Pope's "Essay on Criticism" is a didactic poem in heroic couplets, begun, perhaps, as early as 1705, and published, anonymously, in 1711. The poetic essay was a relatively new genre, and the "Essay" itself was Pope's most ambitious work to that time. It was in part an attempt on Pope's part to identify and refine his own positions as poet and critic, and his response to an ongoing critical debate which centered on the question of whether poetry should be "natural" or written according to predetermined "artificial" rules inherited from the classical past.

The poem commences with a discussion of the rules of taste which ought to govern poetry, and which enable a critic to make sound critical judgements. In it Pope comments, too, upon the authority which ought properly to be accorded to the classical authors who dealt with the subject; and concludes (in an apparent attempt to reconcile the opinions of the advocates and opponents of rules) that the rules of the ancients are in fact identical with the rules of Nature: poetry and painting, that is, like religion and morality, actually reflect natural law. The "Essay on Criticism," then, is deliberately ambiguous: Pope seems, on the one hand, to admit that rules are necessary for the production of and criticism of poetry, but he also notes the existence of mysterious, apparently irrational qualities--"Nameless Graces," identified by terms such as "Happiness" and "Lucky Licence"--with which Nature is endowed, and which permit the true poetic genius, possessed of adequate "taste," to appear to transcend those same rules. The critic, of course, if he is to appreciate that genius, must possess similar gifts. True Art, in other words, imitates Nature, and Nature tolerates and indeed encourages felicitous irregularities which are in reality (because Nature and the physical universe are creations of God) aspects of the divine order of things which is eternally beyond human comprehension. Only God, the infinite intellect, the purely rational being, can appreciate the harmony of the universe, but the intelligent and educated critic can appreciate poetic harmonies which echo those in nature. Because his intellect and his reason are limited, however, and because his opinions are inevitably subjective, he finds it helpful or necessary to employ rules which are interpretations of the ancient principles of nature to guide him--though he should never be totally dependent upon them. We should note, in passing, that in "The Essay on Criticism" Pope is frequently concerned with "wit"--the word occurs once, on average, in every sixteen lines of the poem. What does he mean by it?

Pope then proceeds to discuss the laws by which a critic should be guided--insisting, as any good poet would, that critics exist to serve poets, not to attack them. He then provides, by way of example, instances of critics who had erred in one fashion or another. What, in Pope's opinion (here as elsewhere in his work) is the deadliest critical sin--a sin which is itself a reflection of a greater sin? All of his erring critics, each in their own way, betray the same fatal flaw.

The final section of the poem discusses the moral qualities and virtues inherent in the ideal critic, who is also the ideal man--and who, Pope laments, no longer exists in the degenerate world of the early eighteenth century.

来自于《英美文学选读》对《论批评》的相关解释与补充。

Alexander Pope(1688-1744) An Essay on Criticism is writen by Alexander Pope,it is a didactic poem written in heroic couplets.It consists of 744 lines and is divided into three parts.It sumps up the art of poetry as upheld and practised by the ancients like Aristotle,Horace,Boileau,etc.and the eighteeth century European classicists.The poet first laments the dearth of true taste in poetic criticism of his day and calls on people to turn to the old Greek and Roman writers for guidance.After a detailed account of the various problems in literary criticism,he offershis own ideas and presents the classical rules.At the end of the poem,he also traces the history of literary criticism from Aristotle down to Boileau and Roscommon.The poem,as a comprehensive study of the theories of literary criticism,exerted great influence upon Pope's contemporary writers in advocating the classical rules and popularizing the neoclassicist tradition in England.

The whole poem is written in a plain style,hardly containing any imagery or eloquence and therefore makes easy reading.（You have to have special permission to reprint this article,reproduction of material without witten permission is strictly prohibited.Contact me for permission to copy this article.This article or section may be inaccurate ,hope more experts can make comments on it.Thanks.）

<<论批评>>是用英雄双韵体写成的说教诗，共744行，分为三部分。这部作品集十八世纪欧洲古典主义作家及古希腊罗马著名学者亚里士多德，霍拉斯，布瓦罗等人诗歌艺术之大成。诗人首先叹息当诗歌评论界缺乏一种真实的文风，并号召人们向古希腊罗马时期的作品寻求启示。在详述了文学评论界存在的各种问题之后，作者展示了自己的看法并提出古典文学的尺度。全诗结尾，作者还回忆了整个文学评论的历史，从亚里士多德到布瓦罗（法国古典主义文学理论家）。蒲柏的这篇诗作：是对文学批评理论的全面研究，对同时期作家们产生了深远的影响，倡导了古典主义标准，在英国普及了新古典主义。

全诗风格简朴无华，不含任何比喻及文辞典故，因而很容易阅读。(以上只是对主要内容的相关介绍，未经同意，禁止复制与转载）。

参考了“英语语言学”网站 http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_59a22f2b0100axr2.html

《英美文学选读》“Selected Readings In English And American Literatures”主编：张伯香 副主编：马建君 胡晓红