is anyone aware of the poem the riddle of the world by alexander pope? well i got a homework assignment and i need to find a metaphor in that poem, but im kinda having trouble. Please help

Know then thyself, presume not God to scan
The proper study of mankind is man.
Placed on this isthmus of a middle state,
A being darkly wise, and rudely great:
With too much knowledge for the sceptic side,
With too much weakness for the stoic's pride,
He hangs between; in doubt to act, or rest;
In doubt to deem himself a God, or beast;
In doubt his mind and body to prefer;
Born but to die, and reas'ning but to err;
Alike in ignorance, his reason such,
Whether he thinks to little, or too much;
Chaos of thought and passion, all confus'd;
Still by himself, abus'd or disabus'd;
Created half to rise and half to fall;
Great lord of all things, yet a prey to all,
Sole judge of truth, in endless error hurl'd;
The glory, jest and riddle of the world.

Know then thyself, presume not God to scan
The proper study of Mankind is Man.
Placed on this isthmus of a middle state,
A Being darkly wise, and rudely great:
With too much knowledge for the Sceptic side,
With too much weakness for the Stoic's pride,
He hangs between; in doubt to act, or rest;
In doubt to deem himself a God, or Beast;
In doubt his mind and body to prefer;
Born but to die, and reas'ning but to err;
Whether he thinks to little, or too much;
Chaos of Thought and Passion, all confus'd;
Still by himself, abus'd or disabus'd;
Created half to rise and half to fall;
Great Lord of all things, yet a prey to all,
Sole judge of truth, in endless error hurl'd;
The glory, jest and riddle of the world.

[en.wikipedia.org]
[en.wikipedia.org]

yea but i cant find a metaphor with in the poem, can u help me find one

Better read both the links Desi posted for you, kcja.

And read the poem again, to be sure you understand what Pope is saying in it.

If I called a man a joke, that would be a metaphor. Pope doesn't do that, but does something similar.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/24/2006 05:09PM by IanB.

yea but thats tha thing, i dont really understand the poem entirely, i've read it like 10 times already, im going to keep looking though, thanks anyway.

the closets thing i see to your example is where pope says great lord of all things, but im not sure if thats it, i got to get a better understandon of the poem 1st b/c im not too sure if by great lord of all things, if pope is refering to God or man

Desi's isthmus is a great example, kcja. Man is "Placed on this isthmus of a middle state". Clearly, we live on a planet, not an isthmus. But, how could earth be the same as an isthmus? An isthmus is a narrow strip of land that connects two larger land masses. Could be life is the isthmus between the state of non-existence before we are born and whatever existence comes after we die? If so, that would be a metaphor.

Is mankind also a jest and/or a riddle? If so, how? Would those also be examples of metaphors? Keep in mind that a simile says that one thing is like another thing in certain ways. A metaphor says that one thing is virtually the same as another thing. All the world's a stage, for example. Obviously, the world is not a stage, but they can be said to have a great number of things in common (as Shakespeare goes on to explain).

Look up also related terms such as parable, allegory and conceit at the site below (maybe click on metaphor and look at figures of comparison):

[humanities.byu.edu]

A metaphor is an expression used to describe something otherwise simple by use of a word picture that better states the meaning in the context.

"The Crown" - a word picture of the entire monarchy

"We was robbed! - an excuse for a Cubs loss

"Shit on a shingle" - creamed, ground beef on toast, one of the gems of military culinary art.

OK, here's a hint:

What is Pope talking about when he says "Chaos of thought and Passion." No, its not desperate house wives. Try again.

Paddy

"My muse is a jealous whore."

“Uh-huhhhhh…Isthmus be my lucky day!"

John “Uh-Huh” Collum - The Little Rascals