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Question 11 • TX-English IV A-CR

A student is writing about characteristics of the Enlightenment period found in Alexander Pope’s An Essay on Man.

Answer

Pope uses iambic pentameter because each line contains ten stressed and unstressed syllables. His ideas are traditional and uphold old-fashioned family values.

Pope uses the structure of heroic couplets to focus the reader’s attention on his ideas. His writings reflect the logical and rational philosophy common during the Enlightenment.

An Essay on Man includes many poetic elements, such as repetition and antithesis. These elements create figurative images that entertained readers during the Enlightenment.

An Essay on Man emphasizes the importance of science in understanding the human mind. Pope uses little structure in his writing because he rejected tradition.

Explanation

Pope writes An Essay on Man in heroic couplets, pairs of rhyming lines that commonly use iambic pentameter. This orderly structure helps emphasize the poem’s ideas, which reflect the Enlightenment’s interest in reason and rational thought. Choice A misdefines iambic pentameter and incorrectly characterizes the poem as focused on traditional family values.

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