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aboutaphrodite's review against another edition
5.0
absolutely beautiful and tragic. it’s perfect, it’s just so perfect. i read this story and was immediately captivated by it. and for a poem published in 1717 it’s quite easy to read and understand too, once you translate a few words and get a hang of the style it’s written in. i would encourage everyone to read this, it’s wonderful.
valplanta's review against another edition
4.0
Oh happy state! when souls each other draw,
When love is liberty, and nature, law:
All then is full, possessing, and possess'd,
No craving void left aching in the breast:
Ev'n thought meets thought, ere from the lips it part,
And each warm wish springs mutual from the heart.
Sudden you mount, you beckon from the skies;
Clouds interpose, waves roar, and winds arise.
I shriek, start up, the same sad prospect find,
And wake to all the griefs I left behind.
When love is liberty, and nature, law:
All then is full, possessing, and possess'd,
No craving void left aching in the breast:
Ev'n thought meets thought, ere from the lips it part,
And each warm wish springs mutual from the heart.
Sudden you mount, you beckon from the skies;
Clouds interpose, waves roar, and winds arise.
I shriek, start up, the same sad prospect find,
And wake to all the griefs I left behind.
skeleton_richard's review against another edition
3.0
As evidenced by my previous review of The Rape of the Lock, I was not too pleased with Pope, so I didn't expect to like this. I surprisingly did. I love Eloisa in history, she's awesome, and I would have liked the poem to have addressed her intellect/scholarly pursuits but what can you expect from the guy who wrote about how silly it was that a girl was upset someone cut off a lock of her hair.
Actually, despite not really demonstrating how smart she was, this poem still gives a sympathetic and downright heartbreaking look into the emotions of someone who's been torn from someone she loves and can't keep her mind off of-- the heroic couplet scheme (aa, bb, cc, dd,...) really fits with these feelings, and it's a genuinely emotional work that fortunately doesn't come down to something as angering as Rape of the Lock. Good on you, Alex.
Actually, despite not really demonstrating how smart she was, this poem still gives a sympathetic and downright heartbreaking look into the emotions of someone who's been torn from someone she loves and can't keep her mind off of-- the heroic couplet scheme (aa, bb, cc, dd,...) really fits with these feelings, and it's a genuinely emotional work that fortunately doesn't come down to something as angering as Rape of the Lock. Good on you, Alex.
lawrenceevalyn's review against another edition
3.0
It's Pope, so it has all the expected Popian charms, but it's not Pope at his most endearing. I'm glad to have rounded out my knowledge of his oeuvre, but I like him better when he has a larger scope.
toggle_fow's review against another edition
5.0
This rating is just for Essay On Man, which I love. My kindle edition includes some other works from Pope, including his Horace satires, a poem to a lady (which concludes that "men some to business, some to pleasure take / but every woman is at heart a rake"), and what seems to be a poem about his dissatisfaction with the pretentious landscaping conventions of his day.
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