Hi, for my english AP class I have been analysing the Poem by Alexander Pope "The Dying Christian to His Soul" and have had some trouble with it. Considering that Pope was quite a satirist, at first I thought that he was mocking people of christian faith that see death as a good thing. After further investigating, I found this to be improvable considering that Pope himself was a christian. It is true that he could still be satirizing christianitie's view of death, but this seem highly unlikely to me. Also, the last two lines of the poem wich say "O Grave! where is thy Victory? O Death! where is thy Sting" are a bit confusing to me considering they are in capital letters. Is he making reference to another piece of literature or another person? Thanks in advance.
The last lines you were wondering about are 1 Corinthians 15:55 in the King James version.
Vital spark of heav'nly flame,
Quit, oh, quit, this mortal frame!
Trembling, hoping, ling'ring, flying,
Oh, the pain, the bliss of dying!
Cease, fond Nature, cease thy strife,
And let me languish into life!
Hark! they whisper; Angels say,
Sister Spirit, come away.
What is this absorbs me quite,
Steals my senses, shuts my sight,
Drowns my spirits, draws my breath?
Tell me, my Soul! can this be Death?
The world recedes; it disappears;
Heav'n opens on my eyes; my ears
With sounds seraphic ring:
Lend, lend your wings! I mount! I fly!
O Grave! where is thy Victory?
O Death! where is thy Sting?
I think of Pope more of a satirist of the politics of his age and time than of religion. As you say, he was Catholic, plus it was always dangerous back in those days to be a critic, however mild, of religion and/or the church. Being convicted of heresy was a good way to experience immolation in the public square.
This one makes me think of John Donne's 'Death, Be Not Proud' or Dylan Thomas's 'And Death Shall Have No Dominion'. In all cases, death is not to be feared for the devout, as they know there is a heaven awaiting them after all.
There's a brief biography of him here
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As a Catholic in England he suffered many restrictions for his faith, heresy was not something he need fear punishment of
Good point. And I suspect the auto-da-fé danger was past by that point in time as well. My bad, sorry.
St Oliver Plunket was the last Catholic martyr hung, drawn and quartered at Tyburn in 1681, so he didn't miss it by much.
I noticed an interesting bit of trivia about this in the Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, by the way.
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It seems the reason that heretics were burned at the stake is that the Roman Catholic Church was forbidden to shed blood. Oh, dear. I think I would MUCH rather have a musket ball between the eyes than to be burned alive. Or remove me blasphemin' noggin with a poleax, even. Why hanging was not considered I dunno.
Ashes are fine, but not blood? I knew religion didn't make sense.
"Play the man, Master Ridley; we shall this day light such a candle, by God’s grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out."
-Hugh Latimer (1485–1555), British churchman, Protestant martyr. said, Oct. 16, 1555, to Bishop Nicolas Ridley at their execution pyre in Oxford. Quoted in Actes and Monuments, John Foxe (1570).
pam
Is it better to be burnt at the stake by Catholics or hung, drawn and quartered by Protestants?
I'll take 'ways I don't wanna go' for $200, Alex.
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Oops, prolly too USA-related a joke. Contestants on Jeopardy, hosted by Alex Trebek say that. It has become a common expression here in the States.
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John-San wudda got it, I feel sure.
With you now. It may have run for one series over here, 15, 20 years ago and was axed 'cos it never caught on
Our equivalents would be "I'll have a P please Bob" or "I've started so I'll finish" neither of which is much use here.