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Quiz about To Write Aright  Popes Essay on Criticism
Quiz about To Write Aright  Popes Essay on Criticism

To Write Aright: Pope's "Essay on Criticism" Quiz


Alexander Pope's work may just be the most frequently quoted in the English language following the Bible and Shakespeare. Several famous phrases and lines of his can be found in his "Essay on Criticism". Do you recognize any?

A multiple-choice quiz by alaspooryoric. Estimated time: 6 mins.
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Time
6 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
359,573
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
373
Awards
Top 5% quiz!
Last 3 plays: Guest 117 (7/10), Guest 49 (7/10), Guest 157 (4/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. At the very beginning of "An Essay on Criticism", Pope writes, "'Tis hard to say, if greater want of skill / Appear in writing or in judging ill"; thus he begins his thorough exploration of the principles judges should use to determine the quality of good writing. Not surpisingly, he decides the bad literary critic is guilty of the greater crime against people, having misled their understanding. He points out that what the critic presents as fact is truly only his opinion--and everyone's got one of those. Pope writes, "'Tis with our judgments as our _________, none / Go just alike, yet each believes his own" (lines 9-10). Which of the following words goes in the blank? (If you don't know, try each word and think about which makes the most sense). Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. In "An Essay on Criticism", Pope praises Virgil because he modeled his "Aeneid" on the works of an earlier significant writer. Pope writes, "Nature and ________ were, he [Virgil] found, the same" (line 135). Which ancient author of the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey" goes in this blank? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. In "An Essay on Criticism" Pope refers to "pride, the never-failing vice of fools" (line 204). He blames it for most of the error and bias of which writers and critics are guilty. Because of pride's part in human nature, a critic cannot trust himself to be honest with himself about his own faults. Pope writes, "Trust not yourself: but your defects to know, / Make use of every friend--and __________" (lines 213-14). Which of the following groups of words goes in this blank? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. One of the most famous couplets from Pope's "An Essay on Criticism" is the following: "A little learning is a dangerous thing; / drink deep, or taste not the Pierian ________" (lines 215-16). What word goes in this blank?

Answer: (One Word (six letters, completes the rhyme))
Question 5 of 10
5. Later, in Part 2 of "An Essay on Criticism", Pope makes an argument to support brevity. He writes, "Words are like _______; and where they most abound, / Much fruit of sense beneath is rarely found" (309-10). Think about something that often blankets a forest floor; then, determine what needs to be in the blank here. Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Earlier in Part 2 of "An Essay on Criticism", Alexander Pope insists that readers and critics should judge a composition as a complete work, not criticize the composition's pieces separate from one another: "A perfect judge will read each work of wit / With the same spirit that its author writ: / Survey the whole, nor seek slight faults to find" (lines 233-35). After all, we do not judge a woman's attractiveness by only one part of her body. Pope explains, "'Tis not a lip, or eye, we _______ call, / But the joint force and full result of all" (lines 245-46). What word below completes this quotation? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Later in "An Essay on Criticism", Pope attacks critics' wishy-washiness and hypocrisy, or perhaps their fear to commit to truth. He writes, "Some praise at morning what they blame at night, / But always think the last opinion ______" (lines 430-431). Which word below completes this quotation? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Alexander Pope reminds us in his "Essay on Criticism" that each generation adds something to the pursuit of truth and that we should again embrace humility before judging one another. He writes, "We think our ________ fools, so wise we grow; / Our wiser sons, no doubt, will think us so" (lines 438-39). Which word below best completes this quotation? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Alexander Pope also encourages us to judge with courage and sincerity. When we read something that is true, beautiful, and good, we should stand up and say it is so. In "An Essay on Criticism", he writes, "Be thou the first true merit to _______; / His praise is lost who stays till all commend" (lines 474-75). What word below best completes this quotation? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Some of the most famous words of Pope's occur in "An Essay on Criticism" after he admonishes critics not "to let the man be lost!" within themselves (line 523). What word completes the following well-known quotation: "Good nature and good sense must ever join; / To err is human, to forgive ________" (lines 524-25)?

Answer: (One Word (six letters, and not an exact rhyme))

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. At the very beginning of "An Essay on Criticism", Pope writes, "'Tis hard to say, if greater want of skill / Appear in writing or in judging ill"; thus he begins his thorough exploration of the principles judges should use to determine the quality of good writing. Not surpisingly, he decides the bad literary critic is guilty of the greater crime against people, having misled their understanding. He points out that what the critic presents as fact is truly only his opinion--and everyone's got one of those. Pope writes, "'Tis with our judgments as our _________, none / Go just alike, yet each believes his own" (lines 9-10). Which of the following words goes in the blank? (If you don't know, try each word and think about which makes the most sense).

