who spoke her praise.   The needy seldom pass’d her door,And always found her kind; She freely lent to all the poor— Who left a pledge behind.   She strove the neighbourhood to pleaseWith manners wondrous winning; And never follow’d... more...

Good people all, of every sort,Give ear unto my song;And if you find it wondrous short,   It cannot hold you long.     In Islington there lived a man,Of whom the world might say,That still a godly race he ran,   Whene'er he went   to pray.     A kind and gentle heart he had,To comfort friends and foes;The naked every day he clad,   When he put on... more...

A carrion crow sat on an oak,Watching a tailor shape his cloak."Wife, bring me my old bent bow,That I may shoot yon carrion crow."The tailor he shot and missed his mark,And shot his own sow quite through the heart."Wife, wife, bring brandy in a spoon,For our old sow is in a swoon." B Ba, ba, black sheep,  Have you any wool?Yes, marry, have I,  Three bags full.One for my master,  One for my... more...

'SAlbert Edward, well meaning but flighty, Who invited King Arthur, the blameless and mighty, To meet Alcibiades and Aphrodite.       is for Bernhardt, who fails to awaken Much feeling in Bismarck, Barabbas, and Bacon.       is Columbus, who tries to explain How to balance an egg—to the utter disdain Of Confucius, Carlyle, Cleopatra, and Cain.  ... more...

Canto I. Over the great windy waters, and over the clear-crested summits,Unto the sun and the sky, and unto the perfecter earth,Come, let us go,—to a land wherein gods of the old time wandered,Where every breath even now changes to ether divine.Come, let us go; though withal a voice whisper, 'The world that we live in,Whithersoever we turn, still is the same narrow crib;'Tis but to prove limitation, and measure a cord, that we travel;Let... more...

TEASE I WILL give you all my keys,  You shall be my châtelaine,You shall enter as you please,  As you please shall go again. When I hear you jingling through  All the chambers of my soul,How I sit and laugh at you  In your vain housekeeping rôle. Jealous of the smallest cover,  Angry at the simplest door;Well, you anxious, inquisitive lover,  Are you pleased with what's in... more...

POEMS. AMONG THE MILLET. The dew is gleaming in the grass,The morning hours are seven,And I am fain to watch you pass,Ye soft white clouds of heaven. Ye stray and gather, part and fold;The wind alone can tame you;I think of what in time of oldThe poets loved to name you. They called you sheep, the sky your sward,A field without a reaper;They called the shining sun your lord,The shepherd wind your keeper. Your sweetest poets I will... more...