An Essay on Criticism
- Reading level
- Plain English
- Price
- Free
About the book
"An Essay on Criticism" by Alexander Pope is a major poem published in 1711. Composed in heroic couplets, this verse essay examines how writers and critics should behave in the literary world of Pope's time. The poem offers advice on good criticism while warning against common faults, emphasizing imitation of ancient writers like Homer and Virgil as the ultimate standard for taste. It's the source of enduring quotations including "To err is human; to forgive, divine" and "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."
- Criticism
- Poetry
Updated September 2026. Public domain in the USA. Text and summary from Project Gutenberg eBook #7409. An Essay on Criticism on Wikipedia.