Answer: watches

Alexander Pope published "An Essay on Criticism" in 1711, when he was merely 22 years old. One might be tempted to think his work was an exercise in arrogance, given his age, for older and more experienced writers and critics would surely laugh or be insulted at what a young writer could possibly offer them. Nevertheless, Pope's "Essay" became his first real success, and many critics praised it.

For example, Joseph Addison wrote in "Spectator" 253, that Pope's piece combined the "most known and most received observations on the subject of literature and criticism".
2. In "An Essay on Criticism", Pope praises Virgil because he modeled his "Aeneid" on the works of an earlier significant writer. Pope writes, "Nature and ________ were, he [Virgil] found, the same" (line 135). Which ancient author of the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey" goes in this blank?

Answer: Homer

As an Augustan, Pope believed that writers and critics alike should allow themselves to be guided by Nature (that which makes up the common essence of each category or species of items in the universe) and the Ancients (those who wrote and lived during Classical times, i.e. the ancient Greeks and Romans). Pope's praise of Homer is high indeed, for he claims that reading Homer is no different from observing Nature itself. Furthermore, as a product of the Enlightenment, Pope believed in the Great Chain of Being, an explanation of the universe that placed all things into categories that were themselves arranged in a hierarchical plan from highest (God) to lowest (the elements). Pope believed in a structured and ordered universe created by a logical God, and he thought human beings achieved their best when they understood this structure and order and lived accordingly.

This partly explains his insistence on following tradition and following the Ancients, who he believed had understood this structure and order and had understood the nature of the universe and the nature of human beings.

This also partly explains the structure and order of his own poem "An Essay on Criticism", which he writes in heroic couplets. The entire essay is really a poem with every two lines rhyming and every line adhering to the rhythm of iambic pentameter. Every line consists of ten syllables, five two-syllable metrical feet with the second syllable receiving an emphasis each time. The opening two lines would be read something like this: "'Tis HARD | to SAY | if GREAT | er WANT | of SKILL / Ap PEAR | in WRIT | ing OR | in JUDG | ing ILL".
3. In "An Essay on Criticism" Pope refers to "pride, the never-failing vice of fools" (line 204). He blames it for most of the error and bias of which writers and critics are guilty. Because of pride's part in human nature, a critic cannot trust himself to be honest with himself about his own faults. Pope writes, "Trust not yourself: but your defects to know, / Make use of every friend--and __________" (lines 213-14). Which of the following groups of words goes in this blank?

Answer: every foe

Pope's advice seems relatively sound, doesn't it? You cannot trust yourself to be honest with yourself about your own faults, so you have to go outside yourself. Thus, you turn to your friends, but friends aren't always that honest with you either. After all, they care about you and your feelings. On the other hand, I'm certain most of your foes would be happy (if not thrilled) to be brutally honest with you about your flaws.

In the end, turning to both your friends and your foes will more than likely give you a balanced and accurate understanding of who or what you are.
4. One of the most famous couplets from Pope's "An Essay on Criticism" is the following: "A little learning is a dangerous thing; / drink deep, or taste not the Pierian ________" (lines 215-16). What word goes in this blank?

Answer: spring

The Pierian spring is a reference to the water flowing on Mount Olympus, a spring sacred to the Muses. Thus, the Pierian spring in Pope's poem becomes a metaphor for the source of knowledge and creative inspiration. His point is this: people are prideful, as he's already established, so once they get a little bit of knowledge about something, they conceitedly become know-it-alls.

They become "drunk" so to speak on the little bit of knowledge they've imbibed, so their heads swell and they suddenly think they know everything. On the other hand, if they were to drink deeply, they would discover that there is an infinite amount of knowledge and that they know hardly any of all there is to know.

As Socrates suggested, the wise man understands that he really knows nothing at all. Thus, Pope advises, "Drink deep, or taste not", for the man who knows little but thinks he knows a great deal is a dangerous man.

He follows this couplet with another: "There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, / And drinking largely sobers us again" (lines 217-18). Most would, of course, believe that the more one drinks, the more inebriated one becomes; this is how drinking alcohol works.

However, Pope wittily points out just the opposite with knowledge; the less one drinks of it, the drunker one becomes.
5. Later, in Part 2 of "An Essay on Criticism", Pope makes an argument to support brevity. He writes, "Words are like _______; and where they most abound, / Much fruit of sense beneath is rarely found" (309-10). Think about something that often blankets a forest floor; then, determine what needs to be in the blank here.

Answer: leaves

Pope argues that the length of a work or that the proponderance of words in a work has nothing to do with whether that work is of artistic quality. In fact, according to him, the opposite is usually the case. If one were to dig beneath the layer of rotting leaves covering a forest's floor, one would find nothing that was producing anything akin to fruit. Likewise, by the time one searches beneath all of the words of a lengthy piece, one often finds nothing much has been said, nothing fruitful anyway. Nevertheless, Pope's "Essay on Criticism" is three books in length and is 744 lines long itself, despite his advice to avoid verbosity.

