The morning call., 1893-11-16
OLN FOfE.
The Mature Work of the
Great Poet.
."THE RAPE OF THE LOCK-"
All of the Essentials of the
Mock Heroic.
BOLINGBROKE'S PHILOSOPHY.
Influence ar, the Uo,,
aTHE RAPE OF THE LOCK-"
BOLINGBROKE'S PHILOSOPHY.
Its influence on the "Essay on Man. -
Epistles and Satires Stand
First.

The fourth lecture In the university
course of English literature was delivered
at the Hopkins Art building yesterday
afternoon by Professor Louis du Pout
Syle.
The especially famous poems of Alex
ander Pope were critically reviewed,
''The Rape of the Lock" being the first
considered. This poem when first pub
lished was only about half as long as it
now is. but as it attained great popularity
almost at once after publication Pope
amplifed it to its present form by intro
ducing what is known as machinery"
AS an example of the true mock heroic
poem Professor Syle considers it TO be al
most perfect. and in this connection a de f.
milton of true heroic poem was given in
The following words: IAN epic narrates a
length. and in metrical form, as poetic
whole, with subOrdinati0n of parts, series
of heroic achievements under the ma
chinery of supernatural guidance" Sub
stituting ''unheroic" for heroic shows
what mock heroic means.
The essentials of a mock heroic are:
First. the action must be small; second,
the results must be OF Importance; third,
moral tone must pervade tue whole or
the trif1ing seems inexousable fourth, the
machinery must appropriately further or
delay the action; fifth. the episodes must
be subOrdinated co the main action; sixth,
the diction must be elevated-and all these
requisites are found in the poem under
consideration. The stealing of lock of
hair was tritliDg action, but the result
the breaking up of friendship between
two families-was of Importance. The
moral tone is supplied by the poets inten-
tion to reprove the frivolity of fashiona-
he woman. The machinery, supplied
from book that Pope read SOON after the
poem first appeared, is both beautiful and
appropriate. The episodes follow each
OTHER in clear and logical sequence, and
the dictiOn throughout is serious and ele-
waited.
Selections from the poem were read by
the lecturer to prove all these statements,
and Pope'S translation of the Had was
then spoken of briefly. This work, The
professor said, is more para phrase
than an accurate translation. Pupe's
uHfamilierity with Greek initiating
against him in this regard. and his own
fancy led him to insert words and amplify
thoughts and ideas in many instances,
thus departing from the simplicity OF
Homer. Professor Syle stated, however,
that in spite of these faults 1t is doubtful
If any other translation of this famous
work has so much life and action as this
OF POpe's. or gives in general SO good IN
idea of Homer's style.
The Essay on Man." which originated
In system of philosophy given him by
his friend Lord Bolingbroke, was de-
scribed as being a truly catholic poem. In
the broadest and best sense of the word,
being remarkable for its humanitarianism
and also for the power which it displays of
eleVaTing or degrading a theme. The sys-
TEN of philosophy EN- bodied therein is in
coherent ana illogical, and in reality urges
people on to- fataiism which Pope was