The "Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot" is a poem written by Alexander Pope and completed in the summer of 1734. Dr. John Arbuthnot was a physician and was known as a man of wit. He was a member of the Martinus Scriblerus Club, together with amongst others Alexander Pope, Jonathan Swift and John Gay. He was formerly the physician of Queen Anne.
Analysis
The poem is a conversation (although sometimes printed as a letter) between Pope and Arbuthnot, in which Pope gives his satirical opinion about certain members of 18th century society, for example Edmund Curll, who was a disreputable book seller.
"Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?" is probably one of its most famous lines. The common idiom "Damn with faint praise" also originates in this poem.
References
- The Norton Anthology of English literature, volume 1
This is not a conversation between Pope and Arbuthnot, as it is entitled 'Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot.' Having the word 'epistle' - which means letter - in the title clearly means that the poem is a letter to his doctor, who is absent in the poem, but appears to be there because, as Pope is writing, his friend comes alive on the page. So we, the readers, may feel that Pope is talking directly to Arbuthnot, but he isn't physically present in the poem.
The poem's internal audience - Arbuthnot - is geographically absent. This poem is an example of the 'Epistilian' dialectic, where the speaker is alone when he writes, but creates an audience through the letter he is writing. Arbuthnot is merely a personality on the page. There is never a direct address to the Doctor, as he is away from Pope.
External links
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