Interestingly, Pope claimed he wrote his "Essay" in heroic couplets and in the form of a poem partially because he felt it would help reign in any attempts to be overly wordy.
6. Earlier in Part 2 of "An Essay on Criticism", Alexander Pope insists that readers and critics should judge a composition as a complete work, not criticize the composition's pieces separate from one another: "A perfect judge will read each work of wit / With the same spirit that its author writ: / Survey the whole, nor seek slight faults to find" (lines 233-35). After all, we do not judge a woman's attractiveness by only one part of her body. Pope explains, "'Tis not a lip, or eye, we _______ call, / But the joint force and full result of all" (lines 245-46). What word below completes this quotation?

Answer: beauty

Pope argued adamantly that a critic should focus entirely on the written work he was judging and what that work's overall purpose was, "And if the means be just, the conduct true, / Applause, in spite of trivial faults, is due" (lines 257-58). Pope was also frustrated by "ad hominem" attacks from would-be critics.

When other writers could not find anything to criticize in Pope's work, they often turned to belittling him because of his Catholic faith (which also led to his being barred from attending a university, receiving patronage, and even voting) and his physical deformities (a childhood illness had left him crippled, hunched, stunted, and in pain for most of his life). Finally, Pope also argues that if critics' only desire is to find something to gripe about, then they'll surely find it, for no one can create a perfect work: "Whoever thinks a faultless piece to see, / Thinks what ne'er was, nor is, nor e'er could be" (lines 253-54).

In other words, a critic's goal should not be to search for perfection.
7. Later in "An Essay on Criticism", Pope attacks critics' wishy-washiness and hypocrisy, or perhaps their fear to commit to truth. He writes, "Some praise at morning what they blame at night, / But always think the last opinion ______" (lines 430-431). Which word below completes this quotation?

Answer: right

In this section of "An Essay on Criticism", Pope also attacks those who cannot think for themselves: "Some ne'er advance a judgment of their own, / But catch the spreading notion of the town" (lines 408-09). This couplet also makes use of eye-rhyme--words that appear visually to rhyme but, of course, audibly do not. Later, he criticizes those who rebel just for the sake of rebelling: "So much they scorn the crowd, that if the throng / By chance go right, they purposely go wrong" (lines 426-27).
8. Alexander Pope reminds us in his "Essay on Criticism" that each generation adds something to the pursuit of truth and that we should again embrace humility before judging one another. He writes, "We think our ________ fools, so wise we grow; / Our wiser sons, no doubt, will think us so" (lines 438-39). Which word below best completes this quotation?

Answer: fathers

As we judge others who have come before us, so will we also be judged by those who come after us, and sometimes more harshly. Thus, we are reminded to keep a broader, wiser, and humbler perspective as we judge one another. Pope also points out that when we judge, we should not arrogantly use ourselves as the standard by which we judge others: "Some valuing those of their own side or mind, / Still [always] make themselves the measure of mankind: / Fondly [foolishly] we think we honor merit then, / When we but praise ourselves in other men" (lines 452-55).
9. Alexander Pope also encourages us to judge with courage and sincerity. When we read something that is true, beautiful, and good, we should stand up and say it is so. In "An Essay on Criticism", he writes, "Be thou the first true merit to _______; / His praise is lost who stays till all commend" (lines 474-75). What word below best completes this quotation?

Answer: befriend

Again, Pope's advice makes good sense. When we praise another after he or she has waited to see what fifty others are going to say, our words seem rather hollow and meaningless then. We seem to be "jumping on the bandwagon" instead of being sincere.
10. Some of the most famous words of Pope's occur in "An Essay on Criticism" after he admonishes critics not "to let the man be lost!" within themselves (line 523). What word completes the following well-known quotation: "Good nature and good sense must ever join; / To err is human, to forgive ________" (lines 524-25)?

Answer: divine

"To err is human, to forgive divine" has reached essentially the status of being a cliche, it is spoken and written so much. It is indeed a powerful line. We are reminded that being human is easy: all we have to do is make mistakes. However, if we truly wish to achieve a life closer to godliness, then we must learn to forgive. Thus, the critic's chief quality should be forgiveness, not a keen ability to discern faults. How completely different from our usual notions of what critics are supposed to be. Of minor note here is Pope's use of a slant rhyme, two or more words that almost sound as if they rhyme but do not. Pope's use of slant rhyme here reinforces his own claims; he demonstrates that humans are not perfect in his failure to create an absolute rhyme, yet who would criticize Pope's failure after considering the profoundness of the couplet and its beauty?
Source: Author alaspooryoric

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