Interpretive Essay 2
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Submit an essay by e-mail on the following topic. You should complete and post both Reader's Log 2A and 2B before writing this essay.
You may make your essay an integral part of an e-mail message or you may send it as an attachment in either Word or WordPerfect. In the subject line of your e-mail message, write Essay on Pope.
Topic assignment:
The following traits are prominent in Neoclassical poetry: abundant allusion to classical literature; an emphasis upon satire; a tendency toward the philosophical and didactic rather than lyrical; and heroic verse. Write an essay in which you demonstrate these qualities in the poetry of Alexander Pope, referring expressly to the assigned poems by Pope in our text.
Open with an introductory paragraph that states your purpose clearly. In developing your essay, treat each of the four traits in the order which they are named here. Show their presence in the poems, referring to specific passages and giving brief quotations to illustrate your generalizations. While it is appropriate to concentrate on the poems considered in the greatest detail by the Reader's Log, be sure to consider all of the poems somewhere in your discussion.
